The International Classification of Crime for Statistical Purposes (ICCS)

1. The International Classification of Crime for Statistical Purposes (ICCS) Angela Me, Chief Research and Trend Analysis Branch UNODC

3. The Classification framework • A framework to describe what a “radar system” should detect: from an accounting system to a statistical system as a more analytical and policy-relevant tool • A system to compile, disseminate and analyze comparable data across countries, across sub-national jurisdictions, across national criminal justice systems, and across sources • Primary unit of classification is the act or event which constitutes a criminal offence • The description of criminal acts is based on behaviours/events, not on legal provisions

4. How can the ICCS improve crime data and analysis? The ICCS allows to: • Build a comprehensive statistical framework on all criminal offences to facilitate the collection of data for a better analysis of different crime types • Expand and systematize incomplete data collections • Clarify what is to be included/excluded

5. How can the ICCS improve crime data and analysis? The ICCS allows to: • Improve comparability across countries and through time • Statistical time series will not change each time a law is changed • It will be possible to compare time trends of the same crime in different jurisdictions as the categories are not based on legal definitions (ex: homicidiodoloso; robo/hurto; secuestro)

6. How can the ICCS improve crime data and analysis? The ICCS allows to: • Provide statistical definitions of transnational crimes, complex crimes and emerging forms of crime in different countries • Examples include drug possession/drug trafficking and cultivation; wildlife crime; trafficking in persons; trafficking in firearms, cybercrime

7. How can the ICCS improve crime data and analysis? The ICCS allows to: • Improve data consistency between the entities of Federal States as the basis of a common national crime classification • Especially large countries such as Mexico, Brazil, USA often face the issue of different legal codes in their component States

8. How can the ICCS improve crime data and analysis? The ICCS allows to: • Improve comparability across successive stages of the criminal justice process • Data produced by police, prosecution, courts and prison administrations are only comparable if they use the same classifications, the ICCS provides a common framework

9. How can the ICCS improve crime data and analysis? The ICCS allows to: • Improve the analytical capacity of countries through a common set of analytical categories (disagreggations) • This is a minimum set of disagreggations based on best practices worldwide and provides important data on the characteristics of • Offences • Victims • Perpetrators

10. Understanding homicide typologies to better prevent them • Homicide related to other criminal activities • Interpersonal homicide • Socio-political homicide

11. Understanding homicide typologies to better prevent them Percentage of OC/gang-related homicides out of total homicides, by region (2011) • Homicide linked to criminal groups: 30% of homicides in the Americas Source: UNODC Homicide Statistics (2013).

12. Homicide typologies in selected countries (2001-2012) • Variety of different regional and national experiences • Crime-related in Americas • Interpersonal-related in Europe •  No “one size fits all” approach Source: UNODC elaboration of data from the Jamaica Constabulary Force (2008-2011); UNODC elaboration of data from the Government of Costa Rica (2006-2012); National Crime Records Bureau India, Crime in India (2001-2012); European Homicide Monitor (2003-2006).

13. Homicide typologies: Regional patterns (cont’d) • Intimate partner/family-related homicide: 14% of all homicides (2012) • Greater intensity in Americas (higher rate), larger share of all homicides in Asia, Europe, Oceania • 2/3 of all victims are female • 47% of all female victims of homicide are killed by these perpetrators • Those most at risk: women aged 30+ • Very stable form of homicide

14. Homicide mechanisms, by region (2012) • Firearms account for 2/3 of all homicides in the Americas • Sharp objects used in more than 50% of all homicides in Oceania Source: UNODC Homicide Statistics (2013) and the IHME (2012).

15. Worldwide demand for an international crime classification • At every national and international public forum on crime, the demand is made for better and comparable data on crime to support evidence-based policies on crime • After a six year long process, that involved inputs from 77 countries, many of them from the Americas, the ICCS presents a tool to make significant progress in this area • Many countries are already actively engaged with UNODC to implement the ICCS – some are piloting the development of “correspondence tables” that will map national crime categories into the ICCS • The ICCS is also supported by regional organizations – e.g. the EU/Eurostat will produce an EU manual for mapping national crime data to the ICCS and will offer training to European countries on the ICCS; and the Secretariat of the OAS supports countries through information and awareness raising activities

16. Better statistics to better inform policy makers

17. Thank you for your attention ! Website: https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/statistics/iccs.html Contact: ICCS@unodc.org CTS@unodc.org michael.jandl@unodc.org