Research Guides: Criminal Justice and Criminology : Resources by Subdiscipline

Sociology and Psychology

APA PsycInfo
APA PsycInfo is the major indexing and abstracting database for psychology, social work, educational psychology, counseling, and related disciplines with records from over 2,400 journals.
Sociological Abstracts
Provides citations and abstracts for journal articles, books, book chapters, dissertations, association papers and reviews in sociology, social science, and policy science.

Legal Information Institute: Prisoner's Rights
From Cornell University Law School.
National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV)
Works to eliminate domestic violence, empower battered women and children, promote and unify direct service programs nationwide, educate the public on how to recognize domestic violence and what to do about it, and to promote partnerships with corporations and foundations to design and fund programs to eliminate domestic violence.

Colorado Sites

Violence Free Colorado
Works with hundreds of organizations and individuals in local communities across the state to prevent and end relationship violence, and support those affected by relationship abuse.
Colorado Department of Corrections
Dashboard Measures provides customizable statistics on inmate populations, admissions and releases, prison behavior, prison work programs and community corrections and parole.
Colorado Department of Public Safety
This department includes the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, the Colorado State Patrol, the Division of Criminal Justice, the Division of Fire Prevention & Control, the Division of Homeland Security & Emergency Management, and the School Safety Resource Center.
Colorado Organization for Victim Assistance
It is committed "to fairness and healing for crime victims, their families and communities through leadership, education, and advocacy."

Government Resources

Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA)
Its mission is "to provide leadership and services in grant administration and criminal justice policy development to support local, state, and tribal justice strategies to achieve safer communities." Part of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Center for Juvenile Justice Reform (CJJR)
Its mission is to advance "a balanced, multi-systems approach to reducing juvenile delinquency that promotes positive child and youth development, while also holding youth accountable." Part of the U.S. Department of Justice.
National Institute of Justice (NIJ)
It is the "research, development and evaluation agency of the U.S. Department of Justice." Part of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Office of Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Provention (OJJDP)
Their mission is to support "states, local communities, and tribal jurisdictions in their efforts to develop and implement effective programs for juveniles. The Office strives to strengthen the juvenile justice system's efforts to protect public safety, hold offenders accountable, and provide services that address the needs of youth and their families." Part of the U.S. Department of Justice. See also the National Crime Victimization Survey (it is "the nation's primary source of information on criminal victimization.")
Office for Victims of Crime
It is "committed to enhancing the Nation’s capacity to assist crime victims and to providing leadership in changing attitudes, policies, and practices to promote justice and healing for all victims of crime." Part of the U.S. Department of Justice.
FBI: Uniform Crime Report (UCR)
Crime data from the FBI provided by nearly 17,000 U.S. law enforcement agencies.

Statistical Resources

data.census.gov
A source for population, economic, housing, and geographic information and data about the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Island areas. Includes information about income, education, insurance, employment, housing, poverty, veterans, and much more. Replaces American FactFinder
Census City and County Data Book
"The County and City Data Book (CCDB) is a convenient summary of statistics on the social and economic structure of the counties and cities of the United States. It is designed to serve as a statistical reference and guide to other data publications and sources. "
Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)
Their mission is "to collect, analyze, publish, and disseminate information on crime, criminal offenders, victims of crime, and the operation of justice systems at all levels of government." Part of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Finding Stats in Government Sources

Many government websites and publications include statistics; however, government websites can sometimes be frustrating to use and often it's easier to find statistics in government sources by using a search engine such as Google. Along with words to describe your topic, use these tricks to find statistics in government sources via Google:

Limit by URL Domain: site:gov

This limits your search to websites that end in "gov," which are typically U.S. (federal, state, and city) government websites.

Limit by Filetype: filetype:pdf

This limits your search to PDFs. Many government publications are in PDF format. Other filetypes such as .ppt (PowerPoints), .xls (Excel), and .doc (Word documents) work as well.

Add the word statistics to your search.

Example Searches

site:gov filetype:pdf education statistics
site:gov homeless Colorado statistics