Connected Data to Anticipate Crime
What can we discover when we analyse crime statistics alongside data on education, health, employment and social well-being?
Criminal activities are increasingly interconnected. Drug trafficking converges with other illicit markets, financial flows, corruption and violence. Their consequences affect communities, institutions and development opportunities.
Understanding these dynamics and anticipating risks requires information from multiple sectors.
One Platform, New Possibilities for Analysis
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) brings its expertise and international crime and justice statistics to UN Data Commons, a platform that brings together datasets from different United Nations entities.
This innovation makes it possible to explore security and justice statistics alongside indicators on education, health, employment, the economy and social development—all in one place.
Researchers and policymakers can now examine different dimensions of a problem, compare countries, identify patterns and formulate new questions to inform their decisions.
For Latin America and the Caribbean, this capability creates new opportunities to design responses that bring together prevention, security, justice and development.
35 Statistical Series to Strengthen the Evidence Base
UNODC contributes 35 statistical series, grouped into seven thematic areas, to the Governance and Peace section of UN Data Commons. These cover homicide, violence, victimization, corruption, trafficking in persons, criminal justice, illicit financial flows, firearms, environmental crime and drugs.
Their availability on Data Commons makes it possible to explore these phenomena alongside economic, social, demographic and environmental indicators, creating new opportunities to understand the links between crime and development.
From Data to Decisions
Connecting information across sectors makes it possible to:
Anticipate risks: Where do violence, social vulnerabilities and limited opportunities for young people intersect?
Target prevention: Which areas and populations would benefit from coordinated responses involving security, education and social development?
Understand illicit markets: How are their connections with violence, corruption and financial flows evolving?
Measure results: Which indicators can help assess institutional responses and improve resource allocation?
Exploring these relationships helps build more comprehensive assessments and strengthen coordination among institutions responsible for preventing violence, combating crime and promoting development.
As part of the UN80 initiative, UN System Data Commons brings together reliable statistics from 26 United Nations entities, with more than 44 million observations and 1,700 statistical series.
Its technology enables natural-language searches, cross-country comparisons and access to data covering different dimensions of development. It also allows researchers and institutions to integrate this information into their own analytical tools.
A new capability to explore connections, anticipate risks and inform evidence-based public decisions.
More Tools to Broaden and Deepen Your Analysis
UNODC Data Portal | Crime Is Changing. Discover How.
Explore the data: Find indicators and datasets on crime, drugs and justice.
Conduct research with microdata: Access microdata resources for research.
Explore your country's profile: Discover national indicators and data visualizations.
Track drug trafficking dynamics: Explore the Drugs Monitoring Platform and its information on seizures and trafficking routes.
Dive deeper into UNODC research: Access global studies, thematic reports and methodological resources.
UNODC–INEGI Victimization Atlas | Understanding People's Experiences
Explore the indicators: Visualize, compare and download data on victimization, crime reporting and perceptions of safety.
Compare countries and regions: Identify patterns and differences in victimization experiences.
Explore national surveys: Access questionnaires, survey results and methodological documentation.
Find microdata for research: Find links to available national datasets for more in-depth analysis.
Looking to strengthen the use of data for security and justice? Contact the UNODC–INEGI Centre of Excellence to explore its tools and technical assistance services.