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These data are part of NACJD's Fast Track Release and are distributed as they were received from the data depositor. The files have been zipped by NACJD for release, but not checked or processed except for the removal of direct identifiers. Users should refer to the accompanying readme file for a brief description of the files available with this collection and consult the investigator(s) if further information is needed.

The study integrated neighborhood-level data on robbery and burglary gathered from local police agencies across the United States, foreclosure data from RealtyTrac (a real estate information company), and a wide variety of social, economic, and demographic control variables from multiple sources. Using census tracts to approximate neighborhoods, the study regressed 2009 neighborhood robbery and burglary rates on foreclosure rates measured for 2007-2008 (a period during which foreclosure spiked dramatically in the nation), while accounting for 2007 robbery and burglary rates and other control variables that captured differences in social, economic, and demographic context across American neighborhoods and cities for this period. The analysis was based on more than 7,200 census tracts in over 60 large cities spread across 29 states. Core research questions were addressed with a series of multivariate multilevel and single-level regression models that accounted for the skewed nature of neighborhood crime patterns and the well-documented spatial dependence of crime.

The study contains one data file with 8,198 cases and 99 variables.

This study sought to identify what parking facility characteristics and management practices within the Washington Metro Transit Police (MTP) might create opportunities for crime, analyze those findings in relation to past crimes, and identify promising crime reduction strategies. The project consisted of three main research components: (1) identification of the magnitude of car crime in commuter parking facilities and possible strategies for prevention of such car crime; (2) identification and implementation of a crime prevention strategy; and (3) evaluation of the strategy's effectiveness.

In partnership with the MTP staff, the research team created a blocked randomized experimental design involving 50 matched pairs of commuter parking facilities in which a combination of live and dummy digital cameras were deployed, along with accompanying signage, at the exits of one randomly selected facility from each pairing. After a period of 12 months following camera implementation, the research team analyzed the impact of the cameras on crime occurring in and around Metro's parking facilities.

These data are part of NACJD's Fast Track Release and are distributed as they were received from the data depositor. The files have been zipped by NACJD for release, but not checked or processed except for the removal of direct identifiers. Users should refer to the accompanying readme file for a brief description of the files available with this collection and consult the investigator(s) if further information is needed.

This research was conducted in two phases. Phase one analyzed a random sample of approximately 2,000 case files from 2006 through 2009 that contain forensic analyses from the Connecticut State Forensic Science Laboratory, along with corresponding police and court case file data. As with Peterson, et al. (2010), this research had four objectives: 1) estimate the percentage of cases in which crime scene evidence is collected; 2) discover what kinds of forensic are being collected; 3)track such evidence through the criminal justice system; and 4)identify which forms of forensic evidence are most efficacious given the crime investigated.

Phase two consisted of a survey administered to detectives within the State of Connecticut regarding their comparative assessments of the utility of forensic evidence. These surveys further advance our understanding of how the success of forensic evidence in achieving arrests and convictions matches with detective opinion.

Clearance rates for most crimes have remained low and stable for decades (Braga et al., 2011), despite advances in police technologies (Koper et al., 2015). Many police agencies have developed triaging practices for criminal investigations using solvability factors to guess which cases are most likely to be solved and to allocate investigative resources to those crimes (Eck, 1983; 1992). This practice partially stems from a persistent belief that resolving crimes and the resulting clearance rates are due to circumstances of the crime and community context, and are beyond the control of police. However, a growing body of research has challenged this belief, demonstrating that enhanced investigative efforts can improve crime clearance rates beyond solvability factors (Braga and Dusseault, 2018; Lum and Wellford, 2023).

In this study, the research team sought to determine if investigative follow-ups could increase clearance rates for robbery and burglary cases (frequently occurring crime types with traditionally low clearance rates) and increase victim satisfaction with police services. Agencies selected for the study were the Seattle Police Department (SPD) in Seattle, Washington, and the Rochester Police Department (RPD) in Rochester, New York. Both agencies triaged a large proportion of robbery cases and would have a large enough sample size to successfully carry out an experiment.

The original study design was a randomized controlled trial. In both sites, robbery cases would be allocated to either the intervention condition--an investigative follow-up conducted by an officer during their daily patrol assignment--or the control condition with no follow-up. Challenges to personnel and agency funding from the COVID-19 pandemic, the murder of George Floyd, and other officer-involved deaths in 2020 led to difficulties implementing the study as initially designed. The experiment was not initiated in Rochester, and initiated but not completed in Seattle. Therefore, the team transitioned to a natural quasi-experiment design in Rochester and added a case analysis of robberies in Seattle.

This collection contains three datasets: victim satisfaction surveys from Seattle (DS1, n=39) and Rochester (DS2, n=37), and supplemental reports on follow-ups made during the Seattle experiment implementation (DS3, n=82).

This study collection sought to thoroughly understand the creation, testing, and use of forensic science in five jurisdictions across the country. A random sample was selected of recent criminal cases in the following jurisdictions and tracked from investigation to adjudication to understand how forensic evidence functions:

• Sacramento County, CA: 990 cases
• Segwick County, KS: 936 cases
• Allegheny County, PA: 978 cases
• Bexar County (San Antonio), TX: 936 cases
• King County, WA: 892 cases

The Principal Investigator sought answers to the following seven primary research questions:

• How often is forensic evidence collected and analyzed and how is it used pre-arrest?
• What are the outcomes of forensic evidence testing?
• What is the effect of forensic evidence on arrest and charging?
• How does forensic evidence affect the plea-bargaining process?
• What effect does forensic evidence have on conviction and sentencing outcomes?
• Does the turnaround time for analysis of forensic evidence have any impact on case disposition?
• Does the institutional configuration of the crime laboratory have any effect on its productivity?

Data for the following types of forensic testing are included in this data collection: hair, fibers, glass, paint, gas chromatography / mass spectrometry (GC/MS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy / energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDX), physical match, drug identification, toxicology, serology, combined DNA index system (CODIS), DNA short tandem repeat (Y-STR), blood pattern, test fire, and comparison scope.

These data are part of NACJD's Fast Track Release and are distributed as they were received from the data depositor. The files have been zipped by NACJD for release, but not checked or processed except for the removal of direct identifiers. Users should refer to the accompanying readme file for a brief description of the files available with this collection and consult the investigator(s) if further information is needed.

This study was a secondary analysis of data from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) and National Incidents Based Reporting System (NIBRS) for the period 1998-2007. The analysis calculates two separate measures of the incidents of violence that occurred during burglaries. The study addressed the following research questions:

Is burglary a violent crime?

• Are different levels of violence associated with residential versus nonresidential burglaries?
• How frequently is a household member present during a residential burglary?
• How frequently does violence occur in the commission of a burglary?
• What forms does burglary-related violence take?
• Are there differences in rates of violence between attempted and completed burglaries?

What constitutes the crime of burglary in current statutory law?

• How do the federal government and the various states define burglary (grades and elements)?
• Does statutory law comport with empirical observations of what the typical characteristics of acts of burglary are?

The SPSS code distributed here alters an existing dataset drawn from pre-existing studies. In order to use this code users must first create the original data file drawn from National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) and National Incidents Based Reporting System (NIBRS) data from the period of 1998-2007. All data used for this study are publicly available through ICPSR. See the variable description section for a comprehensive list of, and direct links to, all datasets used to create this original dataset.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) entered into a cooperative agreement with Westat to develop and evaluate a lower-cost, subnational companion survey of victimization as one piece of the subnational estimates program. The Local-Area Crime Survey (LACS) was fielded in 2015 and 2016 and is intended for use by states, municipalities, or other jurisdictions and entities to assess levels and trends in public safety. The LACS is modeled in part after the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), conducted for BJS by the U.S. Census Bureau. One of the two major statistical programs on crime produced by the U.S. Department of Justice, the NCVS is the nation's primary source of information about criminal victimization, whether reported or not reported to police. The core NCVS methodology includes a mix of in-person and telephone interviews with household members age 12 and older selected from an area probability sample to produce reliable national-level estimates. As another part of the subnational estimates program, BJS worked with the Census Bureau to enhance and reallocate the NCVS sample to support subnational estimates for the 22 most populous states and potentially substate areas within those states. For the most part, this direct estimation component of the program will not support estimates at the local level. See the NCVS Subnational Estimates webpage on the BJS website for more information.

The goals of this research were to (1) develop and test a relatively inexpensive survey design (2) that could be administered by local jurisdictions or their vendors (3) to produce cross-jurisdiction estimates and estimates of change over time within jurisdictions that may be compared with similar estimates using NCVS data. In addition to questions about victimization experiences, the LACS included questions about perceptions of community safety and police efficacy. The rationale for including these items was that they were relevant to all households, not just victims. The hope was that these items would increase survey response rates as non-victims would have important questions to answer. The LACS served as a platform for assessing the value of these questions for the planned NCVS instrument redesign. For more information, see the NCVS Instrument Redesign webpage on the BJS website.