NCJ Number
146433
Date Published
1993
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This bulletin presents a 5-year summary of crime, arrest, indictment, conviction, and sentence data that describe the fundamental activities of New York State's criminal justice system.
Abstract
One table presents statistics for total and individual Index Crimes for each of the years 1988-92, and the percentage of change over this period. Arrest statistics for the same years address total arrests, felony violent and drug offenses, and misdemeanor drug and drunk-driving offenses. Other data for this period cover felony prosecutions and sentences. Two figures portray felony and misdemeanor arrest processing for the years 1988 and 1992. The number of serious crimes reported to the police decreased 6 percent between 1988 and 1992. The decline was driven by a 7.6-percent drop in property crimes. Violent crimes were 2 percent higher in 1992 than in 1988 but were down 5.6 percent from the peak level reached in 1990. Adult arrests in 1992 were 4.4 percent below the level reported in 1988 and 7.4 percent below the record number of arrests in 1989. The proportion of felony arrests that reached the upper court for prosecution as felonies rose steadily during the last 5 years to 37 percent in 1992. Almost two-thirds of all dispositions were convictions during the last 5 years. A slightly higher proportion of convictions were at the felony level in 1992 compared to 1988, contributing to a 27.7- percent increase in the number of sentences to State prison. Sentences to local jails have decreased since peaking in 1989, resulting in a growth in alternative sentences.