Report to the Nation on Crime and Justice, Second Edition
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U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics Report to the Nation on Crime and Justice Second edition NCJ-105506, March 1988 U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics Steven R. Schlesinger Director Marianne W. Zawitz Editor Contents Introduction iii I. The criminal event 1 II. The victim 23 Ill. The offender 39 IV. The response to crime 55 1. An overview 56 2. Entry into the criminal justice system 62 3. Prosecution and pretrial services 71 4. Adjudication 81 5. Sentencing and sanctions 90 6. Corrections 102 V. The cost of justice 113 Index 128 ii Report to the Nation on Crime and Justice Introduction The Bureau of Justice Statistics presents This edition contains additional material this second comprehensive picture of on such common law crimes as homi- crime and criminal justice in the United cide, robbery, and burglary; drunk driv- States. Relying heavily on graphics and ing; white-collar crime; high technology a nontechnical format, it brings together crime; organized crime; State laws that a wide range of data from BJS's own govern citizen use of deadly force; pri- statistical series, the FBI Uniform Crime vate security; police deployment; sen- Reports, the Bureau of the Census, the tencing practices; forfeiture; sentencing National Institute of Justice, the Office outcomes; time served in prison and of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency jail; facilities crowding; recidivism; the Prevention, and many other research cost of crime; and privatization of crimi- and reference sources. Because it ana- nal justice functions. lyzes these and other rich data sources, this report should interest the general Graphic excellence and clarity of public as well as criminal justice practi- expression are the hallmarks of this tioners, researchers, and educators in attempt to assist the Nation as it seeks our high schools and colleges. to appreciate the enormity and com- plexity of the crime problem and grap- This report presents national data on ples with proposals to confront it. These crime and the criminal justice system hallmarks, however, should not over- and it answers these and other ques- shadow the prodigious effort and pains- tions: How much crime is there? Whom taking attention to detail that have gone does it strike? When? Where? Who is into the report. I wish to pay tribute to the typical offender? What is the govern- the professionalism, scholarly ingenuity, ment's response to crime? How differ- resourcefulness, and dedication of those ently are juveniles handled from adults? who prepared this report and of those What happens to convicted offenders? 40 or so individuals in the U.S. Depart- What are the costs of justice and who ment of Justice, universities, and pays? research organizations who carefully reviewed it. Steven R. Schlesinger Director Bureau of Justice Statistics Report to the Nation on Crime and Justice iii Acknowledgments This report is the result of a 2-year effort by many Henrick J. Harwood Charles Wellford individuals in addition to the authors and contribu- Research Triangle lnstitute Director tors listed for each chapter. lnstitute of Criminal Justice Seth Hirshorn and Criminology The original idea for this report was developed Associate Professor University of Maryland by Benjamin H. Renshaw Ill, Deputy Director for University of Michigan-Dearborn Management and lntergovernmental Programs, Franklin Zimring Bureau of Justice Statistics. C. Ronald Huff Director Director Earl Warren Legal lnstitute To ensure the quality of the report, outside experts Program for the Study of Crime University of California-Berkeley were involved in its development and review. These and Delinquency external reviewers were selected for their knowl- Ohio State University Within the Department of Justice, comments were edge of the subject matter and their experience in provided by the Criminal Division, the Executive presenting technical information to nontechnical Malcolm Klein Office for US. Attorneys, the Federal Bureau of audiences: Professor of Sociology Investigation, the Bureau of Prisons, the National University of Southern California lnstitute of Corrections, the Drug Enforcement Michael Block Administration, and the Bureau of Justice Pro- Commissioner Barry Krisberg grams. United States Sentencing Commission President National Council on Crime In addition, critical assistance was provided Alfred Blumstein and Delinquency throughout the development of the report by Victo- Dean ria Major and the User Services Staff of the Uni- School of Urban and Public Affairs David Levin form Crime Reports Section of the Federal Bureau Carnegie-Mellon University Branch Chief of Investigation and Barbara Allen-Hagen of the Governments Division Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Preven- Joseph Calpin Bureau of Economic Analysis tion. The Governments Division of the Bureau of Systems Scientist Department of Commerce the Census also contributed greatly throughout the MITRE Corporation development of this report. Lisa A. McNelis of the James P Lynch Governments Division verified all data in the report. Mimi Cantwell Assistant Professor Editorial Consultant School of Justice Throughout the development of this report, Washington. D.C. American University research and analytical assistance was provided by the National Criminal Justice Reference Service Frank Carrington Colin Loftin and the Criminal Justice Data Archive and by the Legal Consultant Professor Information Network of the Inter-universityConsor- Sunny von Bulow National lnstitute of Criminal Justice tium for Political and Social Research at the Univer- Victim Advocacy Center and Criminology sity of Michigan. University of Maryland Diana Cull Within the Bureau of Justice Statistics, substantive Chief Mark H. Moore direction was provided by Steven R. Schlesinger, Governmental Organizations Daniel and Florence Guggenhein Director; Benjamin H. Renshaw Ill, Deputy Director and Special Projects Branch Professor of Criminal Justice for Management and Intergovernmental Programs; U.S. Bureau of the Census Policy and Management and Joseph M. Bessette, Deputy Director for Data Kennedy School of Government Analysis. Editorial assistance was provided by Mari- James Eaglin Harvard University lyn Marbrook, Publications Unit Chief. Production Chairman was performed by Priscilla Middleton and Tina Dor- National Association of Blacks in Norval Morris sey. Research and analytic assistance was provided Criminal Justice Law School by Sara E. Smith. Editorial, graphic design, and University of Chicago production assistance were provided by Peter Robert Figlio Smith (editing and design), Lawrence Fahey (car- Associate Director Mary E. Oram tography). Great, Inc. (graphics production). Cellin Center for Studies in Senior Staff Associate Christine Gilder (copy editing), and Editorial Experts Criminology and Criminal Law National Center for State Courts (indexing). Brian Frost Ralph Rossum Marianne W. Zawitz Director of Research Director Editor Police Foundation Salvatori Centre Claremont McKenna College James Garofalo Executive Director Ann Schneider Hindelang Criminal Department Head Justice Research Center Political Science State University of New York Oklahoma State University at Albany Greg Thomas Don C. Gibbons Project Director of Uniform The Assistant Attorney General, Office of Professor of Urban Crime Report Redesign Project Justice Programs, coordinates the criminal Studies and Sociology New York Division of Criminal and juvenile justice activities of the following Portland State University Justice Services program offices and bureaus: the Bureau of Justice Statistics, National lnstitute of Jus- Don M. Gottfredson Anthony F! Travisono tice. Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Professor Executive Director Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Preven- School of Criminal Justice American Correctional Association tion, and the Office for Victims of Crime. Rutgers University iv Report to the Nation on Crime and Justice Chapter I The criminal event Patsy A. Klaus Carol G. Kaplan Michael R. Rand Bruce M. Taylor Marianne W. Zawitz Sara E. Smith This chapter gives an overview of crime as it exists in our Nation with data that answer such questions as- How are crimes defined? What are the most common serious crimes? What do we know about common law crimes such as homicide, robbery, and bur- glar)/, How much is known about drunk driving, organized crime, white-collar crime, and crimes involving high tech- nologfl What are the two main sources of national crime statistics? What do they measure? How and why do they differ? How much crime is there? Have crime rates gone up or down? What do differ- ent kinds of statistics tell us about crime trends? How do people rank the seriousness of different crimes? How much agreement is there among the public about the seriousness of various crimes? When do crimes occur? Where do crimes occur? Invaluable contributions to this chapter were made by many people within the What kinds of weapons are used in Department of Justice, including Victoria various types of crimes? How often are Major and the User Services Staff of the handguns used in crime? FBI's Uniform Crime Reports Section, Cynthia J. Lent of the FBI's National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime, David Margolis and Denise Smyler of the Organized Crime and Racketeering Section of the Criminal Division, and Anita D. Timrots of BJS. Material for the sections on drunk driving was supplied by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, particularly by Paul Levy, Chief of