Compiled by Deborah Hollens
Hannon Library
Government Information Resources Coordinator
Finding Government Publications in the SOU ONLINE CATALOG
You can use either a keyword or a subject search to find a topic in the Hannon Library Catalog. A keyword search is broader because it retrieves books with your words in any order in the title, subjects, and in some cases, the table of contents, of a book. A keyword search may retrieve some books which are not about your specific topic. With a subject search, the words you type in must exactly match a subject heading which has been assigned according to a list created by the Library of Congress.You can find good subject headings by performing a few keyword searches to find appropriate books for your topic. Look at the subject headings that are posted at the bottom of the cataloging record and use these to perform a subject search.
The key is: use the "MODIFY SEARCH" tab at the top of your search. From there, LIMIT your search to LOCATION by using the pull down menu at the left. LIMIT to LOCATION, GOVT PUBLICATIONS---US.
Then "submit" your search.Using the Government Printing Office Catalog
U.S. Congress
Senate and House Committee Hearings
Hearings are held by Congressional committees on specific legislation, proposed or existing, or they can be an overview of a subject or topical area. They contain testimony from expert witnesses, recent statistics, photos, letters, and sometimes even magazine or journal articles on the topic under discussion. Hearings are classed Y 4. and are shelved in the documents stacks (behind reference---area at rear of Hannon Library). You will find most of the important ones cataloged in Hannon Library's online catalog. The various committees and their SUDOCS numbers are listed on the ends of the Y 4 stacks.
Hearings are a great way to find out what the various subcommittees are working on. They identify lobby groups and executive branch players. Examples of current hearings on crime and criminal justice:
United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary. Fighting crime : the challenges facing local law enforcement and the federal role : hearing before the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, One Hundred Ninth Congress, second session, September 22, 2006, Wilmington, Delaware. Washington : U.S. G.P.O., 2007. (Y 4.J 89/2:S.HRG.109-755 )
United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary. Campus crime : compliance and enforcement under the Clery Act : hearing before the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, One Hundred Ninth Congress, second session, May 19, 2006, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Washington : U.S. G.P.O., 2006. (Y 4.J 89/2:S.HRG.109-590 )
United States. Congress. House. Committee on Government Reform. Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy, and Human Resources.Gangs, fraud and sexual predators : struggling with the consequences of illegal immigration : hearing before the Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy, and Human Resources of the Committee on Government Reform, House of Representatives, One Hundred Ninth Congress, second session, April 12, 2006. (Y 4.G 74/7:IM 6/12)
United States. Congress. House. Committee on the Judiciary. Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security. Making communities safer : youth violence and gang interventions that work : hearing before the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security of the Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives, One Hundred Tenth Congress, first session, February 15, 2007. Washington : U.S. G.P.O., 2007. Y 4.J 89/1:110-14
United States. Congress. House. Committee on Government Reform. Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy, and Human Resources. Evaluating the synthetic drug control strategy : hearing before the Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy, and Human Resources of the Committee on Government Reform, House of Representatives, One Hundred Ninth Congress, second session, June 16, 2006. Washington : U.S. G.P.O., 2007. Y 4.G 74/7:SY 7/4
United States. Congress. House. Committee on Government Reform. Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy, and Human Resources. Empowering local law enforcement to combat illegal immigration : hearing before the Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy, and Human Resources of the Committee on Government Reform, House of Representatives, One Hundred Ninth Congress, second session, August 25, 2006. Washington : U.S. G.P.O., 2007. Y 4.G 74/7:IM 6/13
Background material produced for Congress
Government Accountability Office
Government Accountability Office Reports (formerly General Accounting Office Reports) ONLINE.
GAO is the audit, evaluation, and investigative arm of the U.S. Congress. It operates independently as a source of audits and investigations of government departments, agencies, programs, and operations. It makes recommendations for more effective programs and frequently uncovers incompetence and fraud in government entities. GAO reports are done at the request of Congressional Committees and are recognized as one of the most truthful and reliable sources in government. When the GAO speaks...everyone listens!
Many GAO reports are cataloged in the Hannon Library online catalog and all are available at the GAO website.
Cybercrime : public and private entities face challenges in addressing cyber threats / report to congressional requesters by David A. Powner and Keith A. Rhodes. GA 1.13:GAO-07-705
Drug offenders : various factors may limit the impacts of federal laws that provide for denials of selected benefits : report to congressional requesters GA 1.13:GAO-05-238
- Human trafficking : a strategic framework could help enhance the interagency collaboration needed to effectively combat trafficking crimes : report to congressional requesters. GA 1.13:GAO-07-915
U.S. Assistance Has Helped Mexican Counternarcotics Efforts, but Tons of Illicit Drugs Continue to Flow into the United States. GA 1.13:GAO-07-1018
Congressional Research Service
CRS provides confidential research and non-partisan analysis to Congress on all public policy issues of interest. CRS staff are experts in many disciplines and work to explain policy problems and options.
Congressional Research Reports (Many ONLINE at Open CRS)
Congressional Research Reports (from the University of North Texas) Search about 8,000 different reports by keyword, title, author, subject, and report number, and browse by subject.
CRS Reports (from 2act) Search your topic among web accessible reports with Google
Some examples:
U.S. Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service. "Gun Legislation in the 109th Congress." CRS Report for Congress. September 15, 2006
U.S. Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service. "Immigration Consequences of Criminal Activity." CRS Report for Congress. October 23, 2006
U.S. Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service. "Internet Gambling: Overview of Federal Criminal Law." November 29, 2004
Searching the Web for Government Information and Publications
USA.gov
USA.gov is the U.S. government's official public web portal
Google U.S. Government Search (affectionately know as Google "Uncle Sam")
An easy, convenient subset of Google that includes U.S. federal, state and local sites with domains such as .gov, .mil, as well as select government sites with .com, .us, and .edu domains (eg. .usps.com, .ca.us and ndu.edu). Be sure and click on "Search Government Sites" to the left and not "Search the Web."
GovEngine.com
A Florida non-profit organization's directory of official Federal, State, and Local Government and Court Links
Government Resources (from SOU)
Web page created and maintained by the Government Information Dept. at Hannon Library. Government links of all kinds.
Crime and Criminal Justice Statistics
U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics
Access to statistical data including crime and victims, prosecution, criminal offenders, law enforcement, courts and sentencing, prosecution, expediture and employment, corrections, federal justice, etc.
U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics Publications
Alphabetical list of BJS pubs in ELECTRONIC formats
Key Crime & Justice Facts at a Glance (from the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics)
Colored charts illustrating crime and justice trends.
International Justice Statistics (from the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics)
Includes BJS publications, justice statistics from the United Nations, Official country websites and more.
Compendium of Federal Justice Statistics
Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics (U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics)
Uniform Crime Reports
Annual publication of the FBI compiling crime stats for the nation, states, and individual agencies, including arrests, clearance and law enforcement employee data.
National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD) (sponsored by the National Institute of Justice)
"Facilitates research in criminal justice and criminology, through the preservation, enhancement, and sharing of computerized data resources; through the production of original research based on archived data..."
Federal Reports
Community Policing Topics (from the U.S. Dept. of Justics. Office of Community Oriented Policing Services)
Links to short reports on current criminal justice topics, eg. gangs, identity theft, police integrity, etc., loaded with relevant links to statistics, studies and other resources.
Reports and Publications (FBI)
Full text reports on the FBI, terrorism, cyber issues, white collar crime, violent crime, law enforcement services, and statistics
National Criminal Justice Reference Service (Publications)
"NCJRS is a federally funded resource offering justice and substance abuse information to support research, policy, and program development worldwide." There are lots of full text reports here; browse by topic or keywords.
NCJRS Abstracts Database Search
"The National Criminal Justice Reference Service Abstracts Database contains summaries of more than 190,000 publications including: Federal, State, and local government reports; books; research reports; journal articles; and unpublished research. Twelve core periodicals are comprehensively abstracted, and many more periodicals are routinely examined. Subject areas include corrections, courts, drugs, law enforcement, juvenile justice, crime statistics, domestic preparedness, and victims." We can get most of these for you on ILL or many may already be included in the Depository collection here at Hannon Library.
OREGON
Oregon Annual Uniform Crime Reports
Crime statistics on Oregon counties.
Oregon Crime Data (Oregon Criminal Justice Commission)
Generate charts and graphs by crime and county for Person, Property, Behavior, and Index Crimes
Juvenile Justice Information System Annual Data & Evaluation Reports (Oregon Youth Authority)
Statistics on juvenile offenses by county with data for gender, age, and race; recidivism; detention; dispositions and restitutions.
Department of Corrections Research and Statistics
Oregon prisons and prisoners, including Measure 11 data.
State of the Cities Data Systems Crime Data Retrieval
This system provides crime data from a database derived from FBI crime data. It contains crime rates for metropolitan central/principal cities and metropolitan suburban places. Find property and violent crime statistics for Oregon cities, 1992-2003.
Oregon Sex Offender Inquiry System