NCJ Number
82168
Date Published
1981
Length
76 pages
Annotation
The Jackson County, Mo., Comprehensive Career Criminal Program (CCCP), a program designed to increase case filings and convictions for repeat offenders, is described and evaluated.
Abstract
The ultimate objective of the CCCP was to reduce the crime rate by reducing the number of active career criminals in the county. This objective was to be achieved by (1) increasing career criminal identification through better case selection and screening, (2) improving case preparation and prosecution by cooperative investigations with police patrol officers and detectives and by vertical prosecution of case assignments, (3) decreasing charge reductions by limiting plea bargaining, (4) decreasing elapsed time for adjudication through the adoption of speedy trial rules, (5) increasing sentence length through active police and prosecutor contributions to the presentence investigation process, and (6) increasing career criminal incarceration through police and prosecutor input during parole hearings. Any defendant in a murder, rape, robbery, or assault case with one prior felony or two prior misdemeanor convictions qualified for prosecution as a career criminal. Compared to the control group, those processed under CCCP had a significantly higher conviction rate. Prison sentences were also given significantly more often for those processed under CCCP than for the control group. The crime rate in the county rose throughout the program period, showing that the program's broad objective was unquantifiable and unrealistic. Career criminal classification forms and criminal code changes are appended and tabular data are provided.