NCJ Number
85323
Date Published
1979
Length
15 pages
Annotation
Three plausible long-term objectives of career criminal prosecution projects (CCP's) are crime reduction, symbolic justice, and innovation in prosecution procedures.
Abstract
The short-term objectives of CCP's are generally to increase conviction and incarceration rates, increase sentence lengths and pretrial detention, and reduce disposition times. Long-term objectives have not been so generally specified. Crime reduction might be a long-term objective. Crime reduction can be achieved through deterrence or incapacitation. The deterrent effects of sanctions are their inhibiting effects on the criminal activities of potential offenders other than those sanctioned. Incapacitation effects result from offenders who would otherwise be committing crimes being restrained by incarceration. Theoretically, both deterrent and incapacitation effects should increase with increasing conviction rates, incarceration rates, or sentence lengths. Further, by zealously prosecuting those who have made a career of victimizing society, CCP's provide a visible expression of society's outrage at the behavior of career criminals and the damage it has caused. This symbolic justice is demonstrated regardless of the measured effect CCP's have on crime. The operation of CCP units can also provide a testbed for the introduction of a variety of procedures and techniques which will eventually improve the functioning of an entire office. CCP's show that attention to certain techniques and procedures can increase conviction rates and sentence severity.