ONGOING WORK ON DEVELOPING EU-WIDE COMPARABLE STATISTICS ON CRIME, CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND VICTIMISATION Dr Marleen De Smedt EUROSTAT UNECE-UNODC Conference, Geneva, 3-5 November 2004

Background to European Commission Action Plan n Roles of DG JAI and Eurostat n Needs (as defined by DG JAI) cover : - policy-making - general public interest and concern n Involvement of all significant actors : - collaboration between Commission and Member States - many international and research organisations represented here UNECE-UNODC Conference, Geneva, 3-5 November 2004

The European Statistical System n Close collaboration of national statistical authorities and Eurostat n Statistical Programme Committee - comprises DGs of national statistical offices and Eurostat - responsibility for strategic development of statistics - examines proposals for EU legislation (later submitted to Commission, Council, Parliament) n Directors of Social Statistics : - responsibility for social domains including criminality - regular meetings - written consultations etc. through and website UNECE-UNODC Conference, Geneva, 3-5 November 2004

Working groups and task forces n Working groups include representatives of all Member States - responsibility for specific domain of statistics - main decisions on methodology and implementation n Task Forces consist of a sub-group of Member States - responsibility for developing specific technical proposals and for establishment of the methodology - report to working groups UNECE-UNODC Conference, Geneva, 3-5 November 2004

Collection of Statistics n Legislative measures - Regulations, Directives, Decisions - typically, framework Regulations of Council & Parliament - Commission regulations fix exact methods and definitions Collection under “gentlemen’s agreements” if no legal base exists n Long-term commitment to legal bases improves clarity and efficiency UNECE-UNODC Conference, Geneva, 3-5 November 2004

Place of crime statistics in the statistical system n Included in 2004 Statistical Work Programme n Discussion of Directors of Social Statistics, September 2004 n Crime statistics often fall under the responsibility of ministries n Statistical offices sometimes experienced in victimisation surveys (but these are often also done by private organisations) n Need to examine organisation of crime statistics in Member States UNECE-UNODC Conference, Geneva, 3-5 November 2004

Key issues for development of EU crime statistics n Requirements - type and occurrence of crime, and structure - response of criminal justice systems n Plan and co-operate with data suppliers - existing channels and maybe new structures - procedures exist for secure transmission of confidential data n Different sources available : - police records; need for metadata - victimisation surveys (ICVS) n Need to embed crime statistics into larger statistical system UNECE-UNODC Conference, Geneva, 3-5 November 2004

Action Plan n Development : - forum of national experts, Brussels, 9 July Directors of Social Statistics, Luxembourg, 30 Sept ongoing development with other significant actors n Build on existing work : - European Sourcebook on Crime and Criminal Justice - UNODC Survey on Crime Trends - UK Home Office Statistical Bulletin - HEUNI (affiliated to UN) - European Crime Prevention Network UNECE-UNODC Conference, Geneva, 3-5 November 2004

Action Plan n Comparability : - international comparability difficult because systems differ - comparability of trends is a slightly less ambitious aim n Methodology : - core set of definitions of crimes - definition of statistics to be collected n Objective : - coherent and integrated system - cover both volume crime and organised crime - include reported crimes, criminal justice and victimisation UNECE-UNODC Conference, Geneva, 3-5 November 2004

Summary of the major steps to be taken n Establish co-ordination at EU level n Establish co-ordination with non-EU organisations n Establish consulting structures (expert committee, task force) n Stocktaking : establish basis for developing definitions (inventory of definitions of crime types and enforcement measures) n Develop indicators (use of existing data, develop methodology for new indicators) n Use data from research bodies and studies (EUSTOC..) n Take steps towards establishment of legal basis UNECE-UNODC Conference, Geneva, 3-5 November 2004