STATISTICS ON CRIME, CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND VICTIMISATION Directors of Social Statistics September 2005

Crime, criminal justice and victimisation : Developments since 2004 DSS n November Council adopted Hague Programme, welcomed Commission initiative to establish European instruments to collect, analyse and compare information n Development of statistics included in Commission Statistical Work Programme 2005 and 2006 under Theme 38 n Contact points identified for 21 Member States (Annex 1); missing are Belgium, Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Malta CIRCA website set up for contact points n Task force met 31 May – 1 June 2005 (Annex 2) Directors of Social Statistics September 2005

Crime, criminal justice and victimisation statistics task force n Examination of state of statistics in Member States : summary documentation for 12 Member States available on CIRCA n The various types of source (victimisation, police data, prosecution, conviction, corrective measures) are covered to differing extents in Member States; the most regularly available data are police reports and prison figures n Existing sources of international statistics include the UN Crime Survey, International Crime Victimisation Survey and European Sourcebook of Crime and Criminal Justice Statistics n Information on organised crime is scarce – definitional problems Directors of Social Statistics September 2005

Task force recommendations n To build on existing experience of victimisation surveys. An inventory should be compiled. The possibility of a more harmonised EU approach should be studied, and whether a EU module would be feasible. A set of questions should be proposed and related issues addressed (sample design, interview methods). n To build on data available in existing sources on police-reported crime and proceed to collect further data based on an agreed set of variables (Annex 3). To assess the comparability of the data, a study should be made of a very specific topic such as ‘car theft’. Later the scope of action could be widened to cover other areas. n To collect information on new types of crime (mostly organised crime), in order to be able to propose methods of data collection. The EUSTOC study should provide a starting-point. Directors of Social Statistics September 2005

Summary of proposed work programme Assess possibility of developing comparable data on victimisation 2. Collect data on a range of variables as defined by the task force 3. Investigate ways of collecting data on organised and transnational crime 4. Continue work with DG JLS on implementation of |Hague Programme 5. Further meetings of Eurostat task force and/or working group 6. Strengthen collaboration with outside organisations Directors of Social Statistics September 2005

Proposed work programme : 1. Assess possibility of developing comparable data on victimisation n UNECE and UNODC meeting November 2004 led to a UN task force on victimisation (EU members include Italy, Poland, UK) n UNECE has sent out questionnaire to Member States (Annex 4) and offered to make replies available to Eurostat n Eurostat proposes grant to study the existing surveys, identify common topics and propose methods of harmonisation n Eurostat task force to follow up and make proposal to DSS n Possible module for national surveys or common EU survey Directors of Social Statistics September 2005

Proposed work programme : 2. Collect data on a range of variables n Task force examined alternative lists of variables n Agreed that police-reported crime and numbers of police and prisoners would be easiest to obtain and most reliable (Annex 3) n Other topics to be added later (prosecution, conviction, organised crime) according to availability and resources n Data collection to be launched in 2005, using contact points identified n Study of specific crime types (e.g. car theft) Directors of Social Statistics September 2005

Proposed work programme : 3. Investigate ways to collect data on new crime types n Task force concluded that little data is currently available in usable form n Europol and Council of Europe reports are more descriptive than statistical; national reports adopt varying approaches n Possibility of using business surveys for some crime types (money-laundering, fraud, cybercrime) n Results of recent/ongoing studies to be examined (EUSTOC, ASSESS-OC, IKOC) n DG JLS may initiate study on collection of data and metadata on limited number of organised crime types Directors of Social Statistics September 2005

Proposed work programme : Further activities Expert committee to be set up in Commission communication by DG JLS with representatives from all Member States, will provide input from Member States for implementation of Hague Programme 5. Eurostat task force mandate could include follow-up activities; meeting 2006, there is also a possibility to create a working group if required to operate between task force and DSS 6. Collaboration with outside organisations needs to be intensified to avoid duplication of effort (UN task force, EUMC project on victimisation surveys, future role of Sourcebook group, activities of Europol, Eurojust, etc.) Directors of Social Statistics September 2005