Office of Justice Programs

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Spotlight on OJP's Bureau of Justice Statistics

January 2008

Statistics are important to policymakers and others who want to understand and make informed decisions about important criminal and civil justice issues. As the statistical arm of the Department of Justice, the Office of Justice Programs’ Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) collects, analyzes, publishes, and disseminates information about crime, criminal offenders, victims of crime, and the operation of justice systems at all levels of government. These data are used by the Nation to establish benchmarks for the criminal justice system, to develop sound policy, and to ensure that the administration of justice is fair and evenhanded.

BJS statistics are published annually on criminal victimization, populations under correctional supervision, Federal criminal offenders and case processing, and criminal justice expenditure and employment. BJS also maintains periodic data series covering topics such as school crime and contacts between the public and police, and produces special reports on topical criminal justice issues, such as recidivism of prisoners and identity theft.

During 2007, BJS’s National Crime Victimization Survey interviewed almost 76,000 U.S. residents in nearly 42,000 households about any experiences they may have had as crime victims. The bureau also analyzed the operations of some 50,000 agencies, offices, courts, and institutions that together comprise the justice system. In addition, BJS counted populations and conducted sample surveys among the 7.2 million adults who during an average day are subject to the care, custody, or control of criminal justice authorities.

Some of the findings recently released by BJS include:

  • In urban and suburban areas, U.S. residents age 12 or older in 2006 experienced an estimated 3.7 million violent crimes (rape or sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated and simple assault), 138,520 personal thefts (pocket picking and purse snatching), and 12 million property crimes (burglary, motor vehicle theft, and theft). Criminal Victimization, 2006
  • At yearend 2006, Federal and State correctional authorities had jurisdiction over 1,570,861 prisoners, an increase of 2.8% since yearend 2005. Prisoners in 2006
  • The number of adult men and women in the United States who were being supervised on probation or parole at the end of 2006 reached 5,035,225, up from 3,757,282 on December 31, 1995. Probation and Parole in the United States, 2006

BJS also announced a solicitation for the Fiscal Year 2008 Tribal Criminal History Record Improvement Program (T-CHRIP). The T-CHRIP grant program will provide support to Federally-recognized tribes and State criminal records repositories to promote participation in and improve data sharing between tribal, State, and national criminal records systems.

More information about this solicitation and other BJS programs is available on the BJS Web site.