Monitoring the crime situation: A developing country perspective

The systematic collection of data on crime and justice can pose a serious challenge for developing countries. Many such countries lack regular national mechanisms for the collection, analysis, publication and utilization of crime data. When funding choices are to be made, there may be a perceived stark choice between allocating valuable resources to data collection and putting police officers on patrol in the streets. In the context of frequent low rates of response by developing countries to international data collection initiatives such as the United Nations Survey of Crime Trends and Operations of Criminal Justice Systems, the present article draws on the experience of practitioners to suggest ways to establish effective crime data collection systems in developing countries. The importance of capacity-building, computerization and the technical support of the relevant international actors are highlighted.

Related Subject(s): Drugs Crime and Terrorism