Defining and Registering Criminal Offences and Measures - Oapen

Aims and Methodology of the Study 11
3.2.5 Development and distribution of the additional questionnaire, data validation and evaluation
for final and additional questionnaires, etc.
Shortly after the Bonn conference, the additional questionnaire was completed
and sent to all group participants to be filled in. Entry, check and collation of the
final questionnaire data received from national correspondents started at Lausanne
University. Parallel to this procedure the data validation process started at the
Bonn meeting was continued. National correspondents were contacted by their
regional coordinators, if problems in the information given were identified. Also,
efforts were made to receive the last missing questionnaires and to find national
correspondents for countries that were not yet covered in the 4 th edition or where
the old correspondent had not responded.
The next meeting took place in September 2008 during the conference of the
European Society of Criminology in Edinburgh. During the meeting, data validation
status and progress were discussed, as well as the (few) remaining problems
with missing correspondents and questionnaires. Relevant parts of the meeting
were used for discussion on cooperation issues. The possibilities of closer cooperation
with UNODC CTS in data validation issues were discussed in more detail,
as a follow-up to the discussion during the Bonn conference. It was agreed that
the group should pilot a small joint data validation project. This project aimed at
comparison of five key variables (intentional homicide completed, drug-related
crimes, drug trafficking, motor vehicle theft and prison population total) for 2005
and 2006 between 10 th CTS and 4 th edition ESB data for all countries covered in
both surveys. Validation was completed by the end of 2008. 26 UNODC in exchange
provided the ESB group with the 10 th CTS data of missing countries for
use in the 4 th edition ESB.
The ESB group met again with the Secretary General of the Conférence Permanente
Européenne de la Probation (CEP), Leo TIGGES, to discuss the possibilities
of a joint project on probation and community sanctions and measures. It
was agreed that there was a need to get a more in-depth look at the quite complex
reality of alternative sanctions across Europe.
The group met in October 2008 in Orta San Giulio in Italy. Raw data entry
was completed now and the group mainly discussed the results and questions
arising from the raw data tables. Also, the structure of the AGIS final report was
discussed and tasks were distributed among group members. The further produc-
26 Only results on homicide have been published by UNODC so far: UNODC: Tenth CTS, 2005-
2006: Intentional homicide, annotated with extended UNODC metadata, 2009,
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/Tenth-CTS-annotated.html. Based on this
first approach, UNODC started an initiative to introduce regular data validation routines for
CTS data. An extended pilot for data validation of 10 th and 11 th CTS variables was carried out
for UNODC by Stefan HARRENDORF and was finished in February 2010. Results are not yet
published.