NCJ Number
143565
Journal
Justice Quarterly Volume: 9 Issue: 1 Dated: (March 1992) Pages: 5-46
Date Published
1992
Length
42 pages
Annotation
Criminal justice statistics from England and the United States are compared for 1981 and 1986-87 to estimate how many people go through the criminal justice system at each stage, from criminal act to imprisonment.
Abstract
Results revealed that property crimes increased markedly between 1981 and 1986-87 in England, but violent crimes did not increase significantly. In the United States, both property crimes and violent crimes decreased markedly. The probability that an offender would be convicted and sentenced to custody decreased markedly for property crimes and increased slightly for violent crimes in England. In contrast, in the United States this probability increased greatly for both types of crime. One possible cause of the property crime increase in England during this period is the reduced risk of conviction and imprisonment. In addition, violent crime rates may not have increased markedly in England due to the increased risk of conviction and custody for violent offenders. Similarly, the greatly increased risk of conviction and incarceration is one possible cause of the decrease in crime in the United States. Tables, appended discussion of data sources, and 98 references (Author abstract modified)