NCJ Number
151985
Journal
Criminal Justice Indicators Issue: 5 Dated: (October 1994) Pages: complete issue
Date Published
1994
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This bulletin presents a 5-year summary of crime, arrest, indictment, conviction, and sentence data that characterize New York State's criminal justice system.
Abstract
The bulletin indicates that the number of serious crimes reported to the police decreased by 10.3 percent between 1989 and 1993. Property crimes fell by 11.4 percent, while violent crimes were down 5.1 percent. Murder was the only index offense to be at a higher level in 1993 than in 1989, but the murder rate was down 8.4 percent from a record high in 1990. Adult arrests in 1993 were 1 percent below the level reported in 1992 and 8 percent below the record number of arrests in 1989. The rate of decline in arrests for felony offenses over the 5-year period was almost triple that for misdemeanor offenses. The proportion of felony arrests that reached the upper court for prosecution as felonies was 11 percent higher in 1993 than in 1989. The number of felony indictments peaked in 1990 and then steadily fell each year. Violent felony indictments were 2 percent higher in 1993 than in 1989, while drug indictments declined by 20 percent since peaking in 1989. Over the 1989- 1993 period, almost two-thirds of all dispositions were convictions. A 5 percent drop occurred in the number of sentences to State prison. Sentences to local jail facilities declined after peaking in 1989, resulting in an overall growth in alternative sentences. 4 tables and 8 figures