NCJ Number
97151
Date Published
1981
Length
10 pages
Annotation
To obtain more information about assaults on Nebraska law enforcement officers, the Nebraska Crime Commission analyzed 586 assaults reported in the Uniform Crime Reports for 1977-79. Each case, filed as a felony, misdemeanor, or as no complaint, was followed through prosecution to final disposition.
Abstract
There were 532 police agency requests for felony and misdemeanor complaints for assaulting an officer or resisting arrest. Approximately one-third of the assaults were serious enough to warrant medical services. Responding agencies reported a loss of 5,946 manhours costing $46,434 due to assaults during the 3-year period. Agencies requested misdemeanor charges on 64 percent of the assaults. Of the requests for felony charges, approximately half were filed as felonies; 416 (78 percent) cases went to court, and 84 percent resulted in convictions. In those cases in which a felony complaint was requested and filed by the prosecutor, the average fine was $198, average jail sentence 214 days, and average probation period 516 days. When a misdemeanor complaint was requested and filed as such, the average fine was $68, average jail sentence 28 days, and average probation period 354 days. For 54 assaults for which no complaint was requested but resulted in a misdemeanor filing, the average fine was $122, average jail sentence 23 days, and average probation period 401 days. The commission recommends restoration of a statute that treats assault upon a law enforcement officer as a separate and distinct offense. A proposed statute is included. Appendixes contain a review of laws and requests for complaints to be filed.