Learn more about BJS’s activities in October 2024! Click on the headings below for details.
Learn more about BJS efforts to collect data and report on human trafficking
BJS released the report Human Trafficking Data Collection Activities, 2024. This report details BJS’s continued efforts to examine options to modify its existing data collections and implement new approaches to report the data as required by the Combat Human Trafficking Act (CHTA) of 2015 (34 U.S.C. § 20709(e)). The CHTA requires BJS to prepare an annual report on human trafficking, including information on arrests, prosecutions, convictions, and sentences imposed.
The report summarizes BJS activities to assess the availability of data on human trafficking among criminal justice agencies at the federal, state, tribal, and local levels. In addition, it describes characteristics of human trafficking defendants in 2022 and provides data on human trafficking investigations and prosecutions by U.S. attorneys, human trafficking defendants convicted and sentenced to federal prison, and admissions to state prison for human trafficking.
Pilot report presents findings and recommendations from new collection efforts
BJS released Survey of Public Defenders (SPD) Pilot Report. It provides an overview of a new data collection effort that aims to capture information directly from public defenders about their demographics, working conditions, caseloads, interactions with clients, and access to resources. BJS designed a pilot test for the SPD to assess the viability of a dual-frame sampling plan, test response rates for office-level and public defender-level surveys, and test response rates correlated with different outreach strategies. This report describes the pilot sampling frames, sample design, and key findings, with recommendations for modifications for full survey implementation regarding the design, survey instrument, roster development, respondent recruitment, and survey administration.
View BJS’s latest statistics on resident-initiated and police-initiated contact
BJS released Contacts Between Police and the Public, 2022. This report provides statistics on instances where U.S. residents age 16 or older contacted police (resident-initiated contact), instances where police approached or stopped them (police-initiated contact), and police contact related to traffic accidents. The report is part of a series that began in 1996 that examines the nature and frequency of contact with police reported by U.S. residents, including demographic characteristics; types of contact; and perceptions of police misconduct, threats of force, and use of nonfatal force.
Annual Survey of Jails in Indian Country, 2023
BJS released the 2023 Annual Survey of Jails in Indian Country dataset through the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data. This survey collects data on all known adult and juvenile facilities (such as jails, confinement facilities, detention centers, and other correctional facilities) operated by tribal authorities or the Bureau of Indian Affairs. It provides estimates of:
- staffing and facility characteristics
- the number of adults and juveniles held in Indian country jails
- inmate deaths and suicide attempts
- inmate deaths and suicide attempts.
Join the in-person workshop at the American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting
Registration is open for the in-person workshop, Analyzing Data from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS): A Workshop for Data Users, at the American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting in San Francisco, CA, on Tuesday, November 12, 2024, from 1-5:00 p.m. PT. The BJS Victimization Statistics Unit's statisticians will introduce new and potential data users to the types of information available through the NCVS and demonstrate how to replicate key estimates published through BJS’s annual Criminal Victimization bulletin and the NCVS Dashboard (N-DASH).
Space is limited, and registration is required. The deadline to register is Thursday, November 7, 2024, at 11:59 p.m. ET. Send your name, affiliation, and preferred email address to [email protected].
BJS Student Research Expo
BJS partnered with the American Society of Criminology to sponsor a webinar showcasing undergraduate and graduate student projects using BJS and select other data sources. Earlier this year, students submitted applications to participate in the Student Research Expo and work alongside BJS statisticians and criminal justice experts to develop their chosen topic. Ten projects were selected. The webinar was held on October 29, 2024.
In October 2024, BJS hosted a delegation of government officials from Greece focused on collecting criminal justice statistics. BJS also participated in the annual Federal Committee on Statistical Methodology (FCSM) Research and Policy Conference. BJS staff convened with experts and practitioners from around the world to discuss and exchange current methodological knowledge and policy insights about topics of critical importance to the federal statistical system and key constituents. BJS staff played various roles at the FCSM Conference, including sitting on this year’s program committee, chairing panels, and presenting on various subjects regarding criminal justice data collection efforts and pertinent issues to federal statistical agencies. Speakers discussed the roles of agency statistical officials, dialogued on measures of relevance for statistical data and data products, and conversed on promising practices in bridging the gap between analog and digital practices in data collection.
BJS also participated in the following events:
- 2024 Government and Public Sector R Conference
- Meeting at the National American Indian Court Judges Association
- International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Annual Conference and Exposition
- Safety and Justice Challenge Research Symposium
- 2024 Annual Conference of the Association of State Uniform Crime Reporting Programs
- Massachusetts Association of Crime Analysts Annual Conference
- Western Association of Criminal Justice Annual Conference
Access previous Months in Review and view BJS's 2023 Year in Review. Subscribe to JUSTSTATS to receive real-time updates from BJS.