United Nations Surveys of Crime Trends and Operations of Criminal Justice Systems Series, Waves 1-10, 1970-2006 (ICPSR 26462)

Version Date: Jul 22, 2010

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Principal Investigator(s):
United Nations Office at Vienna. Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Branch

Series:

https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR26462.v1

Version V1

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Summary

The major goal of the United Nations Surveys on Crime Trends and the Operations of Criminal Justice Systems was to collect data on the incidence of reported crime and the operations of criminal justice systems with a view to improving the analysis and dissemination of that information globally. Surveys were distributed to officials in every member country of the United Nations. Designated officials completed the surveys to the best of their abilities given the country's available data. The survey questionnaire consisted of a series of questions which asked for data, primarily statistical, on the main components of the country's criminal justice system, for the given time period of the wave of data collection. To date, there have been ten waves of data collection. Crime variables include counts of recorded crime for homicide, assault, rape, robbery, theft, burglary, fraud, embezzlement, drug trafficking, drug possession, bribery, and corruption. There are also counts of suspects, persons prosecuted, persons convicted, and prison admissions by crime, gender, and adult or juvenile status. Other variables include the population of the country and largest city, budgets and salaries for police, courts, and prisons, and types of sanctions, including imprisonment, corporal punishment, deprivation of liberty, control of freedom, warning, fine, and community sentence. The countries participating in the survey and the variables available vary across the ten waves. There are two versions of the Wave 2 data (Part 2: Wave 2a , 1975-1980; Part 3: Wave 2b, 1975-1980) because, for various reasons, the variables from Wave 1 and some variables from Wave 2 were combined into one dataset. Similarly, some variables from Wave 2 were combined into one dataset with the variables from Wave 3. For this study, the combined Wave 1 and Wave 2 dataset was separated into Parts 1 and 2 (Wave 1, 1970-1975, and Wave 2a, 1976-1980, respectively) and the combined Wave 2 and Wave 3 dataset was separated into Parts 3 and 4 (Wave 2b, 1975-1980, and Wave 3, 1980-1986, respectively).

Citation

United Nations Office at Vienna. Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Branch. United Nations Surveys of Crime Trends and Operations of Criminal Justice Systems Series, Waves 1-10, 1970-2006. Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2010-07-22. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR26462.v1

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Subject Terms

Geographic Coverage

Smallest Geographic Unit

Country

Distributor(s)

Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research
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Time Period(s)

1970 -- 2006

Date of Collection

1970 -- 2006
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Study Purpose

The major goal of the United Nations Surveys on Crime Trends and the Operations of Criminal Justice Systems is to collect data on the incidence of reported crime and the operations of criminal justice systems with a view to improving the analysis and dissemination of that information globally.

Study Design

Surveys were distributed to officials in every member country of the United Nations. Designated officials completed the surveys to the best of their abilities given the country's available data. The survey questionnaire consisted of a series of questions which asked for data, primarily statistical, on the main components of the country's criminal justice system, for the given time period of the wave of data collection. The surveys were continually updated at each subsequent wave. There are two versions of the Wave 2 data (Part 2: Wave 2a, 1975-1980; Part 3: Wave 2b, 1975-1980) because, for various reasons, the variables from Wave 1 and some variables from Wave 2 were combined into one dataset. Similarly, some variables from Wave 2 were combined into one dataset with the variables from Wave 3. For this study, the combined Wave 1 and Wave 2 dataset was separated into Parts 1 and 2 (Wave 1, 1970-1975, and Wave 2a, 1976-1980, respectively) and the combined Wave 2 and Wave 3 dataset was separated into Parts 3 and 4 (Wave 2b, 1975-1980, and Wave 3,1980-1986, respectively).

Sample

Surveys were distributed to all member states of the United Nations.

Universe

All member states of the United Nations.

Unit(s) of Observation

countries

Data Source

Questionnaires filled out by representatives of member states of the United Nations

Data Type(s)

Mode of Data Collection

Description of Variables

Crime variables include counts of recorded crime for homicide, assault, rape, robbery, theft, burglary, fraud, embezzlement, drug trafficking, drug possession, bribery, and corruption. There are also counts of suspects, persons prosecuted, persons convicted, and prison admissions by crime, gender, and adult or juvenile status. Other variables include the population of the country and largest city, budgets and salaries for police, courts, and prisons, and types of sanctions, including imprisonment, corporal punishment, deprivation of liberty, control of freedom, warning, fine, and community sentence. The countries participating in the survey and the variables available vary across the ten waves.

Response Rates

Not available.

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Original Release Date

2010-07-22

Version History

2018-02-15 The citation of this study may have changed due to the new version control system that has been implemented. The previous citation was:
  • United Nations Office at Vienna. Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Branch. United Nations Surveys of Crime Trends and Operations of Criminal Justice Systems Series, Waves 1-10, 1970-2006. ICPSR26462-v1. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2010-07-22. http://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR26462.v1

2010-07-22 ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection:

  • Performed consistency checks.
  • Created variable labels and/or value labels.
  • Standardized missing values.
  • Checked for undocumented or out-of-range codes.
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Notes

  • The public-use data files in this collection are available for access by the general public. Access does not require affiliation with an ICPSR member institution.