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Appendix B: Statistics and Race and Crime: Accessing Data Online

Instructions on accessing statistical data from both governmental and nongovernmental sources on the Web are presented here to enable readers to access the most recent information related to selected topics on race and crime, including arrests, contacts between the police and the public, the death penalty, drugs and crime, gang membership, hate crimes, homicide trends in the United States, juvenile justice, racial profiling, and victimization.

Arrests

Option 1

The best source of information on race and arrests in the United States is the U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation.

  • Step 1

    Go to the website for United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation: http://www.fbi.gov

  • Step 2

    On the left-hand column click on the link labeled Reports and Publications.

  • Step 3

    On this new page, scroll down to On Statistics and click on Crime in the United States.

  • Step 4

    On the Uniform Crime Reports page, scroll down to Crime in the United States and click on the year for which you want information. If there is a pop-up, click on Continue to Crime in the United States (year).

  • Step 5

    Then, find Persons Arrested and click on Go To Arrest Tables.

  • Step 6

    Click on Table 43 for data on total arrests and arrests for specific offenses by race for adults and juveniles.

Option 2

FBI arrest data can also be accessed via the Bureau of Justice Statistics:

  • Step 1

    Go to the website for United States Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs

  • Step 2

    On the right-hand column under the heading labeled Data from other sources, find and click on the link labeled FBI's Uniform Crime Reports.

  • Step 3

    On this new page, under Crime in the United States, click on the appropriate year. If there is a pop-up, click on Continue to Crime in the United States (year).

  • Step 4

    Then, find and click on the heading labeled Persons Arrested, in the middle of the page.

  • Step 5

    Scroll down and find the heading labeled Expanded arrest data. Under this heading, you will find tables for data by race.

Contacts between Police and the Public

A good source of information on race and contact with the police, including traffic stops, is the United States Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics.

  • Step 1

    Go to the website for United States Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/welcome.html

  • Step 2

    Under the heading Law enforcement click on state and local.

  • Step 3

    On this new page, under the listing of BJS Publications, scroll down until you locate Contacts Between the Police and the Public, 2005, and Characteristics of Drivers Stopped by the Police, 2002, or the most recent report available on these topics.

  • Step 4

    When you click on a link to one of these links to findings on police and public contact for a specific year, you will be able to open an Adobe Acrobat file (PDF) providing statistics on various characteristics (including race) of those who have been stopped by the police in their vehicle or had contact with the police under other circumstances.

Death Penalty

Option 1

  • Step 1

    Go to the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) website: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org

  • Step 2

    On the left-hand side of the page, find the heading Issues.

  • Step 3

    Under Issues find and click on Race.

    After clicking Race you will find multiple links to issues related to race and the death penalty. Click on them to find charts and statistics.

Option 2

  • Step 1

    Go to the website for United States Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs

  • Step 2

    In the Statistics About box, find the heading Corrections

  • Step 3

    Under the heading Corrections, find and click on the link labeled Capital Punishment.

Drugs and Crime

The Bureau of Justice Statistics has a large amount of information on drugs and crime.

Option 1

Locate Table 43 using the procedure described in Option 1 for Arrests. This table contains data on arrests for drug abuse violations by race.

Option 2

For information on drugs and prisoners:

  • Step 1

    Go to the website for United States Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs

  • Step 2

    In the Statistics About box, find the heading Corrections.

  • Step 3

    Under the heading Corrections, find and click on the link labeled Prisons.

  • Step 4

    On this new page, under BJS Publications, scroll down to Drug Use and Dependence, State and Federal Prisoners, 2004.

  • Step 5

    Click on the Acrobat file. This document contains data on drug use and dependence by race.

Option 3: Sentencing for Federal Drug Offenses

Following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in U.S. v. Booker, 543 U.S. 160 (2005), judges were given greater latitude in sentencing for drug offenses. The U.S. Sentencing Commission provides data on the length of sentences that have been imposed in federal court for such offenses since the 2005 ruling.

  • Step 1

    Go to the Sentencing Commission website: http://www.ussc.gov/linktojp.htm

  • Step 2

    Click on Data on Retroactive Application of Crack Cocaine Amendment and go to Table 5.

Gang Membership

  • Step 1

    Go to the website for Institute for Intergovernmental Research: http://www.iir.com

  • Step 2

    Near the top of the page, find and scroll the mouse over the square labeled Gangs. You will find that three additional links drop down. Find and click on the drop-down link labeled National Youth Gang Center.

  • Step 3

    On the right-hand column under the heading Publications find and click on the link labeled National Youth Gang Survey Analysis.

  • Step 4

    Scroll down toward the bottom of this new page and find and click on the heading labeled Demographics.

  • Step 5

    Toward the bottom of this new page, you will find charts for Race/Ethnicity of Gang Members and Race/Ethnicity of Gang Members by Area Type.

Hate Crimes

Option 1

  • Step 1

    Go to the website for the Federal Bureau of Investigation: http://www.fbi.gov

  • Step 2

    On the left-hand column find and click on Reports &c Publications.

  • Step 3

    Scroll all the way down to the bottom and under the heading On Statistics, find and click on Uniform Crime Reports: Hate Crime Statistics, then click on a specific year. On the next screen, you will find data on incidents and offenses, victims, offenders, and location type (where the offense occurred).

Option 2

  • Step 1

    Go to the website for the Southern Poverty Law Center: http://www.splcenter.org

  • Step 2

    On the left-hand column find and click on Hate Incidents.

  • Step 3

    Click on the state of interest.

Homicide Trends in the United States

  • Step 1

    Go to the website for United States Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs

  • Step 2

    In the Statistics About box, find and click on the heading Special Topics.

  • Step 3

    Under Special Topics find and click on the link labeled Homicide Trends.

  • Step 4

    On the right side of the page you will see Contents. Find and click on the subheading labeled Race (which is under the heading Demographic trends by).

Juvenile Justice

  • Step 1

    Go to the website for the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention: http://www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org

  • Step 2

    In the left-hand column, find and click on the link for Statistics.

  • Step 3

    In the left-hand column find and click on the link for Juvenile Population Characteristics.

  • Step 4

    Under the heading Juvenile Population Characteristics on this new page, find and click on the link labeled Related FAQs.

  • Step 5

    Under the heading Juvenile Population, find the subheading Within States, how do juvenile populations vary by race? and click on the link labeled Answer.

Prison Populations

Option 1

  • Step 1

    Go to the website for United States Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs

  • Step 2

    In the Statistics About box, find the heading Corrections.

  • Step 3

    Under the heading Corrections, find and click on the link labeled Prisons.

  • Step 4

    For the most recent data on prison inmates, scroll down to Prison Inmates at Midyear 2007 or the most recent report available.

    Scroll down and click on Acrobat File.

    See Tables 9, 10, and 11 for data by race/ethnicity.

Option 2

  • Step 1

    Go to the website for the Sentencing Project: http://www.sentencingproject.org

  • Step 2

    Click on Statistics by State and then put your cursor over the state for which you want information (but don't click on the state). Data on rates of incarceration and felony disenfranchisement will appear to the right of the map.

Racial Profiling

  • Step 1

    Go to the website for Ethnic Majority: http://www.ethnicmajority.com

  • Step 2

    In the middle of the page, find and click on the square link for Civil Rights.

  • Step 3

    On the right-hand column under the heading Topics, find and click on the link labeled Racial Profiling.

    On the right-hand column of this new page, you will find multiple links to information on racial profiling.

Victimization

Option 1

  • Step 1

    Go to the website for U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs

  • Step 2

    In the Statistics About box, find the heading Crime & Victims and click on it.

  • Step 3

    Under the heading Pages with additional information, statistics, and publications about, find Criminal Victimization and click on it. Here you will find Summary findings for the most recent year available.

Option 2

To find tables on criminal victimization in the United States along with tables for other years:

  • Step 1

    Go to the website for U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs

  • Step 2

    In the Statistics About box, find the heading Crime&cVictims and click on it.

  • Step 3

    On the new page, scroll all the way to the bottom of the screen to find the heading Selected Statistics. Under this head, find and click on Criminal Victimization in the United States—Statistical Tables.

Under the heading Download you are given 3 options to view statistics (or you can just scroll down through the page):

One table at a time

Complete set of tables

Sections of tables

Find the year for which you want to see statistics and click on the Acrobat file link to view.

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