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Exploring the training session for the CARDs Project focusing on police training in the Western Balkans, led by a seasoned consultant with expertise in crime statistics and international standards.
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PAT MAYHEW DEVELOPMENT OF MONITORING INSTRUMENTS FOR JUDICIAL AND LAW ENFORCEMENT INSTITUTIONS IN THE WESTERN BALKANS PHASE 3 – POLICE TRAINING Albania, 17th – 18th November 2010
SESSION 1 WELCOME & INTRODUCTION • Introductions • Where this training fits into the CARDS Project • How the sessions are organised
MY BACKGROUND • Retired freelance consultant • Previously Director of Crime and Justice Research Centre, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand • Consultant Criminologist, Autralian Institute of Criminology • Research Fellow, National Institute of Justice, USA • Most of career – UK Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate • Managed and did research • Ran the British Crime Survey • Responsible for statistics on police-recorded crime • And other police figures - e.g. detections, arrests, police manpower • International comparative work
WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO ACHIEVE IN THE TRAINING • To understand the skills and needs of participants • To share my 30+ years experience of crime and justice statistics • To prepare for the next CARDS visit • For anyone who would like to keep in contact… • mayhew3@btinternet.com
INTRODUCTIONS FROM PARTICIPANTS • Name, organisation, position • What you would like to achieve from the training • Any other useful information • Any comments on the proposed agenda
THE THREE PHASES: PHASE 1 (RESEARCH) • Setting out relevant international standards • Getting picture of strengths & weaknesses of data collection systems • Identifying gaps and needs of statistical systems • It involved: • Desktop research • 7 research missions • Main output: • Technical Assessment Reports for 7 countries / territories
PHASE 2 (GUIDELINES) • To identify common data collection challenges • To discuss and adopt specific draft programme guidelines • To agree a set of regional indicators • To prioritise training needs and adopt outlines of training programmes • It involved: • Preparation of draft Programme Guidelines • Feedback from project countries / territories • Discussion and adoption at First Regional Workshop • Main output: • Programme Guidelines adopted
PHASE 3 (TRAINING) – CURRENT STAGE • To design and deliver targeted training activities • To improve national capacities to record and report crime-related statistics in line with international standards • To identify areas for further work and improvements • It involves: • Training carried out by international experts together with national focal points and national counterparts • Training delivered to police, prosecution, courts, and institutions in areas of migration / asylum / visa
FIRST REGIONAL WORKSHOP (SKOPJE, MAY 2010) • Goals • To present the technical assessment reports • To identify common data collection challenges • To adopt specific draft guidelines • To prioritise training needs • To adopt outlines of the training program • To agree on a set of regional indicators
CONCLUSIONS: SOME CHALLENGES FOR CCJ STATISTICAL SYSTEMS IN WESTERN BALKANS • Those relevant to the police • Need better computerised systems to record data • Defining clear written counting rules to record crime incidents • Training all responsible staff with regard to implementation • Enhancing statistical analysis of the data collected • Improving public dissemination of the data collected
RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE PROGRAMME GUIDELINES Handout # 1 has more details
SESSION 2 VALID DATA AND INTERNATIONAL REPORTS OF POLICE DATA • The need for valid data and common standards • Three main international compilations of police figures
THE NEED FOR VALID POLICE STATISTICS • Collecting police statistics is expensive • The money is wasted unless the figures are • valid • informative • properly analysed • Good police statistics • Allow the police to account for themselves to Parliament, the public and the media – showing what the police are doing • Enable the police to see what is happening with crime in their own country - you need to know ‘the facts’ • Show how each area is doing
THE NEED FOR VALID POLICE STATISTICS (2) • BUT good police statistics • Need to be given to managers • In a routine manner • In a way managers can understand • Need to be comparable within your own jurisdiction • across different areas • and over time • ideally, also need to be comparable with other jurisdictions
IMPORTANCE OF INTERNATIONAL COMPARATIVE DATA • Shows governments where they need to concentrate efforts • Can show local populations where they are doing well, and not so well • Can show where statistics infrastructure needs development (including publication)
ROLES PLAYED BY INTERNATIONAL GROUPS • The main roles are: • Giving guidelines for collecting criminal justice statistics • Especially common standards • Giving training in the presentation and use of the statistics • Organising the collection of the statistics • From appropriate contact(s) in different countries • Which are then collated by a central authority • Publishing comparative statistics on various aspects of crime and justice
COMMON STANDARDS FOR POLICE STATISTICS • Work developing fast within the UN and the EU • Guidance manuals from the UN and EU (massive!) • But there are considerable difficulties in reaching comparability because of: • Different legal frameworks and definitions of offences • Different policing and prosecutorial arrangements • Differing capacities in criminal justice agencies • Different operational requirements that the statistics serve • Different counting rules (Session 3)
INTERNATIONAL REPORTS • Not very long-standing • All come with substantial caveats • World Health Organisation – covers violence (probably least comparable) • Three main ones are: • United Nations Survey on Crime Trends and the Operation of the Criminal Justice System (UN – CTS) • European Sourcebook • Eurostat: Statistics in Focus – Crime and Criminal Justice
SESSION 3 PARTICULAR ISSUES FROM THE RECOMMENDATIONS • Present consistency in recording crime data in Albania • Are there any written rules? • Considerations for written rules • Resource and training implications • Particular information on supects and victims
PRESENT CONSISTENCY OF CRIME RECORDING IN ALBANIA • DISCUSSION • INFORMATION FROM TRAINEES
COUNTING RULES IN POLICE STATISTICS Written counting rules to regulate the way in which data are recorded for police statistics is recommended. There is some ‘best practice’ guidance • What we know is that • Some countries have written rules; some do not • In the WB, only Croatia, Serbia and FYROM have written rules • There are NO CONSISTENT counting rules across the Western Balkans, or across other countries
WHAT ARE THE MAIN COUNTING RULES? • When data are recorded for crime statistics • Input statistics - data are included when crime incident is reported to police • Intermediate statistics - some point between input and the output • Output statistics - when police have completed the investigation • The application of the principal offence rule • The recording of multiple offences • The recording of offences committed by more than one person
WHEN ARE DATA COLLECTED The main thing is to know is thatthere are input statistics, the crime count is higher However, see Recommendation # 2
When data are recorded across European countries - 1999-2007 Source: European Sourcebook and CARDS’ TARs European countries: The majority of European countries has input statistics Nine out of thirty-six countries use output statistics Twelve record intermediate statistics Western Balkans: the majority of WBs presents intermediate statistics, Albania, Croatia and Serbia present output statistics.
THE PRINCIPLE OFFENCE RULE (POR) International guidelines suggest it may be appropriate to apply a POR when counting and reporting offences Written counting rules should say whether a POR rule is applied or not • In the Western Balkans, only Albania applies a POR • In other Western countries, about half apply a POR, and half do not • Ideally,the POR should be consistent across agencies – police, prosecutors, courts • BUT changing to a POR will reduce the crime count, and cause a ‘break’ in the crime statistics series The main thing is to know is that if there is no POR, the crime count is higher
Application of the Principal Offence Rule - 1999-2007 Source: European Sourcebook and CARDS’ TARs European countries: About half apply a POR, and half do not Western Balkans: only Albania applies the POR.
MULTIPLE OFFENCES • What happens when a victim reports more than one offence at the same time? For example, different incidents of domestic violence... • In all the Western Balkans, the rules are that all offences are counted, with the exception of Albania • The important thing is for the rules to be understood and consistently applied
Recording of multiple offences (serial offending) - 1999-2007 Source: European Sourcebook and CARDS’ TARs European countries: the majority records multiple offences as two or more offences Western Balkans situation: the majority of WBs records multiple offences as two ore more offences. Only Albania records them as one offence. 33
MULTIPLE OFFENDERS / SUSPECTS If there is more than one offender involved in an offence, six of the Western Balkans countries count one offence In Kosovo under UNSCR 1244, the number of offences = the number of offenders The main thing to know is that if serial offending is recorded as two or more offences, the crime count is higher But In terms of suspects, it is reasonable to count two
Recording of multiple offenders (suspects) - 1999-2007 Source: European Sourcebook and CARDS’ TARs European countries: Most count only one offence when more than one person commit it. Western Balkans situation: All the WBs record one offence except Kosovo under UNSCR 1244 who records them as two or more offences.
OTHER COUNTING RULES ISSUES DOC. N. 6: HOME OFFICE COUNTING RULES IS USEFUL Some issues are: • Whether to record a crime, misdemeanour, or incident at all? • ‘No crime-ing’ after recording • ‘Evidenced-based’ recording or ‘prima facie’ recording (i.e. taking the victim’s word) • Crimes per victim or per episode?– e.g. shoplifting in several shops • Classification and re-classification WHAT IS CURRENTLY MOST OFTEN DONE MAY BE THE BEST STARTING POINT FORFORMALISING WRITTEN RULES
RESOURCE AND TRAINING IMPLICATIONS • Who would take the lead in formulating written rules? • How would prosecutors be involved? • What learning opportunities would personnel be given? • What testing mechanisms would be put in place? • How would the written rules be revised? DISCUSSION
VICTIM OFFENDER RELATIONSHIPS • Victim-offender relationships • Relevant to Recommendations # 2 • Relevant to Pilot Data Collection Exercise
VICTIM-OFFENDER RELATIONSHIPS See Handout # 3 INTERNATIONAL CRIME VICTIMISATION SURVEY 1 Spouse, partner (at the time) 2 Ex-spouse, ex-partner (at the time) 3 Boyfriend (at the time) 4 Ex-boyfriend (at the time) 5 Relative 6 Close friend 7 Someone he/she works/worked with 8 None of these 9 Refuses to say
VICTIM-OFFENDER RELATIONSHIPS See Handout # 3 UN MANUAL FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SYSTEM OF CRRIMINAL JUSTICE STATISTICS (pp. 55 AND 60)
VICTIM-OFFENDER RELATIONSHIPS • The primary interest is in: • People known to each other >>> not known to each other • Important for ‘stranger violence’ • People who are (or were) partners (‘partner violence’) • Violence by ex-partners seen as important as violence by current partners • People who are in a domestic relationship ranging wider than partners (‘domestic violence’) • There are several possible classification
VICTIM-OFFENDER RELATIONSHIPS – OTHER ISSUES • Relationship can only be recorded if there is a relationship offences • Relationships when there is more than one victim? • Relationships when there is more than one offender? • Whose account of the relationship does one take – the offender or the victim’s? • DISCUSSION
ETHNICITY AND CITIZENSHIP • Ethnicity and citizenship • Recommendation # 2 • Relevant to Pilot Data Collection Exercise • Recommendation #2 asks for citizenship to be collected for suspects and victims • Pilot Data Collection Exercise asks for citizenship and ethnicity to be collected for suspects and victims • Citizenship is a data field in the police recording form for suspects? • How well is this completed? • Would there be problems with recording ethnicity? • DISCUSSION
RECIDIVISM OF OFFENDERS (1) • Recidivism of offenders • Relevant to Pilot Data Collection Exercise • See Handout # 5 (Pilot Data Collection Exercise) • It is unusual to report on offender recidivism in publications on ‘crime statistics’ • More often reported in relation to prosecution or courts statistics • There are some problems • What is a recidivist? What counts? • Anyone previously arrested? • Only those previously sanctioned? But what about police warnings and cautions?
RECIDIVISM OF OFFENDERS (2) • See Handout # 5 • The Pilot Data Collection Exercise seems problematic • Asks for “recidivists of the same offence”. What is the same offence? • What if the suspect is recidivist of the same offence AND another offence? The totals won’t add up. • DISCUSSION
SUGGESTED REGIONAL CRIME INDICATORS • See Handout # 4 • The following offence types are considered core crimes to be covered in 12th UN Survey by the end of 2010: • Intentional Homicide • Violent Crime • Assault • Sexual Violence • Rape • Robbery • Property Crime • Theft • Motor Vehicle Theft • Burglary • Domestic Burglary/Housebreaking • Drug Possession/Use • Drug Trafficking • Kidnapping for Ransom
OFFENCES FOR THE PILOT DATA COLLECTION EXERCISE Which of these is going to cause problems? How far are the definitions in footnotes in Handout # 5 the same?
