Cross-national comparisons and benchmarking of crime and criminal justice (CCJ) data provide real opportunities for countries to learn from each other and assess their own efforts to address CCJ challenges. However, there are numerous data sets from which to choose and making such comparisons is a complex endeavour. Comparisons must be undertaken and reported carefully to inform evidence-based policies and changes.

To promote these efforts in the field of CCJ policy, European Commission Directorate-General Home Affairs (DG HOME) commissioned RAND Europe to create a framework for developing a European Crime Report (ECR). The main aims of this study are to inform on the available data and reports for which to build an ECR; clarify analytical challenges in writing an ECR; and outline design and implementation options for an ECR. This report will be of interest to government officials, policy analysts and academics and researchers seeking to understand and address CCJ challenges at the local, regional, national and international levels.