NCJ Number
122922
Date Published
1988
Length
101 pages
Annotation
This document provides a general understanding of the major issues in the Pennsylvania adult criminal justice system.
Abstract
After dropping to 823,000 in 1984, the total number of reported offenses increased 8 percent over the following 3 years to 889,000. Conviction on rape, robbery, assault, burglary, and theft declined from 1982 to 1986. Conviction on a reduced charge was more common for each of these serious charges in 1986. In spite of increases in charge reduction, persons charged with these offenses were still more likely to be incarcerated in 1986 than in 1982. With the exception of rape, average incarceration sentence lengths (minimums) decreased slightly from 1982 to 1986. From 1981 to 1987, drunk driving (DUI) arrests increased 68 percent, the number of DUI cases dismissed by the courts was cut in half, and 13 times as many DUI offenders were jailed. Alcohol-related fatal accidents decreased from 1981 to 1984, but increased about seven percent per year since 1984. Drug arrests increased 43 percent from 1981 to 1987, with arrests for cocaine rising 357 percent during the same period. In 1987, county jails operated at 117 percent of capacity on average, and the State Department of Corrections was at about 130 percent capacity. Without additional policy changes, the demand for additional prison and jail space can be expected to grow through the year 2000.