Gerard F Ramker Deputy Director US Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics 1 Data Quality Issues Affecting Statistical Uses of Federal and State Criminal Records Simplified Criminal History Record Rap Sheet ID: 760181
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Slide1
2012 FCSM Statistical Policy Seminar, December 5, 2012Gerard F. Ramker, Deputy DirectorU.S. Department of JusticeBureau of Justice Statistics
1
Data Quality Issues Affecting Statistical Uses of Federal and State Criminal Records
Slide2Simplified Criminal History Record - “Rap Sheet”
Name: Smith,
John Q.
Race: White
Gender: Male
DOB: 6/12/1974
Height/Weight
SSN
Aliases used
Scars, marks, tattoos
State ID Number
Photo y/n
Residence
FBI Number
DNA y/n
Place
of employment
Miscellaneous No.
Fingerprint classification
Arrested
1/1/1990
First Degree Murder
ICC 38-9-1(a)
Chicago Police Department
CB 12345678
IR 3456789
Charged
1/8/1990
Voluntary Manslaughter
ICC 38-9-2(b)
Cook County State’s Attorney
1990 – CF- 123456
Convicted
2/1/1990
Disposition: Guilty
Involuntary Manslaughter
ICC 38-9-3(b)
Cook County Circuit Court
1990 – CF- 123456
Sentenced
2/3/1990
Sentence: Life Imprisonment
Cook County Circuit Court
1990 – CF- 123456
Received
2/4/1990
Reception
& Classification
Illinois Department of Corrections
1990 – CF- 123456
C8765431
Released
1/31/2012
Mandatory Supervised Release
Illinois Department of Corrections
C8765431
Slide3Administrative/Operational Uses of Criminal History Records
Criminal Justice Uses
Police
name checks
Charging decisions
Pre-trial
release decisions – held in custody or released on
recognizance
Sentencing
Correctional
classification – housing assignments in
jails/prisons
Public
registries (sex offender
)
Firearm purchases, licenses, permits, etc.
Non-Criminal Justice Uses
Pre-employment
screening
Professional/Occupational licenses
Permits
Slide4Research & Statistical Uses of Criminal History Records
Studies of recidivism
– pre-post comparisons of arrests, convictions,
incarcerations
Program evaluation
State-level studies:
Legislative
impact studies/models
F
orecasting
prison/jail populations
Slide5State Criminal History Record Repository
Interstate Identification Index
Law Enforcement Agency
Correctional Agency
Prosecutor
Court
State B
State C
State A
FBI
International Justice and Public Safety Network (Nlets)
Slide6BJS Record Improvement Efforts
Funded state efforts
to automate manual records.
to add state records to national system including various NCIC records AND criminal history records.
Improve the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, and availability of such records.
Have provided over $560 million to the states since 1995.
Slide7Prisoner Recidivism Study
Administrative data
from BJS’s National Corrections Reporting Program
provided by state departments of corrections.
Sample of 74,000 released prisoners representing more than 400,000 persons released in the 32 states during 2005.
Slide8Interstate Identification Index
State A
State C
BJS
State B
State D
Memorandum of Understanding between BJS, the FBI, and Nlets.
International Justice and Public Safety Network (Nlets)
FBI
Slide9Data Acquisition/Processing
Raw rap sheet data (the state’s electronic response)
Parsed into a database containing five segments
Identification
Demographic
Arrest
Court
Corrections
Standardized database created
BJS research database
Public-use research database
Slide10Application of DQ Assessment Tool
Focused on the BJS research database and the public-use file.
Files that derive in large measure from data that, in its native state:
Is highly unstructured.
Originates in different states guided by provisions of their separate criminal codes and codes of criminal procedure.
Ensuring that record parsing and standardization does not introduce errors.
Assessing/documenting other data quality issues
Slide11Application of DQ Tool (continued)
Secondary focus on broader data quality issues and improvement strategies relating to operational uses of these records.
“Fitness for operational use”
State profiles for record repositories which highlight record completeness issues
Discussion with:
Associations representing record repositories on multi-state issues
Advisory bodies on policy issues involving reporting and representation standards
Slide1212
Contact Information
Dr. Gerard F. Ramker, Deputy Director
Bureau of Justice Statistics
810 7
th
Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20531
(202) 307-0765 -
Gerard.Ramker@usdoj.gov