Criminal Justice Administrative Records System (CJARS) Data
Nationally harmonized database that tracks criminal justice episode(s) across 24 states for an individual including arrests, court charges and dispositions, probation terms, incarceration terms, and parole terms.
Justice-involved individuals including arrestees, criminal defendants, inmates, probationers/parolees, excluding minors in the juvenile justice system
Access
CJARS data are available to researchers through the U.S. Census Bureau’s Federal Statistical Research Data Center (FSRDC) network. Researchers must first submit an initial inquiry through the ResearchDataGov portal. In order to apply to access data tagged as “restricted”, researchers should create an ICPSR MyData account and complete a ResearchDataGov research application including their resume, names and contact information for all members of the research team and a brief description of research goals. The FSRDC administrator at the location where the researcher will be conducting the research will then reach out to discuss the details of the proposal and answer any questions about the proposal process and data availability. Researchers will work with the FSRDC administrator through multiple iterations of the proposal before submitting the final proposal to the FSRDC system through the local administrator. The final proposal must include a project abstract, a project description, and a statement of the benefits to the Census Bureau. The project description should cover the research methodology, all data sources including Census provided data and how they will be linked, project output and disclosure risk, and project duration (duration of at least 36 and up to 60 months is recommended) and funding sources. Researchers can refer to the CJARS proposal guide and the Census Bureau’s FSRDC Research Proposal Guidelines for full details.
The proposal is reviewed by the Census Bureau on several criteria, as well as the CJARS team to ensure compliance with all data use agreements (DUAs) that CJARS has with data providers. Researchers will be informed by the Project Review Coordinator (PRC) of the outcome of the request, including a review synopsis, an explanation for the decision, and copies of expert reviews. If the request is approved, all researchers on the project who expect to access the data must undergo a background check including fingerprinting and be granted Special Sworn Status by the Census Bureau. Each researcher, and any new researchers added to the project after the start of the project, must also sign a written agreement with the Census Bureau that stipulates the project duration, and responsibilities of both parties and a separate agreement with the local FSRDC institution. Researchers are also required to submit a yearly progress report/interim benefits statement.
If the request is not approved, researchers may resubmit a new proposal after addressing the reviewers’ concerns and getting approval from the FSRDC administrator.
Timeline for Access
It usually takes between three to twelve months for the review of the application depending on the scope of the proposal, the number and variety of datasets, and other agencies involved. After the application has been approved, it can take up to another six months to obtain Special Sworn Status through the Census Bureau in order to access CJARS data through the FSRDC network.
Lag Time
CJARS will release an updated vintage of the data infrastructure in the FSRDC twice per year, while each data source has their own lag time.
Cost
There is no cost to using the CJARS data. However, there may be costs for accessing through the FSRDC network sites which vary by location, affiliation, and project duration. In general, all FSRDCs charge project fees for cost recovery. These fees may be waived for personnel of institutions that are affiliated with their local FSRDC. It is recommended that researchers discuss these fees with the FSRDC Administrator for the FSRDC they are requesting.
Linking
Data provider does not list specific identifiers as requirements for linking to individuals’ outcomes. Data set includes the identifiers listed below. Researchers can link to Census data using the Protected Identification Key (PIK), and link with CJARS relational databases using the CJARS person identifier.
Identifiers Available for Linking
- Protected Identification Key (PIK)
- CJARS person identifier
- Date of birth
- Sex
- Race
- Event identifier (arrests, adjudication, probation, parole, incarceration)
Linking to Outside Data Sources
Researchers can link their own data to CJARS data. All data sources and linking process need to be specified in the request proposal to the Census Bureau.
Data Contents
The CJARS data is organized into five data sets and a roster. The roster contains individual-level data, while each data sets contains data on one of five types of events: arrests, court filings (charge-level data), probation (data is at the level of a probation term), incarceration (data is at the level of an incarceration term), and parole (data is at the level of a parole term) . The availability of data may vary by year, location, and data source. See Appendix A of the variable codebook for details of the geographic and temporal coverage. See the table and variable codebook in Section 5 of the variable codebook for more information.
Partial List of Variables
Roster: Date of birth, sex, race and ethnicity
Arrest and booking: Arrest and booking date, offense that led to the arrest
Adjudication: Offense the individual was charged with, disposition information, and sentencing
Incarceration: Facility type, entry and exit dates, entry and exit type
Parole: Parole start and end dates, exit status
Probation: Probation start and end dates, exit status
Other Research Using this Data Set
Papp, Jordan, and Michael Mueller-Smith. 2021. Benchmarking the Criminal Justice Administrative Records System’s Data Infrastructure. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan. https://cjars.isr.umich.edu/benchmarking-report-download