NCJ Number
156756
Date Published
1995
Length
19 pages
Annotation
A cost analysis of the establishment of the Rapid Indictment Program (RIP) for felony offenses in Cincinnati concludes that the program is both efficient and cost- effective.
Abstract
The program eliminates all preliminary hearings and takes cases directly to the grand jury and RIP Unit. As a result, the Police Division saves on the costs associated with thousands of annual court appearances. An analysis of police records revealed an annual reduction or redirection of expenditures totaling more than $752,000. Without the redirected efforts, annual benefits of about $631,000 should be achieved. Most of the benefit results from the 86 percent reduction in the number of court appearances by police officers; the rest resulted from a combination of the effects of RIP and the implementation of schedule rotations. A difference in average cost per court appearance resulted form the relative redistribution of on-duty versus off-duty court appearances. Other benefits of RIP include the reduction in the average amount of time that an officer spends in a court appearance and the reduction in the ratio of earned hours to actual hours worked. Tables and figures