The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Deliquency (PCCD) has launched a new website that will give the public better access to crime-related data.
The website is a clearinghouse for state and county justice statistics, data trends, and PCCD-funded research and evaluations. The site includes general information about crime in specific communities, including number of arrests, types of offenses, and the number of people incarcerated and paroled. The information is free and open to the public.
Lee Ann Labecki, Director at the Office of Research Evaluation and Strategic Policy Development, said this new website consolidates sources of information that were previously available.
"You can get data from the Department of Corrections, the Board of Probation and Parole, the Commission on Sentencing, State Police, the Juvenile Court Judges Commission, and PCCD, but the difference is it's all in one location," Labecki said.
PCCD's mission is to enhance the quality and coordination of criminal and juvenile justice systems, facilitate the delivery of services to victims of crime and increase community safety. Labecki thinks the new website will be a great tool for this, and will help both the public and law enforcement agencies alike.
Labecki said it cuts down on individual requests that the organization gets and makes sure that individuals can, "get information as they need it and we make sure people get information when they want it."
The project was partly funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, which provides annual support for state justice programs.
