Using criminal courts data to inform service planning
What data is available, and how can it be used to inform legal assistance service planning?
Initiated in partnership with the Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT) Ltd, the Foundation has explored the use of criminal courts statistics to define a proxy indicator of demand for criminal legal assistance in court settings.
Criminal Finalisations Dashboard
The Criminal Finalisations Dashboard is an interactive online data tool that maps and analyses trends in counts of criminal finalisations across all court locations in NSW.
The dashboard uses courts data on criminal finalisations as a proxy indicator of potential demand for legal assistance in court settings. Using data from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR), this dashboard expands on our planning tool to assist the Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT) Ltd that was developed in 2018.
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Explore counts of finalisations by level of court, by defendant’s Indigenous status and over time.
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Use the interactive map to explore potential demand for services in specific areas of interest or specific court locations.
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Use tailored groupings of court locations and view data as relevant to your needs.
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View trends over eight years at a glance.
*** This dashboard is currently under review. ***
If you have any queries about access to this tool and/or data updates, please contact the team on research@lawfoundation.net.au.
Watch the introductory video >
Explanatory Notes >
Access the dashboard >
The background research papers
The Criminal Finalisations Dashboard builds on previous work undertaken by the Foundation that explored the use of criminal courts data as a proxy indicator to estimate potential demand for legal assistance in criminal courts settings.
1. Locating legal assistance demand: using courts data to support legal service planning for First Nations people in NSW.
In 2018, the Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT) Ltd approached the Foundation to assess the use of data to support planning for their criminal practice. We analysed and mapped counts of criminal finalisations by court locations in NSW over a five-year period, and an online interactive database was created.
Read the report >
2. Using court data to support planning legal assistance services for First Nations people.
Subsequently, the Commonwealth Attorney General’s Department commissioned the Foundation to explore the possibility of expanding the model designed for NSW to the national level. We conducted a feasibility study to assess data availability across all jurisdictions and applied the model to another jurisdiction through the mapping and analysis of Queensland Courts statistics.
Read the report >
Disclaimer on the use of the Foundation's data
The Law and Justice Foundation of NSW (the Foundation) is committed to providing the legal assistance sector, the broader justice system and the public with open and transparent access to relevant data to assist with policy development and the effective planning and delivery of services. The Foundation makes every attempt to ensure accuracy, currency and reliability of data contained in its online data resources. The data used in the Foundation’s dashboards has been produced and processed from data sources and client information systems believed to be reliable, accurate and complete at the point of data extraction. However, due to the dynamic and sometimes developmental nature of data collection and measurement in the justice sector, changes in circumstances after time of publication may impact the quality of this information.
The Foundation’s data presented are in aggregated form in order to maintain the privacy and confidentiality of individuals.
The Foundation and its employees do not accept responsibility for the use any person makes of the statistical data provided on these dashboards.
The Foundation does not accept any responsibility or liability for material contained on third-party sites that reference the information in the dashboards or on this website, or for the use any person makes of such third-party information. The Foundation does not monitor these websites and makes no representations in relation to the quality or accuracy of the information on third-party websites.
