Characteristics of New Commitments to the Facilities of the Department of Correctional Services in 1980

• NCJ Number: 81963
• Author(s): J Bassett
• Date Published: Unknown
• Length: 62 pages
• Corporate Author: New York State Dept of Correctional Services
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Publication Type: Report (Annual/Periodic)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Volume 15, number 1

Annotation

New York inmate statistics for 1980 cover reason for commitment, county of commitment, maximum and minimum sentence, education at time of commitment, dangerous drug usage, prior adult criminal record, ethnic distribution, and marital status.

Abstract

There were 7,902 commitments (96.5 percent males and 3.5 percent females), and the median age at commitment was 25 years for males and 27.9 years for females. Felony commitments accounted for 96 percent of male commitments, with the remaining 4 percent committed as youthful offenders. Among females, 98.2 percent were felons and 1.8 percent youthful offenders. At 33.5 percent, robbery was the largest crime category for males, with burglary following at 18.3 percent. Robbery accounted for 22.1 percent of female commitments, followed closely by dangerous drug offenses at 20.4 percent. About 64 percent of commitments were from New York City, with an additional 13 percent coming from the suburbs of New York City. Over one-half of male commitments (51.3 percent) had maximum sentences of less than 5 years compared to 58.1 percent of female commitments. Of the females, 8.6 percent had received maximum terms of life imprisonment, while only 6 percent of males had life sentences. Better than seven out of ten commitments had failed to complete high school. Of male commitments, 59.6 percent were drug users, and 49.6 percent of female commitments had a history of prior drug use. A little less than 12 percent of male commitments had no prior adult criminal record, and 25 percent of females committed had no prior adult criminal records. A total of 48.6 percent of male commitments were black, while 30.4 percent were white and 20.6 percent were Puerto Rican. Of females committed, 57.1 percent were black, 29.3 percent white, and 13.6 percent Puerto Rican. Slightly over 57 of the males had never been married at the time of their commitment, and 45 percent of the females were single. For each characteristic, a chart, summary table, analysis, and relevant cross tabulations are provided. (Author summary modified)