NCJ Number
57968
Date Published
1978
Length
45 pages
Annotation
A STUDY OF THE PULLMAN, WASH., POLICE DEPARTMENT FILES FOUND THAT STUDENTS GENERALLY RECEIVED THE SAME SENTENCES AS NONSTUDENTS IN SHOPLIFTING CASES BUT MORE NONSTUDENTS RECEIVED DEFERRED PROSECUTION FOR INTOXICATED DRIVING.
Abstract
THIS STUDY REPLICATED A STUDY COMPLETED EARLIER USING THE FILES OF THE MOSCOW, IDAHO, MUNICIPAL COURT. THE IDAHO STUDY RESEARCHED 100 CASES OF DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF ALCOHOL AND DRUGS AND 89 CASES OF SHOPLIFTING. NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES WERE FOUND BETWEEN SENTENCES RECEIVED BY STUDENTS AND THOSE RECEIVED BY NONSTUDENTS. THIS STUDY RESEARCHED 155 CASES, 50 CHARGED WITH SHOPLIFTING AND 105 WITH DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF INTOXICATING LIQUOR OR DRUGS. OF THESE, 73 WERE STUDENTS AND 82 WERE NONSTUDENTS. THE SAME WEIGHTED ANALYSIS USED IN THE EARLIER STUDY WAS USED FOR THIS DATA. CONSISTENT WITH THE MOSCOW, IDAHO, FINDINGS, THERE WERE NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN SENTENCES RECEIVED BY STUDENTS AND BY NONSTUDENTS FOR SHOPLIFTING. FOR DRIVING WHILE INTOXICATED THE LEVEL OF SIGNIFICANCE WAS EXCEEDED FOR ONLY ONE CATEGORY--DEFERRED PROSECUTION (PROSECUTION NOT PURSUED IF THE DEFENDANT SOUGHT TREATMENT AND DID NOT LAPSE FOR A SPECIFIED PERIOD OF TIME). OF 19 DEFENDANTS RECEIVING THIS SENTENCE, 17 WERE NONSTUDENTS AND 15 WERE OVER AGE 25. ALTHOUGH NOT A DIRECT TOPIC OF RESEARCH, THIS STUDY FOUND IMPORTANT SENTENCING DISPARITIES BETWEEN THE PULLMAN MUNICIPAL COURT AND THE MOSCOW COURT. IN MOSCOW 40 PERSONS WERE SENTENCED TO HARD TIME, COMPARED TO 2 IN PULLMAN; THE LATTER MADE MUCH GREATER USE OF COMMUNITY SERVICE ORDERS AND OTHER ALTERNATIVES. TABLES PRESENT THESE STUDY STATISTICS WHILE APPENDIXES CONTAIN ADDITIONAL DATA AND REFERENCES.