NCJ Number
164481
Date Published
1996
Length
44 pages
Annotation
This report provides statistics that portray the larger picture of crime and criminal justice in America, with the base year being generally 1990 and the point of comparison being the latest year for which comparable data are available, usually 1994.
Abstract
The data reported come from many well-regarded sources that typically report on selective aspects of crime or the criminal justice response for a given period. There is no attempt to analyze the underlying causes for the trends observed or to offer recommendations for responding to them. Data show that crime and crime rates remain high but are somewhat lower than they have been in recent years. Arrest trends for serious crimes continue to reflect trends in offenses known to the police; however, slight decreases in drug use are not reflected in drug offense arrests, which continue to increase. Increases in the number of inmates continue to grow significantly faster than increases in arrests for serious property offenses, violent offenses, and drug offenses; much of the prisoner increase is due to drug offenders. New laws are restricting judicial discretion and specifying prison sentences that are required to be imposed and served in full or in substantial part; violent offenders are serving longer prison terms. Correctional populations continue to increase significantly. Prisons house increasing numbers of violent inmates, older inmates, inmates with HIV and AIDS, drug users, and females; prison overcrowding continues to escalate, as does the cost of prisons. Despite a slight decrease in juvenile arrest rates for violent offenses between 1994 and 1995, juvenile arrests have been increasing significantly. Accused juveniles are increasingly being processed as adults in the criminal justice system. Minorities continue to be victimized considerably more than nonminorities; minorities who are arrested continue to be more likely than nonminorities to be imprisoned. Criminal and juvenile case backlogs continue to increase, as the number of cases filed continue to exceed cases disposed. Extensive tables and figures and a list of data sources