Copyright 2010, The World Bank Group. All Rights Reserved. Uses of Statistics on Crime, Justice & Security Part 1 Crime, Justice & Security Statistics Produced in Collaboration between World Bank Institute and the Development Data Group (DECDG)

Copyright 2010, The World Bank Group. All Rights Reserved. Summary of Module Collecting Statistics is expensive. This money will be wasted unless the figures are used properly. There are three main uses of Statistics on crime, justice and security: 2 1 To enable senior officials to manage each agency effectively 2 To enable agencies to account for their law enforcement to Parliament, the general public and the media. 3 To ensure that policies cutting across more than one agency are properly considered and evaluated

Copyright 2010, The World Bank Group. All Rights Reserved. 1. Statistics to manage agencies effectively The following is needed to manage each agency effectively: 1.Measures of workload and resources, especially personnel 2.Indicators of work carried out by agency 3.Indicators of work not carried out: eg crime not solved: cases delayed. 4.Statistics for each area of the country to show that each area gets its fair share of service. 5.Mechanism for getting figures to managers in a routine fashion 6.Statistical training for managers 3

Copyright 2010, The World Bank Group. All Rights Reserved. Workload and Resource Statistics Statistics needed each geographic area WorkloadResources Police1.Crimes recorded, by type 2.Traffic incidents 1.No of police 2.Cost of police Prosecution1.Cases from police 2.Cases sent to the court 1.No. of prosecutors 2.Cost of prosecutors Courts1.Cases received 2.Cases disposed of 1.No. magistrates, staff 2.Cost of courts Probation1.Probation cases from the courts, by offence 2.Community service orders 1.No. probation officers 2.Cost probation Prisons1.Prisoners in prison, by type 2.Prisoners on remand 1.No. prison officers 2.Cost of prisons 4

Copyright 2010, The World Bank Group. All Rights Reserved. Indicators needed by managers For each geographical areaIndicator Police1.Crime recorded per policeman 2.Crime solved per policeman 3.Crimes not solved per policeman Prosecution1.Cases processed per staff member 2.Cases returned to police per staff member 3.Cases successful in court per staff member Courts1.Case load per staff member 2.Fines collected by the court 3.Average waiting time in prison Probation1.Case load per officer 2.Cases successfully completed per officer Prisons1.Prisoners per police officer 2.Overcrowding of prisons 5

Copyright 2010, The World Bank Group. All Rights Reserved. Getting statistics to managers 1.A mechanism is necessary to do this such as a statistical bulletin, briefing note or routine meeting 2.This will need to be at least monthly 3.It should be short and include only a brief selection of figures 4.It also needs a commentary and charts to make the figures easier to read 5.Managers will need to be trained in the use of figures. They also need to feedback their needs for new figures and different ways of presentation. 6.Getting statistics to managers is entirely different from publishing the figures to the Parliament and the public which need not be done so frequently. 6

Copyright 2010, The World Bank Group. All Rights Reserved. 2. Using Statistics for public accountability 1.The main customers for statistics are the Parliament, the media, the general public and International bodies 2.Members of Parliament should have summary figures presented to them in an annual report. 3.The media need to have summary figures presented to them, probably annually, in easily read form, often at a press conference where questions can be asked. 4.The general public will generally get their figures via the media. 5. International bodies such as the UN usually ask for data in their own questionnaires and this is covered in Module 10. 7

Copyright 2010, The World Bank Group. All Rights Reserved. Types of statistics required for public accountability Simple summary statistics, in the form of indicators of performance, should be published to show the effectiveness of the justice system: eg: 1. Police, Prosecutors, Courts 1.Clear up/complete at least X% of cases reported to them 2.Complete cases within a particular time 3.Maintain public confidence 2.Prisons: 1.reduce overcrowding: 2.improve health: 3.retrain prisoners 8

Copyright 2010, The World Bank Group. All Rights Reserved. Setting targets and producing action plans 1.Public accountability often includes setting an action plan for improvement 2.Statistics are an essential part of this 3.Targets can be set for future years based on the indicators of performance set in the previous slide 4.Regular publication would show whether the targets had been met 5.It would also be an essential starting point for discussion on the need for resources in different parts of the justice system. 9

Copyright 2010, The World Bank Group. All Rights Reserved. Action plan for using Performance measures 1.Agree in advance which indicators to use 2.Publish this list, together with a base line of current values of the indicators. 3.Measure work load of staff on a regular basis 4.Record measures of success: eg clear-ups: cases finished 5.Record the main time delays for courts. 6.Conduct surveys to obtain public confidence measures in current situation and how the situation is developing. 10

Copyright 2010, The World Bank Group. All Rights Reserved. 3. Using Statistics for policy development There are several reasons for wanting to change policy: 1.To save money for the government 2.To react to social changes (population change, tourism, drugs, terrorism, organised crime.) 3.To use technical developments more efficiently (fingerprints, DNA, electronic monitoring) 4.Because police, courts, prisons are getting overwhelmed by burden, with resulting inefficiencies. 5.To get more control over the CJ process 11

Copyright 2010, The World Bank Group. All Rights Reserved. Who starts off case for change Policy change can be started off by many different areas of the justice system: eg. 1.The finance ministry may seek for savings 2.Politicians and senior officials may wish to pursue legal reform 3.Operational agencies (police, prosecutor, judiciary, probation, prison) may wish to be more efficient 4.Public commentators may exert pressure for change 5.Other countries may seem to be coping better with similar problems However, Statisticians are central to all this as they have access to the figures and can see where things are not as efficient as they might be and can forecast what will happen in the future 12