MASSACHUSETTS - DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION - A STATISTICAL DESCRIPTION OF COMMITMENTS TO MASSACHUSETTS HOUSES OF CORRECTION DURING 1978

• NCJ Number: 59524
• Author(s): C METZLER
• Date Published: 1979
• Length: 15 pages
• Corporate Author: Massachusetts Dept of Correction
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Publication Type: Statistics
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

COURT COMMITMENTS OF OVER 4,000 PERSONS IN MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTIONS ARE SHOWN IN THESE CORRECTIONS STATISTICS FOR 1978 WHICH INCLUDE INFORMATION ON OFFENSES, SENTENCE, PERSONAL DATA, AND NAME OF INSTITUTION.

Abstract

THE TABLES WERE DERIVED FROM DATA COLLECTED BY A CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT AND THEN CATEGORIZED BY NUMBER OF OFFENDERS, MONTH COMMITTED, PRESENT OFFENSE CATEGORIES (BOTH GENERAL AND SPECIFIC), SENTENCE, AGE AT COMMITMENT, MARITAL STATUS OF OFFENDER, AND BY INDIVIDUAL FACILITIES. OVERALL, THE STATISTICS SHOW THAT THE MAJORITY OF COMMITMENTS ARE FOR NONPERSON OFFENSES (84 PERCENT), A GREAT PROPORTION ARE PROPERTY OFFENSES (44 PERCENT), AND THE SINGLE OFFENSE FOR WHICH INDIVIDUALS WERE MOST FREQUENTLY SENTENCED IS BURGLARY (18 PERCENT). SENTENCES TO THE COUNTY CANNOT EXCEED 2.5 YEARS, AND THE MAJORITY OF OFFENSES FELL WAY BELOW THIS LIMIT WITH 52 PERCENT OF SENTENCES BEING FOR 3 MONTHS OR LESS. THE MEDIAN AGE FOR COMMITTALS WAS 23; OFFENDERS WERE USUALLY MALE (97 PERCENT); AND MOST INDIVIDUALS WERE SINGLE (66 PERCENT). TABULAR DATA AND REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED. (RFC)