A Research Agenda for Criminal Justice in Georgia: Consensus across Agencies

Abstract

The Georgia Statistical Analysis Bureau (SAB), a joint effort of Georgia State University and state criminal justice agencies, was established to integrate and analyze criminal justice data. Its research effort is aimed at providing timely, practical information regarding the criminal justice system to policy analysts, the Governor, legislators, other elected officials, and members of the public interested in criminal justice issues. The SAB's first goal was to develop an empirically-based systematic agenda for criminal justice research in Georgia. To achieve this initial goal, the SAB conducted a mail survey of criminal justice practitioners. Across criminal justice agencies, there was a consensus regarding the research areas that the SAB should address in its initial years. This survey served as a basis for a systematic research agenda defined by the long-term interests of the entire criminal justice community. The research approach and the results reported here are valuable for criminal justice planners, policy makers, and researchers who are interested in making empirically grounded professional decisions.