NCJ Number
74888
Date Published
1978
Length
106 pages
Annotation
This is one of two analytic studies which compose the final report on Rhode Island's demonstration project in the administrative adjudication of traffic offenses, entitled the Special Adjudication for Enforcement (SAFE).
Abstract
SAFE concluded its second operational year on June 30, 1977. Subsequently, the Administrative Adjudication Division (AAD) continued as a permanent State agency. This analysis deals only with the 2 demonstration years. In the 2 years, SAFE disposed of 137,316 traffic summonses, with 100,036 of these having been paid by mail and 37,280 adjudicated at administrative hearings. Nine percent of the AAD hearings were contested cases; this rate is about the same as the contested rate in the court prior to SAFE. The sustained rate in AAD contested cases was 62 percent and 85 percent in uncontested cases. These rates are significantly higher than for the courts in the 2 years prior to SAFE. The recidivism rate of persons adjudicated at hearings was slightly less than for those who came before a court, based on records from the 12 months following the initial summons. Removal of most traffic cases from the court's jurisdiction brought a 17 percent reduction in the backlog of cases and has permitted the district courts to add several new functions. The reduced need for police prosecutors at arraignment of traffic cases has also provided savings to the police departments. Most court personnel favored the decriminalization of traffic offenses, and traffic enforcement levels have not diminished. Tables and footnotes are included, and categories of traffic violations in Rhode Island are appended.