Effect of Weapons Use on Felony Case Disposition - An Analysis of Evidence From the Los Angeles PROMIS (Prosecution Management Information System) System

• NCJ Number: 85097
• Author(s): P H Rossi; E Weber-Burdin; H T Chen
• Date Published: 1981
• Length: 92 pages
• Grant Number(s): 78-NI-AX-0120
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Justice (NIJ); US Dept of Justice NIJ Pub
• Corporate Author: University of Massachusetts
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

An analysis of 80,000 felony case prosecutions in Los Angeles during an 18-month period in 1977-78 found that cases in which a gun was involved are more likely to be prosecuted through the entire system and upon conviction to receive harsher sentences.

Abstract

The use of PROMIS data allowed analysis of disposition at various stages of case processing and provided a number of important variables about weapon type and offender characteristics. A random sample of 5,000 felony cases initially presented to the district attorney showed that 13.9 percent involved a gun at the time of the offense, 9.8 percent involved another weapon, 60.4 percent involved no weapon, and 15.9 percent were unknown. The effect of the presence of a gun on the stages of court disposition was analyzed through multivariate techniques in which the other case factors that influenced case outcome were controlled. These factors included the offender's prior arrest record, sex, age, race, and employment status. Thirteen tables, 19 notes, and 13 references are provided; variable descriptions and logistic model results are appended. (Author abstract modified)