NCJ Number
206648
Journal
Justice Research and Policy Volume: 6 Issue: 1 Dated: Spring 2004 Pages: 1-18
Date Published
2004
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This study examined trends in the severity of offenses committed by arrestees in Florida between 1984 and 2002.
Abstract
Although Florida has experienced a decline in total crime rates and violent crime rates since 1989, the widespread perception among the public, law enforcement personnel, and the courts is that offenders in Florida commit more serious and more violent crimes than ever before. In order to examine the legitimacy of this perception, the Statistical Analysis Center in Florida examined the Computerized Criminal History data of over 8 million felony arrest crimes and nearly 3 million arrestees from 1984 through 2002. Individual arrest histories were calculated on the basis of arrest events and a seriousness scale was developed to measure the relative seriousness of individual’s police encounters over time. Results of statistical analyses reveal that the police are encountering the same types of offenders today that they did almost 20 years ago. In fact, the findings indicate that the peak seriousness score of today’s Florida arrestee is actually less serious than those of 1984. Frequency and crime seriousness indicators showed increases in the frequency of arrest events in individual criminal careers, but decreases were noted in the seriousness and level of violence of crimes, particularly over the past decade. The results indicated a relationship between determinate sentencing and the decline in arrestee seriousness since 1994. This particular finding is interesting and should be pursued in future research as the current analysis is insufficient for drawing steadfast conclusions on the impact of determinate sentencing policies. The authors conclude that, based on the findings, the perception that Florida’s arrestees are more violent and serious than past arrestees is not consistent with the facts. Figures, tables, references, appendix