About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

LOG IN
LOG IN


1 Criminal Cases in Five States, 1983-86 (Thomas Hester, ed.) 1 (1983-1986)

handle is hein.death/crcfs0001 and id is 1 raw text is: U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Statistics Criminal Cases in Five States,, 1983-86 Data from the Offender-Based Transaction Statistics (OBTS) program for California, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia show that these 5 States disposed of the cases of 1.9 million persons arrested for felonies from 1983 to 1986. Over 1.6 million of these persons (84%) were prose- cuted, and approximately 1.1 million (62%) were convicted of a felony or misde- meanor. During the 4 years more than 750,000 (39%) of these persons received a sentence to a State prison or local jail. Other findings from an analysis of these 1.9 million records of felony arrests Include the following: *The number of persons arrested per year for a felony Increased 18% from 1983 to 1986; the number of persons prosecuted rose 17%, as did the number convicted; and the number of persons sentenced to incarceration was up 28%. * Drug offenses as a group showed the largest increases: arrests were up 52%; prosecutions, 61%; convictions, 71%; and sentences to Incarceration, 104%. Property offenses showed the smallest Increases. * Of every 100 felony arrests during the period, 41 were for property crimes, 26 were for violent crimes, 17 for drug crimes, and 15 for public-order crimes. eThree-fourths of those persons prose- cuted in the five States from 1983 to 1986 were convicted. Of those convicted, September 1989 The Offender-Based Transaction Statistics (OBTS) program provides detailed data on the criminal justice processing of those arrested for felonies In participating States. For 1988 as many as 16 States may con- tribute OBTS data to BJS. This report tracks nearly 2 million felony cases disposed of In 5 States that provided comparable data from 1983 to 1986. BJS is grateful to all the States who make the OBTS program possible. Joseph M. Bessette Acting Director 18% received a sentence to probation; 14%, a sentence to a fine or other penalty without incarceration; 50%, a sentence to a local jail (usually for less than a year); and 18%, to a State prison. 9 Fifteen percent of all felony arrests for violent offenses resulted in a sentence to a State prison. The percentage of arrests concluding with a prison sentence was 10% for property offenses, 9% for drug offenses, and 4% for public-order offenses. * Most persons arrested for a felony were male (86%), white (62%), and under age 30 (66%). Summary of criminal cases In five States, 1983-86 Percent 1983 1986 change All offenses Arrests 443,504 521,786 18% Prosecutions 369,945 433,335 17 Convictions 274,842 322,808 17 Sentences Jail 120,035 157,948 32 Prison 45,845 54,632 19 Violent offenses Arrests 120,148 138,026 15% Prosecutions 98,585 111,326 13 Convictions 66,849 72,687 9 Sentences Jail 24,247 29,337 21 Prison 18,526 19,351 4 Propertyoffenses Arrests 196,269 200,609 2% Prosecutions 168,634 172,216 2 Convictions 132,143 134,948 2 Sentences Jail 64,628 72,285 12 Prison 19,591 21,300 9 Drug offenses Arrests 68,447 103,826 52% Prosecutions 50,921 81,992 61 Convictions 34,364 58,630 71 Sentences Jail 17,794 35,883 102 Prison 5,055 10,832 114 Public-order offenses Arrests 58,640 79,325 35% Prosecutions 51,805 67,801 31 Convictions 41,486 56,543 36 Sentences Jail 13,366 20,443 53 Prison 2,673 3,149 18 Note: The five States are California, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.