NCJ Number
43817
Date Published
1977
Length
357 pages
Annotation
THE SELECTION, ESTIMATION, AND ANALYSIS OF PERFORMANCE MEASURES AS STATISTICAL DEVICES THAT AID IN THE INTERPRETATION OF DATA DRAWN FROM COURT SYSTEMS OPERATIONS ARE DISCUSSED.
Abstract
THE BROAD OBJECTIVES OF THE BOOK ARE: (1) TO IDENTIFY, SCREEN, AND EVALUATE SETS OF PERFORMANCE MEASURES (ESTIMATED FROM CASE FILES AND OTHER AGENCY RECORDS) AS INDICES OF PROGRESS; AND (2) TO DEMONSTRATE THEIR APPLICABILITY IN TWO SEPARATE JURISDICTIONS. THE STUDY CONCENTRATED ON ADULT FELONY PROCEEDINGS AND ADDRESSED ONLY PRIMARY ACTIVITIES OF THE COURT SYSTEM. TWO BROAD TYPES OF APPLICATIONS OF STATISTICAL PERFORMANCE MEASURES WERE MADE: RETROSPECTIVE COMPARISONS OF THE FULL COURT SYSTEM AND OF ITS COMPONENT AGENCIES WITHIN THE JURISDICTION AT DIFFERENT TIMES; AND RETROSPECTIVE INTERJURISDICTIONAL COMPARISONS OF COURT SYSTEMS AND COMPONENT AGENCIES AT THE SAME TIME. SELECTED TOPICS WHICH INVOLVE SIGNIFICIANT ASPECTS OF THE PERFORMANCE OF THE COURT SYSTEM INCLUDED CHANGING STANDARDS, PLEA BARGAINING, SENTENCE VARIATION, EVENHANDEDNESS. AND EFFICIENCY. THE INFORMATION WAS GATHERED FROM LITERATURE, INTERVIEWS WITH PRACTITIONERS, CASE FILES, AND OTHER RECORDS FROM VARIOUS AGENCIES. THE TEXT DISCUSSES THE SELECTION CRITERIA USED TO SCREEN CANDIDATE SETS OF MEASURES, THE SELECTED SETS OF PERFORMANCE MEASURES, AND THE DATA ELEMENTS NECESSARY FOR COMPUTING THEIR VALUE, AS WELL AS WHAT THEY CAN REVEAL AND CONCEAL ABOUT PERFORMANCE IN EACH TOPIC. THE STUDY REVEALED THAT IT IS FEASIBLE TO APPLY PERFORMANCE MEASURES TO DATA ALREADY AVAILABLE IN COURT AGENCIES' FILES, EVEN THOUGH INCOMPLETE, AND TO DRAW CONCLUSIONS ABOUT THE CHANGE IN PERFORMANCE IN SPECIFIED ISSUE AREAS IN A JURISDICTION. TO A LESSER EXTENT IT WAS SHOWN THAT IT IS POSSIBLE TO MAKE INTERJURISDICTIONAL COMPARISONS OF PERFORMANCE USING THE MEASURES SPECIFIED IN THE STUDY. AN INTEGRATED PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT PROGRAM IS PROPOSED AS AN ACTION TO BE TAKEN JOINTLY BY THE COURT, PROSECUTION, AND PUBLIC DEFENDER AGENCIES IN A JURISDICTION TO STRENGTHEN THE INFORMATIONAL AND ANALYTICAL BASE FOR MEASURING THEIR PERFORMANCE. DATA AVAILABILITY, METHODOLOGY, DESIRABLE EXTENSIONS, AND POTENTIAL CAPABILITIES OF OTHER INFORMATION SYSTEMS FOR PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT ARE DISCUSSED IN LIGHT OF FUTURE WORK. THE COSTS AND UTILITY OF VARIOUS INFORMATION SYSTEMS ARE CONSIDERED. THE DEMONSTRATION JURISDICTIONS, METHODS AND SOURCES IN DATA COLLECTION IN THE DEMONSTRATION JURISDICTIONS, DESCRIPTIONS OF VARIABLES AND RESULTS OF STATISTICAL ANALYSES, AND A LIST OF ADVISORY GROUP MEMBERS AND PRACTITIONER INTERVIEWEES ARE PRESENTED IN THE APPENDIXES.