NCJ Number
75527
Date Published
1980
Length
121 pages
Annotation
This report details the formulation of the New York State Career Criminal Prosecution Program and its operation during the 17 months of the initial grant period from October 1, 1978, through February 29, 1980.
Abstract
The program is premised on the fact that a small percentage of individuals are responsible for a disproportionately large percentage of serious criminal acts. The primary program goal is to strenghten and coordinate prosecutorial capability to give priority emphasis to the identification, prosecution, conviction, and incarceration of career criminals and thereby to reduce their opportunities to commit subsequent criminal offenses. To effect this goal, priority prosecution units were established in selected district attorneys' offices across the State. The program has accepted 1,292 defendants for prosecution since inception. During the initial phase of the project, 29 prosecutors were actively engaged in the plan; by July 1979, the full staff of 39 prosecutors was in place in accepting cases. The average caseload was about 33 accepted cases and 18 dispositions per attorney. Forty-three percent of the career criminal defendants accepted into the program had prior criminal records reflecting offenses outside the county of the instant offenses, and 22.8 percent had records from other States. Fifty-seven percent of the criminals were in their 20's, as opposed to 35 percent statewide. Seventy percent had at least two prior felony arrests and one felony conviction, compared to 21 percent statewide. Fifty-one percent were on bail, probation, parole, or other legal restraint at the time of arrest. Ninety-seven percent of the 568 criteria dispositions realized by the program were convictions, 1.8 percent were acquittals, and 1.4 percent were dismissals after superior court filing. Since project inception, 97.7 percent of all sentenced career criminal defendants have received some incarceration compared to 59.7 percent statewide. The average mean prison sentence length for defendants is 6.6 years. Appendixes of detailed data are provided. (Author abstract modified)