Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties, 2000

Transcription

1 U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Statistics State Court Processing Statistics Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties, Arrest charges Demographic characteristics Crimil history Pretrial release and detention Adjudication Sentencing

2 U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Seventh Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. John Ashcroft Attorney General Office of Justice Programs Deborah J. Daniels Assistant Attorney General World Wide Web site: Bureau of Justice Statistics Lawrence A. Greenfeld Director World Wide Web site: For information contact: Natiol Crimil Justice Reference Service ---

3 U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Statistics Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties, Gerard Rainville and Brian A. Reaves, Ph.D. BJS Statisticians December, NCJ

4 Contents U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics Lawrence A. Greenfeld Director Gerard Rainville and Brian Reaves, BJS statisticians, prepared this report. Thomas Cohen provided statistical review. Ti Dorsey and Tom Hester edited the report. Jayne Robinson produced the fil submission for printing. The data were collected and processed by the Pretrial Services Resource Center under the supervision of Jolanta Juszkiewicz. Carma Hogue of the Economic Statistical Methods and Procedures Division, U.S. Census Bureau, assisted with sample design. Data presented in this report may be obtained from the Natiol Archive of Crimil Justice Data at the University of Michigan, ---. The report and data are available on the Internet at: Highlights State Court Processing Statistics iii Arrest charges Demographic characteristics Crimil history Crimil justice status at time of arrest Prior arrests Prior convictions Pretrial release and detention Rates of release and detention Bail amounts Time from arrest to release Crimil history and probability of release Conduct of released Adjudication Time from arrest to adjudication Adjudication outcome Case processing statistics Sentencing Time from conviction to sentencing Type and length of sentence Prior record and felony sentencing Methodology Appendix ii Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties,

5 Highlights State Court Processing Statistics Every years, as part of its State Court Processing Statistics (SCPS) program, the Bureau of Justice Statistics tracks a sample of felony cases filed during the month of May in of the Nation s largest counties. The most recent SCPS study alyzed cases filed during May. Trends in processing of felony, - Since, the proportion of charged with a violent offense has remained at about a fourth. From to, the proportion of drug increased from % to %. During this period, the percentage of charged with a property crime decreased from % to %. The proportion of charged with a public-order offense has remained under in. In, the percentage of age or older was %, about twice the % found in the study. During the same time, the percentage of under age decreased from % to %. The percentage of female has increased from % in to % in. In, non-hispanic blacks accounted for % of, the same as in, but a slightly smaller percentage than in prior years. Compared to, the percentage of non-hispanic whites increased slightly to %, while the percentage of Hispanic or Latino decreased slightly to %. Since, approximately in have had an active crimil justice status at the time of arrest, including % in the study. The percentage of with a felony arrest record in (%) was slightly higher than in (%), and higher than in previous years when it averaged about %. The proportion of with a felony conviction record in (%), was down slightly from (%), but still higher than the % recorded in. Since the percentage of felony released prior to case disposition has been fairly consistent, ranging from % to %, with % released in. In, the proportion of releases accounted for by surety bond (%) was greater than that accounted for by release on persol recognizance (%), a finding first observed in the study. From to, the proportion of released charged with misconduct such as failure to appear in court or rearrest has remained at just under a third, including % in. Failure-to-appear rates have held steady at about a fourth, including % in. After reaching a high of % in the study, the felony conviction rate fell to % in and % in both and. This rate was still slightly higher than the % rate in the study. Sixty-four percent of were convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor in the same as in, but this continued a downward trend from a high of % in. For convicted of a felony, sentences in (%) were more likely to involve incarceration than in (%) or (%). In, a felony conviction was more likely to result in a sentence to prison (%) than jail (%) in as was the case in,, and. In and, jail and prison sentences had almost equal frequencies. The use of probation as a sentence for felony convictions in (%) was slightly less than in and, but about the same as in prior years. Felony in large urban counties, Arrest charges An estimated, felony cases were filed in the State courts of the Nation's largest counties during May. About a fourth of were charged with a violent offense, usually assault (.%) or robbery (.%). About in were charged with murder (.%) or rape (.%). Two-thirds of were charged with either a drug (%) or Age at arrest, felony in the largest counties,,,,,, and Percent of % % % % % Most severe sentence received by convicted of a felony in the largest counties,,,,,, and Percent of % % % % % Under age % Jail Probation Age - Age or older Prison % property (%) offense. Nearly half of drug, % of overall, were charged with drug trafficking. A majority of property were charged with larceny/theft (.% of all ) or burglary (.%). About % of were charged with a public-order offense. Often these charges were driving-related (%) or weaponsrelated (.%). Demographic characteristics Eighty-one percent of were male, including % or more of those charged with rape (%), murder (%), a weapons offense (%), a driving-related offense (%), or robbery (%). Women accounted for more than half of the charged with fraud (%) and more than a third of those charged with forgery (%). Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties, iii

6 Non-Hispanic blacks comprised at least half of the charged with robbery (%), a weapons offense (%), drug trafficking (%), or murder (%). Non-Hispanic whites accounted for about half of those charged with a driving-related felony (%). Half of were under age. Eighteen percent were under age, including % of those charged with robbery and % of those charged with murder. Three percent of were under age, including % of robbery and % of murder. Crimil history At the time of arrest, % of had an active crimil justice status such as probation (%), release pending disposition of a prior case (%), or parole (%). (%) were the most likely to have had a crimil justice status when arrested, followed by drug trafficking, robbery, and motor vehicle theft, at % each. Seventy-four percent of all had been arrested previously, with % having at least five prior arrest charges. Sixty-two percent of had a felony arrest record. Fiftyeight percent of had at least one prior conviction, including % with one or more felony convictions. Pretrial release and detention Thirty-eight percent of all were detained until the court disposed of their case, including % who were denied bail. Half or more of charged with murder (%), robbery (%), motor vehicle theft (%), or burglary (%) were detained until case disposition. Defendants with an active crimil justice status (%) were nearly twice as likely to be detained until case disposition as those without such a status (%). Defendants on parole (%) were the most likely to be detained. Defendants were most likely to be released on commercial surety bond (% of all releases), followed by release on persol recognizance (%). The next most common types of pretrial release were conditiol release (%), deposit bond (%), and unsecured bond (%). An estimated % of released committed one or more types of pretrial misconduct while in a release status. Twenty-two percent failed to appear in court as scheduled. Sixteen percent were rearrested for a new offense, including % for a felony. Adjudication A fourth of had their case adjudicated within month of arrest, and half within months. At the end of the -year study period, % of all cases had been adjudicated. Sixty-four percent of the cases adjudicated within year resulted in a conviction. Fifty-two percent of were convicted of a felony, and % of a misdemeanor. Felony conviction rates were highest for those origilly charged with a driving-related offense (%), drug trafficking (%), or murder (%). (%) and assault (%) had the lowest felony conviction rates. Nearly all (%) convictions obtained during the -year study period were the result of a guilty plea. About in guilty pleas were to a felony. Seventyeight percent of trials resulted in a guilty verdict, including % of bench trials and % of jury trials. Sentencing About two-thirds of convicted were sentenced within day of adjudication. Nearly three-fourths of all sentences for felony convictions were either to prison (%) or jail (%). Ninety-six percent of those convicted of murder were sentenced to prison. A large majority of robbery (%) and rape (%) convictions also resulted in prison sentences. Nearly all convicted who did not receive an incarceration sentence were placed on probation. Sixty-two percent of those with multiple prior felony convictions were sentenced to prison following a felony conviction in the current case, compared to % of those with no prior felony convictions. Probability of being convicted and sentenced to incarceration for felony in the largest counties, arrest charge Drug trafficking Prison Excluding life sentences, the mean prison sentence for violent felony convictions was about years, and the median was years. For nonviolent felonies, the mean was about ½ years and the median, years. ( years) and rape ( years) convictions carried the longest median prison sentences. About in convicted murderers received a life sentence. Jail % % % % % Percent of convicted and sentenced to prison or jail iv Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties,

7 State Court Processing Statistics Since, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) has sponsored a biennial data collection on the processing of felony in the State courts of the Nation's most populous counties. Previously known as the Natiol Pretrial Reporting Program, this data collection series was remed the State Court Processing Statistics (SCPS) program in to better reflect the wide range of data elements collected. The SCPS program collects data on the demographic characteristics, crimil history, pretrial processing, adjudication, and sentencing of felony. The SCPS data do not include Federal. The reader should refer to the annual BJS Compendium of Federal Justice Statistics for information on the processing of Federal. The SCPS collected data for, felony cases filed during May in large counties. These cases, which were tracked for up to year, were part of a -stage sample that was representative of the estimated, felony cases filed in the Nation's most populous counties during that month. A small number of cases ( weighted) were omitted from alysis as they could not be classified into of the major crime categories (violent, property, drug, and public-order offenses). In, the largest counties accounted for % of the U.S. population. According to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports program for, these jurisdictions accounted for % of all reported serious violent crimes in the United States, including % of robberies, % of murders and nonnegligent manslaughters, % of aggravated assaults, and % of forcible rapes. These counties accounted for % of all reported serious property crimes, including % of motor vehicle thefts, % of burglaries, and % of larceny/thefts. Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties,

8 Arrest charges During May, about a fourth of the felony in the largest counties were charged with a violent offense (.%) (table ). About half of those charged with a violent felony,.% of overall, faced assault charges, and about a fifth,.% of overall, were charged with robbery. comprised.% of the charged with a violent felony, and.% of all felony. accounted for.% of the charged with a violent felony, and.% of all felony. (See Methodology for the specific crimes included in each offense category.) For about in, the most serious arrest charge was a drug offense (.%). Nearly half (%) of drug were charged with drug trafficking. Overall, were more likely to be charged with drug trafficking (.%) or other drug offenses (.%) than any other type of offense (figure ). Table. Felony, by most serious arrest charge, arrest charge Other violent Other property Trafficking Other drug Public-order offenses Other public-order Felony in the largest counties Number Percent,.%,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,.%......% %...%... Note: Data for the specific arrest charge were available for all cases. Detail may not add to total because of rounding. About in felony were charged with a property offense (.%). More than a fourth of property,.% of overall, were charged with larceny/theft offenses, and about a fourth,.% overall, were charged with burglary. Defendants charged with a public-order offense comprised.% of all. About in public-order faced a weapons (.%) or driving-related (.%) charge. The most frequently charged offenses of felony in the largest counties, Figure Figure arrest charge Nontrafficking drug offenses Drug trafficking See Methodology for specific crimes included in each offense category. The percentage of felony in the largest counties facing a drugrelated charge (.%) was about the same as in (.%), but significantly higher than the low of % in (figure ). The percentage of property in (.%) ended a trend of small decreases that have occurred since a high of.% in. The percentage of charged with a violent offense in (.%) was about the same as in (.%), and slightly lower than the high of.% in. % % % % % % Percent of arrest charge of felony in the largest counties, to Percent of % % % % Drug Property Violent Public-order % Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties,

9 More than half of all felony (%) faced at least one additiol charge, and % were charged with at least one additiol felony (table ). Defendants whose most serious charge was drug trafficking (%) were the most likely to have been charged with one or more additiol offenses. More than three-fifths of whose most serious arrest charge was murder (%), rape (%), robbery (%), or burglary (%) were also charged with one or more additiol offenses. A majority of rape (%), murder (%), robbery (%), and drug trafficking (%) faced at least one additiol felony charge. About half of charged with burglary (%) or motor vehicle theft (%) faced one or more additiol felony charges. More than two-fifths of forgery (%), fraud (%), and weapons (%) faced multiple felony charges. Table. Level of second most serious charge of felony, by most serious arrest charge, arrest charge Other violent Other property Trafficking Other drug,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Percent of felony in the largest counties No other additiol charge Misde- charges Felony meanor % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % Public-order offenses Other public-order,,,, % % % % Note: Data for the most serious arrest charge and the next most serious arrest charge were available for all cases. Detail may not add to total because of rounding. % Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties,

10 Demographic characteristics Forty-five percent of the felony in the largest counties were non-hispanic blacks, % were non- Hispanic whites, % were Hispanics of any race, and % were non-hispanic members of some other race (table ). Non-Hispanic blacks comprised a majority of the charged with robbery (%), a weapons offense (%), or drug trafficking (%) (figure ). The smallest percentage of black was found among those charged with a driving-related offense (%). Non-Hispanic whites accounted for the largest percentage among facing driving-related charges (%). This was about times the percentage accounted for by whites among charged with robbery (%) or a weapons offense (%). The largest percentage of Hispanics was found among charged with motor vehicle theft (%). The smallest percentages of Hispanics were found among charged with fraud (%), forgery (%), or larceny/theft (%). Table. Race and Hispanic origin of felony, by most serious arrest charge, arrest charge Percent of felony in the largest counties Black non- Hispanic White non- Hispanic Other non- Hispanic Hispanic, any race, % % % % %, % % % % %,, Other violent,, % % % % %,,,,, Other property,, % % % % % Trafficking, Other drug, Public-order offenses, % % % % %,, Other public-order, Note: Data on both race and Hispanic origin of were available for % of all cases. According to the U.S. Census Bureau data for, the overall percentage of the population of the largest counties was % white non-hispanic, % black non-hispanic, % other race non-hispanic, and % Hispanics of any race. Detail may not add to total because of rounding. arrest charge of felony, by race and Hispanic origin, Black (non-hispanic) arrest charge Drug trafficking % % % % % Percent of all White (non-hispanic) arrest charge Drug trafficking % % % % % Percent of all Hispanic (any race) arrest charge Drug trafficking % % % % % Percent of all Figure Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties,

11 Overall, % of felony in the largest counties were male (table ). Men comprised the largest percentages among charged with rape (%), murder (%), weapons offenses (%), driving-related offenses (%), robbery (%), burglary (%), or motor vehicle theft (%). Women accounted for % of, including % of those charged with fraud and % of those charged with forgery. Table. Gender of felony, by most serious arrest charge, arrest charge Other violent,,,,, Percent of felony in the largest counties Male Female % % % % % % The average age of at the time of arrest was years (table ). By specific offense, the average age ranged from years for robbery to for those charged with a driving-related offense. About in robbery and in murder were under age. An estimated % of were or older, including about a third of those charged with a drivingrelated offense (%). Defendants charged with robbery (%), motor vehicle theft (%), a weapons offense (%), or murder (%) were the least likely to be or older., % %,,,,, Other property,, % % Trafficking, Other drug, Public-order offenses, % %,, Other public-order, Note: Data on gender of were available for.% of all cases. % % % Table. Age at arrest of felony, by most serious arrest charge, arrest charge Other violent,,,,, % % Percent of felony in the largest counties Under % % - % % - % % - % % - % % - % %, % % % % % % %,,,,, Other property,, % % % % % % % Trafficking, Other drug, Public-order offenses, % % % % % % %,, Other public-order, Note: Data on age of were available for.% of all cases. Detail may not add to total because of rounding. Less than.%. or older % % % % % Average age at arrest yrs. yrs. yrs. yrs. yrs. Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties,

12 Overall, % of were under age (figure ). More than half of robbery (%) were under age, as were more than two-fifths of charged with a weapons offense (%), murder (%), vehicle theft (%), or burglary (%). Defendants charged with a driving-related offense (%) or fraud (%) were the least likely to be under age. About % of were under the age of at the time of arrest. About in robbery (%) were under age, as were more than a fifth of those charged with murder (%), burglary (%), a weapons offense (%), or vehicle theft (%). Defendants charged with a drivingrelated offense (%) or fraud (%) were the least likely to be this young. Males formed a higher percentage of under age (%) than of other age groups. The largest percentage of female was in the to age group (%). A majority of the under age were black (%), compared to less than half in each of the other age groups (table ). Felony under age and age in the largest counties, by most serious arrest charge, Percent of % % % Under age % % Under age % % All Larceny/ theft Motor vehicle theft Drug trafficking Drivingrelated arrest charge Figure Table. Gender and race/ethnicity of felony, by age at arrest, Age at arrest Percent of felony in the largest counties Male Female Percent of felony in the largest counties Black, non- White, non- Hispanic Hispanic Other, non- Hispanic Hispanic, any race All ages, % % %, % % % % % Under or older,,,,,,, % % %,,,,,,, % % % % % Note: Data on defendant age and gender were available for.% of all cases. Data on defendant age and race/ethnicity were available for % of all cases. Detail may not add to total because of rounding. Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties,

13 Black males comprised the largest proportion of in each age group (figure ). This effect was most pronounced in the under-age- category in which black males (%) accounted for nearly times the percentage of white males (%), and nearly twice the percentage of Hispanic males (%). It was least pronounced in the age to categories, where black males accounted for a proportion of closer to that accounted for by Hispanic and white males. Hispanic females comprised the smallest proportion of in each age group. Black females constituted a slightly higher percentage than white females in all age categories, but for no more than % of the in any single age category. Race and gender of felony in the largest counties, by age at arrest, Percent of % % % % % Figure Black male White male Black female White Black male Hispanic male W hite male Black female W hite female % Hispanic female Under Age at arrest - - or over Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties,

14 Crimil history Crimil justice status at time of arrest Thirty-five percent of felony had an active crimil justice status at the time of their arrest on the current felony charge (table ). Among charged with a violent offense, % had an active crimil justice status, ranging from % of robbery to % of rape. Thirty-six percent of property had a crimil justice status, including % of charged with burglary and % of those charged with motor vehicle theft. Among property, those charged with fraud (%) were the least likely to have had an active crimil justice status at the time of arrest. Among drug, % had a crimil justice status overall. Those charged with drug trafficking (%) were more likely to have a crimil justice status than those charged with other drug offenses (%). Forty percent of public-order had an active crimil justice status at the time of the current arrest. This included % of those charged with a weapons or driving-related offense, and % of those charged with other public-order offenses. Table. Crimil justice status of felony at time of arrest, by most serious arrest charge, current arrest charge Percent of felony in the largest counties with an active crimil justice status at the time of arrest Probation Pretrial release* Parole In custody Other, % % % % % %, % % % % % %,, Other violent,, % % % % % %,,,,, Other property,, % % % % % % Trafficking, Other drug, Public-order offenses, % % % % % %,, Other public-order, Note: Data on crimil justice status at time of arrest were available for % of all cases. Some with a crimil justice status had more than type of status. For those cases, the status indicated is the most serious. Detail may not add to total because of rounding. Less than.%. Some with a crimil justice status had more than one type of status. When just the most serious crimil justice status is considered, % of were on probation, % had been released pending disposition of a previous case, and % were on parole at the time of the current arrest. Allowing for multiple types of crimil justice status, % of were on parole, % were on probation, and % had been released pending case disposition. Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties,

15 The percentage of on parole at the time of their current felony arrest ranged from % of those charged robbery or motor vehicle theft, to % of those charged with fraud (figure ). Other offenses with at least % of the on parole at the time of arrest included burglary (%), weapons offenses (%), murder (%), drug trafficking (%), and larceny/theft (%). The highest percentages of on probation at the time of arrest were among those charged with motor vehicle theft (%) or burglary (%). Defendants charged with rape (%) or fraud (%) were less likely to have been on probation at the time of arrest. Twenty percent of charged with robbery or drug trafficking had been released pending disposition of a prior case when they were arrested on the current felony charge. These were more than twice as likely as those charged with fraud (%) to have had such a status at the time of the current arrest. Crimil justice status of felony in the largest counties, On parole at time of arrest Drug trafficking % % % % % % Percent of On probation at time of arrest Drug trafficking % % % % % % Percent of On pretrial release at time of arrest Drug trafficking % % % % % % Percent of Figure Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties,

16 Prior arrests Seventy-four percent of all had at least one prior felony or misdemeanor arrest (table ). Defendants whose most serious current arrest charge was for a public-order (%) or drug (%) offense were more likely to have been previously arrested than those charged with a property (%) or violent (%) offense. Among charged with a violent offense, robbery (%) and assault (%) were more likely to have an arrest record than those charged with murder (%) or rape (%). Among property, those charged with burglary (%) or motor vehicle theft (%) were the most likely to have been arrested previously, followed by those charged with larceny/theft (%) or forgery (%). Defendants charged with fraud (%) were the least likely, among property, to have one or more prior arrests. Among public-order, charged with a drivingrelated felony (%) were more likely to have an arrest record than those facing weapon charges (%). Among with an arrest record, about in had more than one prior arrest charge, and a majority had at least five. Overall, % of had two or more prior arrest charges, and % had five or more. Defendants charged with burglary (%), a driving-related offense (%), or motor vehicle theft (%) were the most likely to have or more prior arrest charges, and those charged with fraud (%) the least likely. An estimated % of had or more prior arrest charges. This included % of charged with a driving-related offense, % of burglary, and % of robbery. Table. prior arrest charges of felony, by most serious current arrest charge, current arrest charge Percent of felony in the largest counties Without With prior arrest prior prior arrest charges arrest - - or more, % % % % % % % Other violent,,,, % % % % % % % Other property,,,,,,, % % % % % % % Trafficking Other drug,,, % % % % % % % Public-order offenses Other public-order,,,, % % % % % % % Note: Data on whether a defendant had any prior arrests were available for % of all cases. Data on the number of prior arrest charges were available for % of all cases. Detail may not add to total because of rounding. Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties,

17 Three-fourths of the under age had no previous arrests (figure ). This proportion dropped to about two-fifths among age to, about a fourth among those aged to, and about a fifth among those age to. About in age or older had no arrest record. Approximately a fifth of the age to had five or more prior arrests. This proportion rose to nearly two-fifths in the -to- age range, nearly half in the -to- age range, and more than half in the -to- age range. In the latter age range, were nearly times as likely to have five or more prior arrests as no prior arrests. Among with an arrest record, about in had been arrested at least once for a felony. Overall, three-fifths of had a felony arrest record (table ). Nearly half of all had multiple prior felony arrest charges, including % with five or more. prior arrest charges of felony in the largest counties, by age of arrest, Percent of % % % % Figure No prior No prior arrests - prior arrest charges or more prior arrest charges or more prior arrest charges prior arrest charge % Under or Age at arrest older Table. prior felony arrest charges of felony, by most serious current arrest charge, current arrest charge, % % % % %, % % % % %,, Other violent,, % % % % %,,,,, Other property,, % % % % % Trafficking, Other drug, Public-order offenses, % % % % %,, Other public-order, Note: Data on whether a defendant had any prior felony arrests were available for % of all cases. Note: Data on the number of prior felony arrest charges were available for % of all cases. Detail may not add to total because of rounding. Percent of felony in the largest counties Without prior felony arrest With prior felony arrest Non-felony No prior prior felony charges arrests arrests - - or more % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties,

18 More than half of the facing a current charge for a violent felony had been previously arrested for a felony, including % of robbery and % of murder. Thirty-one percent of robbery had or more prior felony arrest charges, including % with or more. Sixty percent of property had one or more prior felony arrests. More than two-thirds of those currently charged with burglary (%) or motor vehicle theft (%) had a prior felony arrest record. Fifteen percent of burglary and % of motor vehicle theft had or more prior felony arrest charges. Sixty-six percent of drug had at least one prior felony arrest charge, and % had five or more. Sixty-seven percent of public-order had been previously arrested for a felony, including % with five or more prior felony charges. Prior convictions Fifty-eight percent of felony in the largest counties had at least one prior conviction for a misdemeanor or a felony (table ). More than threefourths of those with a conviction record, accounting for % of overall, had more than one prior conviction. Twenty-two percent of all had five or more prior convictions. Among charged with a violent offense, % had at least one prior conviction. (%) and robbery (%) were more likely to have a conviction record than other charged with a violent offense (%). Fifty-five percent of property had been convicted previously, including % of burglary. Fifty percent of burglary had multiple prior convictions, including % with five or more. Sixty-two percent of drug had at least one prior conviction. About half (%) had two or more, and about a fourth (%) had at least five. Among public-order, % had a conviction record, and % had five or more. About three-fourths of the facing driving-related charges (%) had at least one prior conviction of some type, and threefifths had multiple prior convictions. Table. prior convictions of felony, by most serious current arrest charge, current arrest charge, % % %, % % %,, Other violent,, % % %,,,,, Other property,, % % % Trafficking, Other drug, Public-order offenses, % % %,, Other public-order, Note: Data on number of prior convictions were available for % of all cases. Detail may not add to total because of rounding. Percent of felony in the largest counties With prior conviction prior convictions - - or more % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % Without prior conviction Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties,

19 More than two-thirds of the with a conviction record, % of overall, had at least one prior conviction for a felony (table ). Thirty-three percent of whose current charge was for a violent felony had previously been convicted of a felony. Among these, the percentage with a prior felony conviction ranged from % among those charged with robbery to % of those charged with rape. Thirty-nine percent of property had a felony conviction record, including nearly half of those charged with motor vehicle theft (%) or burglary (%). Defendants charged with fraud (%) were the least likely to have a prior felony conviction. Forty-four percent of the whose most serious current arrest charge was for a drug offense had been previously convicted of a felony. There was no variation by type of drug offense. A majority of the with a felony conviction record, % of overall, had multiple prior felony convictions. Six percent of all had five or more prior felony convictions. By specific offense, charged with burglary (%) or motor vehicle theft (%) were the most likely to have multiple prior felony convictions. Eleven percent of burglary had five or more such convictions. Defendants charged with fraud (%) were the least likely to have more than one prior felony conviction. Table. prior felony convictions of felony, by most serious current arrest charge, current arrest charge, % % % %, % % % %,, Other violent,, % % % %,,,,, Other property,, % % % % Trafficking, Other drug, Public-order offenses, % % % %,, Other public-order, Note: Data on number of prior felony convictions were available for % of all cases. Detail may not add to total because of rounding. Percent of felony in the largest counties Without prior felony conviction With prior felony conviction Nonfelony No prior prior felony convictions only convictions - - or more % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties,

20 Eighty-nine percent of under age at the time of the current arrest had no prior adult convictions (figure ). Six percent of these had been previously convicted of at least one felony. In the -to- age range, % of had no prior convictions, while % had at least one prior felony conviction. A majority of the age or older had a conviction record, and ages to were more likely to have a felony conviction record than no prior convictions. About half of age to had a felony conviction record. For nearly a fourth of the with a prior felony conviction, % of overall, their crimil history included at least one conviction for a violent felony (table ). Thirteen percent of the currently charged with a violent offense had a prior conviction for a violent felony. prior conviction of felony in the largest counties, by age at arrest, Percent of % % % % % Figure None Misdemeanor Felony % Under or Age at arrest older Table. prior conviction of felony, by most serious current arrest charge, current arrest charge Without prior conviction, % %, % %,, Other violent,, % %,,,,, Other property,, % % Trafficking, Other drug, Public-order offenses, % %,, Other public-order, Note: Data on most serious prior conviction were available for % of all cases. Detail may not add to total because of rounding. Percent of felony in the largest counties prior conviction Felony Violent Nonviolent % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % Misdemeanor % % % % % Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties,

21 By specific arrest charge, the percentage of previously convicted of a violent felony was highest among those charged with robbery (%), a weapons offense (%), or assault (%) (figure ). Defendants charged with fraud (%) or forgery (%) were the least likely to have a prior conviction for a violent felony. For % of motor vehicle theft, the most serious prior conviction was a nonviolent felony. This was also the case for % of charged with burglary or drug trafficking, and % of those charged with a driving-related offense. Defendants charged with a drivingrelated offense (%) were much more likely than other to have a conviction record that consisted only of misdemeanors. The next most likely were charged with rape (%) or assault (%). prior conviction of felony in the largest counties, Violent felony Drug trafficking % % % % % % % % % Percent of Nonviolent felony Drug trafficking % % % % % % % % % Percent of Misdemeanor Drug trafficking % % % % % % % % % Percent of Figure Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties,

22 Pretrial release and detention Rates of release and detention An estimated % of felony in the largest counties were released prior to the fil disposition of their case (table ). By general offense category, charged with a violent offense (%) were less likely to be released than those whose most serious arrest charge was a public-order (%), drug (%), or property (%) offense. Within the violent offense category, release rates varied greatly. Just % of murder were released compared to % of those charged with assault. Fifty-six percent of rape and % of robbery were released before the court disposed of their case. Among charged with a property offense, just under half of those charged with burglary (%) or motor vehicle theft (%) were released prior to case disposition. Higher proportions of those charged with fraud (%), forgery (%), or larceny/theft (%) were released. Among drug, those charged with drug trafficking (%) were slightly less likely to be released than those charged with other drug offenses (%). Among public-order, those charged with a driving-related (%) or weapons (%) offense were more likely to be released than those charged with other public-order offenses. Among the % of who were detained in jail until case disposition, about in had a bail amount set but did not post the money required to secure release. Detained murder were the exception to this rule; a majority of them, % of murder overall, were ordered held without bail (figure ). Overall, % of felony in the largest counties were denied bail. Table. Felony released before or detained until case disposition, by most serious arrest charge, arrest charge Percent of in the largest counties Released before case disposition Detained until case disposition, % % %, % % %,, Other violent,, % % %,,,,, Other property,, % % % Trafficking, Other drug, Public-order offenses, % % %,, Other public-order, Note: Data on detention/release outcome were available for % of all cases. Detail may not add to total because of rounding. Pretrial detention of felony in the largest counties, by most serious arrest charge, arrest charge Drug trafficking Held on bail Denied bail Denied bai % % % % % % % Percent of l Figure Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties,

23 A slight majority of the released prior to case disposition, % of overall, were released under fincial conditions that required the posting of bail (see Methodology for definitions related to pretrial release) (table ). The most common type of fincial release was surety bond (% of all and % of released ), which involves the services of a commercial bail bond agent (figure ). Other types of fincial release were deposit bond (% of all and % of released ), full cash bond (%), and property bond (less than %). All of these types of bonds are posted directly with the court without the use of a bail bond agent. Just under half of released, % of overall, were released under nonfincial conditions not requiring the posting of bail (table ). Release on persol recognizance (% of all and % of released ), was the type of nonfincial release used most. Other nonfincial types of release included conditiol release (% of all and % of released ), and release on unsecured bond (% and %). A small number of were released prior to case disposition as the result of an emergency release used to relieve jail crowding. Such releases did not involve the use of any of the release types mentioned above. Pretrial release of felony in the largest counties, Type of pretrial release Surety bond Recognizance Conditiol Deposit bond Unsecured bond Full cash bond % % % % % % Percent of released Figure Table. Type of pretrial release or detention of felony, by most serious arrest charge, arrest charge Other violent Other property Trafficking Other drug Public-order offenses Other public-order fincial % % % % % Fincial release Full Deposit cash Property bond bond bond % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % Surety bond Percent of felony in the largest counties Released before case disposition Nonfincial release nonfincial % % % % % Conditiol Un- secured % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % Recognizance Emergency release % % % % Detained until case disposition Held on Denied bail bail % % % % % % % % % % Note: Data on specific type of pretrial release or detention were available for % of all cases. Detail may not add to total because of rounding. Less than.%. Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties,

24 Bail amounts Overall, % of felony had a bail amount set by the court, and were required to post all or part of that amount to secure release while their case was pending. The remainder were granted nonfincial release (%), ordered held without bail (%), or were part of an emergency release (less than.%). More than half of those with a bail amount had it set at $, or more, and a fifth had it set at $, or more (table ). Among with a bail amount set, those charged with a violent offense (%) were about twice as likely as other to have it set at $, or more. About in murder (%) with a bail amount had it set at $, or more, as did about a third of robbery (%) and rape (%). Among property with a bail amount set, those charged with burglary (%) were the most likely to have bail set at $, or more. Defendants charged with drug trafficking (%) were twice as likely to have bail set at $, or more as other drug (%). Among publicorder, those charged with a weapons offense (%) were nearly twice as likely as those charged with a driving-related offense (%) to have bail set this high. Overall, who were detained until case disposition had a median bail amount times that of who secured release ($, versus $,) (table ). The mean bail amount for detained ($,) was about times that of who secured release ($,). Detained murder had the highest median ($,) and mean ($,) bail amounts. Overall, the median bail amount for murder was $, and the mean was $,. Table. Bail amount set for felony, by most serious arrest charge, arrest charge Under $, Percent of felony in the largest counties with a bail amount of $,- $, $,- $, $,- $, $, or more, % % % %, % % % %,, Other violent,, % % % %,,, Other property, % % % % Trafficking, Other drug, Public-order offenses, % % % % Other public-order Note: Data on bail amount were available for.% of all for whom a bail amount was set. Table excludes given nonfincial release. Table. Median and mean bail amounts set for felony, by pretrial release/detention outcome and most serious arrest charge, arrest charge Other violent Other property Trafficking Other drug Public-order offenses Other public-order $,,,, $,,,, $,,,, $,,,, $,,,, Note: Data on bail amount were available for % of all for whom a bail amount was set. Bail amounts have been rounded to the nearest hundred dollars. Table excludes given nonfincial release. % % % % % Felony in the largest counties Median bail amount Mean bail amount Released Detained Released Detained $, $, $, $, $, $, $, $, $, $, $, $,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, $, $, $, $, $, $,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, $, $, $, $, $, $,,,,,,,,,,,,, $,,,, Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties,

25 Overall, about half (%) of who were required to post bail to secure release did so. About threefourths of with a bail set at under $, (%) posted the amount needed for release, as did nearly two-thirds of those with a bail amount of $, to $, (%) (figure ). In contrast, about in with bail set at $, or more (%), and just over in with a bail amount of $, to $, (%) met the fincial conditions required for release. Defendants released on full cash bond posted a median of $, and a mean of $, to secure release. Among given fincial release, the median and mean bail amounts were slightly higher for those released on surety bond ($,, $,) than for those released on deposit bond ($,, $,). Type of Bail amount release bond Median Mean Surety $, $, Deposit,, Full cash,, Property,, Unsecured $, $, Unlike those released on full cash bond, released on deposit bond generally posted % of the full bail amount with the court to secure release. However, they remained liable to the court for the full bail amount if they violated the terms of release. Those released on surety bond paid a similar fee to a bail bond agent, who assumed liability to the court for the full bail amount if the defendant violated the terms of release. Defendants released on an unsecured bond had a median bail amount of $, and a mean bail amount of $,. These did not have to post any of this amount, but like those on fincial release, they were liable for the full bail amount if they violated the terms of release. Probability of release for felony in the largest counties, by bail amount set, Figure Bail amount set $, or more $,-$, $,-$, $,-$, Under $, Time from arrest to release Among released prior to case disposition, % were released within day of arrest, and % within week (table ). Nearly all releases during the -year study occurred within a month of arrest (%). By general offense category, less than half of the charged with a violent (%) or drug (%) offense were released within day of arrest. A majority of those charged with a arrest charge % % % % % Percent of released prior to case disposition public-order (%) or property (%) offense were released this quickly. By specific offense, murder typically waited the longest to be released, and those charged with fraud had the shortest wait. Thirteen percent of released murder were released within day of arrest, compared to % of those charged with fraud. After month, % of murder defendant releases had occurred, compared to nearly all of the releases of other. Table. Time from arrest to release for felony released before case disposition, by most serious arrest charge, Released felony in the largest counties Percent who were released within day week month, % % %, % % %,, Other violent,, % % %,,,, Other property,, % % % Trafficking, Other drug, Public-order offenses, % % %, Other public-order Note: Data on time from arrest to release were available for % of all cases. Release data were collected for year. Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties,

26 When differences among offense types are held constant, released under fincial terms generally took longer to secure their release than those who were released under nonfincial conditions. Among who were released under fincial conditions, the amount of time from arrest to pretrial release tended to increase as the bail amount did. Crimil history and probability of release Court decisions about bail and pretrial release are primarily based on the judgment of whether a defendant will appear in court as scheduled and whether there is potential danger to the community from crimes that a defendant may commit if released. Many States have established specific criteria to be considered by the courts when setting release conditions. The SCPS data illustrate how release rates vary with some of these factors. For example, % of the without an active crimil justice status when arrested for the current offense were released prior to case disposition, compared to % of those with such a status (table ). Defendants on parole (%) or probation (%) at the time of arrest were the least likely to be released. This compared with % of those released pending disposition of a prior case. Seventy-nine percent of the with no prior arrests were released, compared to % of those who had been previously arrested. Among with an arrest record, those who had never missed a court appearance (%) had a higher probability of being released than those who had failed to appear at least once during a previous case (%). About three-fourths of without a prior conviction (%) were released prior to disposition of the current case, compared to about half of those with a conviction record (%). Among with a conviction record, release rates ranged from % for those with a single prior conviction to % for those with five or more. Less than half of the with one or more prior felony convictions (%) were released prior to disposition of the current case, compared to about two-thirds of those whose prior convictions involved only misdemeanors (%). Those with a prior conviction for a violent felony (%) had a slightly lower release rate than those whose most serious prior conviction was for a nonviolent felony (%). Table. Percent of felony who were released prior to case disposition, by crimil history, Crimil history Crimil justice status Any type On parole On probation On pretrial release* None,,,,, Felony in the largest counties Released prior to case disposition Detained until case disposition released % Fincial release % Nonfincial release % % Held on bail % Denied bail % Court appearance history With prior arrest(s) With prior failure to appear Made all prior appearances No prior arrests,,,, % % % % % % prior convictions With prior conviction(s) or more - None,,,,, % % % % % % prior conviction Any type of felony Violent felony,, % Nonviolent felony, Misdemeanor, Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. *Includes all who were released prior to case disposition and did not have an open bench warrant for failure-to-appear. % % % % % Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties,

27 Conduct of released Among who were released prior to case disposition, % committed some type of misconduct while in a release status (table ). This may have been in the form of a failure to appear in court, an arrest for a new offense, or some other violation of release conditions that resulted in the revocation of that release by the court. By origil offense category, the proportion of charged with pretrial misconduct was highest for drug (%) and lowest for those released after being charged with a violent offense (%). Thirty percent of charged with a property or public-order offense committed some type of pretrial misconduct. By specific arrest offense, rates of pretrial misconduct were lowest among released after being charged with murder (%), rape (%), or fraud (%). Failure to appear in court Seventy-eight percent of the who were released prior to case disposition made all scheduled court appearances. Bench warrants for failing to appear in court were issued for the remaining % (table ). Released drug (%) had the highest failure-to-appear rate followed by property (%) and publicorder (%). Thirteen percent of charged with a violent offense failed to appear in court as scheduled, ranging from % of robbery to less than % of murder (%) and rape (%). Nearly a fourth of the who failed to appear in court, % of all, were still fugitives at the end of the -year study period. The remainder were returned to the court (either voluntarily or not) before the end of the study. Defendants released after being charged with a drug offense (%) were more likely to be a fugitive after year than released after being charged with a violent (%) or publicorder (%) offense. Six percent of released murder were in a fugitive status at the end of the -year study period. Table. Released felony committing misconduct, by most serious arrest charge, arrest charge Released felony in the largest counties Percent with mis- Number conduct, %, %,, Other violent,, %,,,, Other property,, % Trafficking, Other drug, Public-order offenses, %, Other public-order Note: Types of misconduct included failure to appear in court, rearrest for a new offense, or a technical violation of release conditions that resulted in the revocation of pretrial release. Data were collected for up to year. Table. Released felony who failed to make a scheduled court appearance, by most serious arrest charge, arrest charge Percent of released felony in the largest counties who Made all court appearances Failed to appear in court Returned to court Remained a fugitive, % % % %, % % % %,, Other violent,, % % % %,,,, Other property,, % % % % Trafficking, Other drug, Public-order offenses, % % % %, Other public-order Note: Data on the court appearance record for the current case were available for % of cases involving a defendant released prior to case disposition. All who failed to appear in court and were not returned to the court during the -year study period are counted as fugitives. Some of these may have been returned to the court at a later date. Detail may not add to total because of rounding. Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties,