The ASA Committee on Law and Justice Statistics is hosting a new webinar series on data and statistical methods for law and justice.
Next webinar: December 5, 2025, 1:30-2pm ET
- Min Xie on "National Crime Victimization Survey at 50+: Legacy and Future Research Opportunities"
- Register here!
- Abstract: The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) is the world’s largest and longest-running victimization survey in history (1973-present). It is a critical indicator of crime, as it captures offenses reported and unreported to the police through interviews with the civilian, noninstitutionalized U.S. household population aged 12 years or older. The U.S. Census Bureau administers the survey, and the data is widely known for its capacity to measure crime rates, crime trends, covariates of offending and victimization, and responses to victimization, including victim help-seeking or failure to do so. This webinar provides an overview of the NCVS data. I will discuss major characteristics of the data, including the survey’s panel data structure (i.e., a household may be interviewed up to seven times at six-month intervals) and the geo-information available for research (i.e., how researchers may access census tract, county, and state codes through the Federal Statistical Research Data Centers). I will also discuss the most recent redesign of the NCVS instrument—its purpose and how the data may provide a basis for future directions in criminological research.
September 30, 2025
- George Mohler on "Statistical Models of Crime Concentration"
- Recording link
- Abstract: The law of crime concentration states that 50% of crime occurs in 4-5% of a city’s geography. These “crime hotspots” that comprise the top 5% are the subject of a large body of research in Criminology and are the focus of place-based interventions for reducing crime. In this talk we discuss some of the statistical assumptions underlying the law of crime concentration and recent efforts to derive better statistical estimators for the law. We then will discuss statistical models where the law of crime concentration does not hold, including point processes with contagion effects and dynamical systems models where hotspot interventions may alter crime concentration.
June 10, 2025
- Simon Cole on "Counting Exonerations: Using the National Registry of Exonerations"
- Recording link
- Abstract: Wrongful convictions are considered among the most catastrophic errors in legal systems, yet statistical research on them is challenging. One increasingly important information source in this area is exoneration registries, which have now been launched in several nations and regions. This talk will focus on the largest and oldest of these, the (United States) National Registry of Exonerations, an online archive of all known exonerations in the U.S. The talk will offer a brief overview of the Registry and the concept of exoneration and explore both the opportunities and the challenges of using the Registry as an information source.
March 13, 2025:
- Greg Ridgeway on "The Landscape of Criminal Justice Data Sources."
- Recording link (password: M7P=o$Df)
Document with links criminal justice data sources
- Abstract: Criminal justice research relies on a range of data sources, each offering insight into crime, victimization, law enforcement, and the courts. This talk provides an overview of datasets used in the field, spanning national, state, and local levels. I will discuss major federal sources, including the FBI's Summary Reporting System (SRS), National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) as well as the Bureau of Justice Statistics' National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). In addition, I will highlight city-level open data portals, which provide granular insights into local criminal justice patterns. Finally, I will present a few "specialty" datasets that capture critical aspects of the system, such as North Carolina's adult conviction records, Florida court data, Pennsylvania Sentencing Commission data, and New Jersey's use-of-force reporting. By exploring these resources, attendees will gain a deeper understanding of the strengths, limitations, and opportunities presented by modern criminal justice data.