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Crime and Justice

Introduction

The crime and justice module seeks to assess the availability of data that can be used to identify inequitable practices in the justice system and supports the accountability and efficiency of police and courts, as well as data that details gender-based violence and measures and track interventions. There is a need for strong governance around how data is used in the criminal justice system, both to prevent the reproduction of bias in algorithmic decision-making and to protect people and communities from unjust surveillance and control.

This snapshot module draws on both primary and secondary indicators to assess the availability of crime and justice data focused around:

  • data about violence against women (primary indicator);
  • sentencing data (primary indicator);
  • crime statistics (secondary source).

Prospective Indicators

Crime and Justice Data and the Public Good

Well-functioning justice systems are critical to the public good. SDG 16 calls upon governments to promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development; provide access to justice for all; and build effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels.

Addressing violence against women is critical to achieving SDG 16, particularly target 16.1: significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere. It's also critical to achieving SDG 5: achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls, particularly target 5.2: eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation. And it's critical, as well, to SDG 3: ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. As Kendall (2020) notes, administrative data about violence against women can help meaningfully improve government responses to such violence in a manner that centers and empowers survivors and holds perpetrators accountable; more specifically, it can provide important insights on: the use of and demand for services; assessing the quality of services; case management; and understanding the capacity of response (6).

Article 10(3) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights requires that "The penitentiary system shall comprise treatment of prisoners the essential aim of which shall be their reformation and social rehabilitation. Juvenile offenders shall be segregated from adults and be accorded treatment appropriate to their age and legal status." However, in many jurisdictions around the world, excessive sentences, often tied to goals of deterrence or retribution, make social rehabilitation virtually impossible. Additionally, sentencing can be inequitable (e.g. racial disparities) in violation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Sentencing data can be a key tool for surfacing and tracking sentencing disparities and supporting consistent, proportionate sentences that prioritize social rehabilitation.

Module Development Notes

This snapshot module is intended to provide coverage across different branches of government and to provide continuity with past editions of the Open Data Barometer which included a metric on crime statistics. This module draws on the Open Data Inventory as a secondary data source.