United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

Data for Africa

Background

Although one fifth of the world's population lives in Africa and more than a quarter of all countries in the world are in Africa, the continent is, by far, the least documented region in terms of data and information on crime and drugs. Many African Governments are unable to supply information on the situation of drugs and crime in their country, including information requested by international drug and crime control treaties. Only 24 out of 53 countries (45 per cent) responded to the annual reports questionnaire in 2004, although the submission of such reports is mandatory under the provisions of the international drug control treaties. For crime data, the situation appears to be even bleaker. Only 7 out of 53 African countries (about 13 percent) responded to the Eighth United Nations Crime Trends Survey in 2005.

Even where figures are available, very often, due to limited capacities and resources of national authorities, they do not reflect the actual scale and extent of the problem.

The absence of reliable information contributes to the limited attention devoted to solving crime and safety problems in the region which, in turn, may hamper the development of properly targeted technical assistance. The lack of data collection systems also negatively impacts overall development of African countries and all efforts by African Governments and the international community to reverse the situation. To address these problems, the programme Data for Africa was launched in 2005. The initial duration of the programme is 3 years.

The need to improve the collection, analysis and dissemination of information on crime and drugs in Africa was also identified as the theme of one of six clusters of priority interventions in the Programme of Action for Africa 2006-2010, adopted by the Abuja Round Table on Drugs and Crime as Impediments to Security and Development in Africa (September 2005). Cluster VI of the Programme called for the urgent development of mechanisms to collect, analyze, publish and disseminate data on drugs, crime and victimization in Africa.

Programme description

The overall objective is to assist African countries and the international community in better monitoring and understanding drugs and crime problems and trends in Africa and their links with socio-economic development. Through coordination, advocacy and capacity-building for the improvement of data collection and reporting of drugs and crime data issues at national and sub-regional level, the programme will help generate better statistics, information and analysis on drugs and crime in Africa.

Activities planned for 2007 and 2008

The activities to be developed will be tied to the programme's objective of collecting, analyzing and disseminating data on drugs and crime in Africa. In 2007-2008, the main emphasis will be put on data collection, which is the fundamental building material for analysis and dessimination.

1) Increase responses to Institutional Questionnaires (ARQ, Crime Trend Survey)

To increase the responses to the institutional questionnaires (Annual Report Questionnaire on drugs and Crime Trend Survey), the programme will follow the traditional approach of trainings and workshops, identify needs for improvement of the quality of the data, and networking. The activities to be developed will complement and strengthen other UNODC initiatives, like the Global Assessment Programme and activities developed by regional offices.

2) Implement Surveys

The UN Development Account provides for the implementation of 8 national crime victim surveys. The support-project will provide the expertise for organizing and supervising these surveys, which will be implemented through national institutions (e.g. national statistics centres).

Beside the resources provided by the Development Account, additional surveys can be developed through provision of technical expertise to the data collection components of other UNODC projects.

The Crime Victim Surveys follows a standard questionnaire and a methodology that can be implemented by any institution. UNODC will therefore seek to establish contacts and collaborate with UN organisations and NGOs that already implement or could implement such surveys in Africa. The objective of this collaboration is to ensure the standardization of the surveys and the sharing of the data.

The programme is carried out in close collaboration with UNAFRI