Justice releases new data online

The Justice Department is posting online not previously released data as part of the Obama administration's open government initiative. The information, which will be available on the department's Web site and at www.data.gov, includes statistics on crime victimizations, information about compensation for radiation victims, and final reports from federal bankruptcy trustees.

""The information we are making available today represents another step in our ongoing commitment toward becoming a more open and accessible Justice Department to the public, the media, academia and others interested in what we do every day," Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli said Friday in a news release.

The data released by the Justice Department includes a 2008 survey of 76,000 households on the frequency, characteristics and consequences of instances of crime in the United States. The data is used to "estimate the likelihood of victimization by rape, sexual assault, robbery, assault, theft, household burglary and motor vehicle theft for the population as a whole," the department said.

The department also released three reports on the Radiation Exposure Compensation Program, which will allow those who have been exposed to radiation from a past nuclear test to use information to more easily resolve their claims for restitution. Justice also said it would be releasing more information in the future including data from the Federal Bureau of Prisons on the incidents of assault on inmates and staff.