NCJ Number
187993
Journal
Legal and Criminological Psychology Volume: 6 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2001 Pages: 121-129
Date Published
February 2001
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This article uses data from 134 sex offenders to examine critically the two main sources of criminal history data held in England and Wales and used to determine reconviction; these sources include the Offenders Index (OI) and the National Identification Service (NIS).
Abstract
The OI is accessible to independent researchers. The NIS is available to limited Home Office personnel. Results revealed a poor correlation for offense-based criminal history summaries between the two data sources. Further analysis revealed that neither source appeared more reliable than the other; each source contributed unique and additional information. However, sentencing occasion-based summaries displayed a strong relationship between the two sources. In addition, 5-year reconviction rates for the sample were higher using a combination of the two sources than when a single source was used. The analysis concluded that the NIS is not more reliable than the OI and that users of the OI should use sentencing occasion summaries rather than offense-based summaries for control group matching purposes. Findings also indicated that researchers need sound knowledge of the limitations of the data source being used. Tables, figure, and 10 references (Author abstract modified)