NCJ Number
171144
Date Published
1998
Length
140 pages
Annotation
This Atlas provides justice system policymakers and administrators with statistical data on trends in crime, sentencing, and corrections in the 50 States and the District of Columbia in preparation for a National Workshop on Sentencing and Corrections Challenges.
Abstract
These trends will provide a useful backdrop for the workshop policy discussions on how best to deal with crime and punishment in the coming years. Since much of crime policy is implemented at the State level, the first part of the Atlas provides information for each of the 50 States and the District of Columbia. Graphs in this section present an overview of population, crime, and sentencing trends in each State. In addition, the statistical data for most of the States are accompanied by a summary of some of the key sentencing and corrections initiatives implemented by the State during that time period. Each State display begins with a graph of the past trends and future projections of the size of the age group most likely to be involved in crime: 15 to 24-year- olds. The next three graphs depict 22-year trends in reported crime rates for the most serious violent and property crimes. The next graph shows the percentage of violent and property arrests of offenders under the age of 18 over a 13-year period ending in 1996. Changes in crime rates and arrests, along with the implementation of the types of policy initiatives shown for each State, produce corresponding changes in other components of the justice system. The next two graphs show the effects of these changes on the numbers of adults entering prison, incarcerated in prison, and supervised in the community on probation or parole. The last graph shows how expenditures for major components of the justice system (courts and legal, corrections, and law enforcement) have changed from 1983 to 1993. Extensive graphic data