Criminal Justice Resource Guide: Federal Government: Department of Justice

The Department of Justice plays a major role in crime prevention, seeking punishment for the guilty, enforcing immigration and naturalization laws, and prosecuting and rehabilitating offenders. Selected agency websites of this department are described below:

As the investigative arm of the Department of Justice, the FBI site contains information on major investigations, historical information, Freedom of Information Act files, statistics, and the FBI's most wanted. A number of full-text publications are available.

Data is compiled from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program (UCR), a national cooperative effort of city, county, and state law enforcement agencies that gather data on crimes. Definitions of Crime Index offenses are standardized for reporting purposes. The site includes Reports from 1995 to 2012.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics is the primary source for criminal justice statistics. It's mission is to collect, analyze, and publish information on crime, criminal offenders, victims, and the operation of justice systems at all levels. Data is available in varied formats: PDF, spreadsheets, HTML, and/or text.

Annual reports that provide detailed data on major U.S. victimization, taken from the National Crime Victimization Surveys (NCVS). Data is available from 2010 through 1995.

Established in 1988 through the Victims of Crime Act, the OVC provides federal funds to support victim compensation and assistance programs. It also provides training for professionals who work with victims. The website provides a searchable Directory of Crime Victim Services, texts of publications, and training and grant information.

Includes data and publications. Provides data on executions from 1997 through 2016. Selected data is available from the 1990s.

The NIJ is the research, development, and evaluation agency of the U.S. Department of Justice. This site provides full-text access to publications and the NIJ Journal.

The DEA is currently the main agency for enforcement of federal drug laws and holds the responsibility for pursuing U.S. drug investigations worldwide. The site provides international, national, and state drug abuse reports, federal policies, including penalties, major operations, and list of fugitives.

Developed with BJS grants, this website provides descriptions of the criminal justice systems of 45 countries up to 2003.

"NCJRS is a federally funded resource offering justice and substance abuse information to support research, policy, and program development worldwide." It is a clearinghouse of criminal justice information. Topics covered include corrections, courts, drugs, crime, international crime and policing, juvenile justice, law enforcement, and more. Offers free full-text Office of Justice publications.

Contains searchable summaries of 200,000 criminal justice publications, including 7,000+ full-text publications.

A division of the Office of Justice Programs, the OJJDP provides leadership and resources to respond to juvenile delinquency and victimization. To accomplish this, it supports states and local communities in establishing prevention and intervention programs and in improving the juvenile justice system.

The website includes extensive full-text publications

Provides basic statistical information on juvenile crime, victimization, and the juvenile justice system.