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-----.-- .. FEDERAL ASSISTANCE TO STATE. AND LOCAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE AGENCIES

HEARINGS BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON ORIMINAL LAWS AND PROOEDURES . :' • QF:THE ". COMMITTEE ON.THE JUDICIARY·: , SENATE NINETY-FIFTH CONGRESS

.. '. SEOOND SESSION . ON s. 28 and'S. 3216 ~ , !", -" 0' ~ • ~ ,

. CAREER CRI~INALS

SEPTEMBER 27, 1978

Printed for the use of the Committee on the Judiciary P"1 .tr.J\~~

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lIcarings held on: Page Part I.-·Restructuring the Law Enforcement Assistance Administra- tion August 16, 1978 August 23, 1978 Part n.-Coreer Criminals September 27, 1978 ______:. ______.. ______1 Text of:. ~ 0/0 90 107 Statement of: ~:Grimes, ~~i6~======~======J .. Robert, Assistant Administrator, Law Enforcement Assistance Administration ______.:. ______71 Haas, Harl, district attorney for Multnomah Oounty, Portland, Oreg_ 54 COMMITTEE ON ;THE .JUDICIARY Hamilton,search ______William A., president, Institute for Law and Social Re- _ JAMES O.:EASTLAND, Mlssisslppl,Ohairman 20 Kelley, James F ~ prosecuting attorney, Marion, Ind ______63 'h tts . STROM THURMOND, South Carolina EDWARD M.KEN~EDY, Massac use . CHARLES MCC. MATHIAS, JR., Maryland Pattison, Hon. .J:!jdward W., a U.S. Representative from the 29th District of ______4 BIRCH BAYH, IndIana '1' lnla WILLIAM L.SCOTT, Virginia Silbert, Earl J., U.S. Attorney for the Dist.rict of Oolumbia ______29 ROBERT C. BYRD, West VI g . PAULLAXA:LT Nevada Sonner, Andrew L., State's attorney, Montgomery Oounty, Rockville, JAMES ABOUREZK, southl~:~~!a ORRIN G. HATCH, utab Md ______._ JOSEPH R. BIDEN, JR., De MALCOLM WALLOP, 62 d . JOHN C. CULVER, .... Vance, Carol S., district attorney, Harris County, Houston, Tex ___ _ 44 HOWARD M. METZENBAUM, Ohio Work, Charles R., attorney, Washington, D.C ______7 DENNIS DECONCINI, Statement submitted for the record hy- PAUL HATFIELD, Montana Armstrong, David L., Oommonwealth's attorney, letter of October MARYON ALLEN, Alabama 20, 1977, .with transmittal letter from Senator Mathias ______123 Beutsen, Hon. Lloyd, a U.S. Senator from the State of Texas ______87 Knox, Neal, executive. director, Institute for Legisla.tive Actio}l'1 SUBCOMMITTEE ON ORIMINAL LAWS AND PROCEDURES National Rifle Association of America on S. 3216 _____J.2.hJ_J 115 Mathias,Maryland Hon. ______Charl€fS McC., Jr., a U.S. Senator from tne State of _ JOSEPH R. BIDEN, JR., Delaware, 07lUirman 78 , . i STROM THURMOND, South Carolina Exhibits: JAMES O. EASTLAND, Mlssissipp ORRIN G HATCH utah Career criminal program in Maryland ______EDWARD M. KENNEDY, Massachusetts ". 80 MARK H. GITENSTEIN,,,OhierOoun8eZ anit Staff Director "Career Criminal Prosecution: An Idea 'Whose Time has Come," Joan Petersilia ______163 /~l2- (Il) . Charts of certain defendants compiled by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia______38 r "Criminal Oareers of Habitual Felons," National Institute of Law '.' Enforcement and Oriminal Justice, LEAA, Department of Justice_ 244. 6' ~ I Legal background materials for the career criminal program______4257;;{ /;;1 "Mandatory Prison Sentences: Their Projected Effects on Crime " and Prison Populations," Joan Petersilia and Peter W. Greenwood~~99t 7 "( The) Prison Experience of Career Criminals: Cur\.!L¥ -

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FEDERAL ASSISTANCE TO STATE, AND t' LOCAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE AGENCIES

HEARINGS BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON CRIMINAL LAWS AND PROCEDURES .QF:THlD , OOMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY . ' UNITEDS1"ATES SENATE NINETY-FIFTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION ON s. 28 and S. 3216 ~ e ~ .....- '. PAR.TlI , CAREER CRIMINALS"

SEPTEMBER 27, 1978

Printed for the use of the Committee on the Judiciary 11

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. , U.S. GOVlDRNM1l)NT PRINTING Ol!'FICEl

35-690 WASHINGTON: 1078 ,;:.

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Hearings held on: Page Part I.-Restructuring the Law Enforcement Assistance Administra- tion August 16, 1978 August 23, 1978 Part H.-Coreer Cdminals September 27, 1978 ______:..______1 TextS~f ~8_~ ______-':1- ;A_(;,_{Q_ 90 S. 3216______107 Statement of: Grimes, J. Robert, Assistant Administrator, Law Enforcement Assistance Administration ______.:. ______71 COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY Haas! Harl, d~s~rict attorney. for Multn<;>mah County, Portland, Oreg_ 54 .TAMES O. EASTLAND, Mississippi, Oha'lrman Hamtlton,search ______WIlham A., preSIdent, InstItute for Law and Social Re- _ 20 EDWARD M. KENNEDY, Massachusetts STROM THURMOND, South Carolina Kelley, James F. prosecuting attorney, Marion, Ind ______63 BIRCH BAYH, Indiana CHARLES McC. MATHIAS, .TR., Maryland Pattison, Hon. Edward W., a U.S. Representative from the 29th ROBERT C. BYRD, West Virginia WILLIAM L.SCOTT, Virginia District of New York ______4 .TAIIIES .ABOUREZK, South Dakota PAUL LAXALT, Nevada Silbert, Earl J., U.S. Attorney for the Dist.rict of Columbia ______29 JOSEPH R. BIDEN, JR., Delaware ORRIN G. HATCH, Utab Sonner,Md ______Andrew L., State's attorney, Montgomery County, Rockville, _ JOHN C. CULVER, Delaware' MALCOLl\! WALLOP, Wyoming 62 HOWARD M. METZENBAUM, Ohio Vance,Carol S., district attorneYJ Harris County, Houston, Tex ___ _ 44 DENNIS DECONCINI, Arizona Work, Charles R., attorney, Wasnington, D.C ______7 PAUL HATFIELD, Montana Statement submitted for the record by­ IIIARYON ALLEN, Alabama Armstrong, David L., Commonwealth's attorney, letter of October 20, 1977, ,with transmittal letter from Senator Mathias______123 Bentsen Hon. Lloyd, a U.S. Senator from the State of Texas______87 SUBCOMMITTEE ON CRIMINAL LAWS AND PROCEDURES Knox, Neal, executive director, Institute for Legislative ActioP-v .TOSEPH R. BIDEN, JR., Deiaware, OTlairman National Rifle Association of America, on S. 3216-----7~.kJ.i 115 Mathias, Hon. Charles McC., Jr., a U.S. Senator from tlie State of JAMES O. EASTLAND, Mississippi S~ROMTHURMOND, South Carolina Maryland ______' ______78 EDWARD M. KENNEDY, Massachusetts ORRIN G. HATCH, Utah Exhibits: MARK H. GITENSTFJIN,~Ohie!"ooun8el ana Staff Direotor Career criminal program in Maryland ______80 "Career Criminal Prosecution: An Idea Whose Time has Come 3' Joan Petersilia ______~_ (Ill' 163 7'~/Z Charts of c~rtB:in defendants. compiled by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the DIstrICt of ColumbIa ______38 "Criminal Careers of Habitual Felons," National Institute of Law Enforcement and Ci'iminal Justice, LEAA, Department of, Justice_ 24,1 ~egal background materit'.}s for the career criminal program______4257;<618 'Mandat9ry Prison Sentences: Their Projected Effects on Crime and Prison Populations," Joan Petersilia and Peter W. Greenwood_~2.'7LA'9'0/7 'I(The) Prison Experience of Career Criminals: Cu.l'QL¥. >r(Pliaf.l.tic~ er~ '''''r' ", . and Future Consideration," Paul Honig~~-~_b_I__ ~.b-3-- 217" "(The) Rand Hahitual Offender Projec!J .A ~umMa:ry of Research " Findings to Date," March 1f)78------~~5-;;;.f-8----- 187' ".: .•." (m) r" I I " "

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In the 1ntere~t of a fair and expedisn~ crim!nal justice sys­ STATEMENT tem, the Nat10nal Rifle Association would l;~e' to go ~n record sup­

OF porting the passage and enactment of r~r. Bentlien's 5.3216, which NEAL KNOX parallels closely Mr. Mathias' S.28. This proposed legislation , EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR .\'. ' would establish long-term appropriations for the LEAA'y special INSTITUTE FOR LEGISLATIVE ACTION ~rosecutorial projects aimed at repeated felpny offeriders, a pro­ NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA gram which has b.en proven to be an effective tool for dealing with the chronic recidivist. Expanding the LEAA-sponsored pilot projects, S3216 would submitted to the amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Sa~e Streets Act of 1968 to Subcommittee on Criminal Laws and Procedures include funding of. "general local government for the development of the and implementation o..f programs relating to the prosecution of re­ SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE peat criminal offenders." The goal of the proposal is the success~ on \\ ful identification, prosecution a~d "long t~rm imprisonmen~ of the S. 3216 "CAREER CRIMINALS, PROSECUTION ACT OF 1978" most violent and dangerous offenders." '~ Based on a federal match funding !~rmula with local communi­ ties, the bill would require local governments to set criteria, subject to LEAA approval, for the identification of repeat criminals, as well as to make ,such data readily available to law enforcement,

!( prosecutors, courts, andprofe~~ional staff working unde~ this special :! October 10, 1978 "career criminal" program. The unique characteristjt'~f the career crifuinal projects ver­

sus prosecutions obtained, using ro~tine procedures,is the ability

of the system via compute~ized information and specially trained

staff to expeditiously compile full investigations,fncl~ding ex­ tensive past histories on offenders within a short time f.rame. The result -- speedier trials, stronger convictions and loriger sentences meted out to th~se criminals whose past records warrant such action.

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More detailed studiesi however, have been conducted on the Exactly how many care~f crimin~ls e~ist and prospe~ in this local level with similar results. Research of Washington, O. C. country in unce~tain. the FBI "Uniform Crime Reports" at on~ by tbe Institute for Law and Social Research (INSLAW) found, for time gave some indicatio~ in thei~ "Caree~s in Crime" section. instance; "that over a 56-month period from 1971 to 1975, 30 percent In that study conducted of those arrested for index crimes over of the different persons who were arrested had at least two arrests the period 1970-75, 64% or 164,295 out of a total 255,936 arrestee~ and accounted for 56 percent of all arrests brought to the Superior had two or more prior arrests to their credit. Further, the tota~ Court during that period."* 255,936 arrestees who had doc~mented cha~ges of more than 1 million These figures, of course, simply represent those arrested, not offenses accounted for a mere 142,000 imprisonments. necessarily those convicted. And yet, 26% of those individuals ar­ The following chart, extracted from "Editorial Reports on rested on felony, charges were those who were released into the 'com­ Crime and Justice" (published by Congressional Quarterly, 1978),' " munity vi.abail,probation or parole. Further, the INSL:AW ·!;tudy ~ depicts the FBI study results of recidivists by type of cfime: revealed th~t "l'ess'tiiai1 40 percent of all persons arrested for a il violent property offense who were convicted in the Superior Court REPEATERS BY TYPE OF CRIME IN 1972 were subsequently incarcer~ted."*

PERSONS RELEASED IN 1972 AND REARRESTED WITHIN 4 YEARS Cpncurr.ent with the INSLAW research tracing the patterns of Washington's criminal justice system, the Rand Corporation (Califor­ Burglary nia) was making more specific efforts to study habitu~l offenders 'Robbery Motor Vehicle • 75%1 in a controlled setting -- prison. Following two years of dat~ Theft Rape collection from 49 inmates, the results were that repeat« criminals Assault ",,'. ",':: .,:. ',' 7(1% 1 are arrested for approximat~ly 6 percent of those crimes committed stolen Property 1==:::::====:;6~8~%~d while they are still juveniles, and 20 percent for those crimes com­ Forgery 68%1'

"'f'" '"<: ••• Larceny-Theft '65%J mitted when tpey reach adulthood. That ~mall samp1e,culled from a l Narcotics 65%1 medium security facility, self-r~ported 10,500 crimes to interviewers. "<:;C;.",~-' .'." .64%J i Murder In comparispn, arrest, conviction and incarceration remained to \ W~apons . ' .:"c.E'.':': , ",<64%1 the habitual offender, a remote possibility. ~ . Fraud ',,: : ",'., 63%J ..

Gambling 'C'" '50%1 ," ,/ . ~, ,; Embezzlement 1==2=8=%='~1 ___ -:-::-:-:::-1 * Report, No ..3, PROMIS Research Project, INSLAW. lj,'ll' othee;s 64%J II "'" ~J

SOURce: FBI's 1975 Uniform Crime Reports

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\ Such attrition not only makes "getting away with crime" a dis- Within that time frame, LEAA noted reductions in robberies in tinct benefit for c~reer criminals, it is demoralizing frir l~w enforce­ 17 of the sample cities which exceeded the national average by 54 ment, frustrating for prosecutors 'and detrimental for the public. percent and a reduction in burglaries that,~xceeded the national It is no mere coincidence that the prosecutorial program an­ average by 30 percent. nounced by the D. C. Metropolitan Police Department and the U. S. Other cities, impressed with such marked progress initiated Attorney's Office in August 1976 was named "Operation Doorstop." their own programs, .among them: Canton, Ohio; Cook Couriti, Illinois;

The prior handling of career criminals had often been analogized Denver, Colorado; Fort Worth, Texas; Seattle an~ Vancouver, Wash­ to a "revolving door of justice." This program, however, established ington; West Palm Beach, Florida; and Sacramento, Santa Barbara and a team Df experienced prosecutors and other criminal justice pro­ Ventura, . The California state,legislature, in fact, fessionals working under a Career Criminal Unit. Through these ex­ passed a bill in September 1977 to appropriate $3 million per year perts, cases were established rather than lost, and prior records I for funding career criminal units under local district attorney I fully investigated for use in preliminary hearings. The results of offices -- the "California Career Criminal Prosecution Program~ this extraordinary project were that 52 of the first 60 defe,ndants is the first iuch state law in the nation. Heretofore, the lack were jailed before trial. Overall, 90 percent of the suspects of Federal incentives to th~ cities has carried with it th~ clear II prosecuted under the,program have. been indicted, and 94 percent of risk that such programs will be allowed to lapse or will never be those indicted have been convicted. The waiting period between created. For this reason, the concept of matching funds as proposed arrest and indictment for career criminal cases as opposed to other in S3216 is beneficia] by encouraging cities and states to establish felony cases has been more than cut in half. anti-crime programs of this magnitude. The concept of "Operation Doorstop" was not born without inspir­ Establishing career criminal program on a broad scale, subsi­ ation, patterned after a project initiated by the Law Enforcement 1, dized in part through this proposed Federal matching fund mechanism, Assistance Administration in 1975 in 22 U. S. cities. WtthifederaT. ~ would be cost-effectiv~~ LEAA's career criminal project funding ftlrld i ng, test :'ci ties co n vi cted"5 ~300 ~ def.:endarits'O ov.er·':a~'two-yea r over a two-year period, for example, cost $14 million, or approxi­ period -- defendants who had accumulated Over an adult arrest period, mately $2,600 per conviction. This expenditure may well represent a sum total of nearly 67,000 prior arre~ts. The track ~ecord for the a fraction of the cost of permitting recidivist felons to circumvent period May 1975 to September .1977 showed a conviction rate of 95 the criminal justice process. One criminologist noted in a recent percent, with nearly 90 p'ercent of the defendants convicted on top felony charges rather than on plea bargains. In addition, the aver­ age non-enhanced sentence pronounced was 17 years. '.

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JAMES D. EASTLAND, MISS., CHAIRMAN b~.,k: "A study of twe,,:ty':five repeaters followed over a nine-year JOHN L. MCCLELLAN, ARK. STROM THU~MOND, S,C, EDWARD M. KENNEDY. MASS. CHAFiLES MCC. MATHIAS, JR., MD. emCH DAYH, IND. WILLIAM L. scorr~ VA. ROBERT C. BYRD, W. VA. PAUL LAXALT, NEV. criminal hist~i"ycycle averaged their C.ost to the public at $400,000 JAMES ADOUREZK. S. OAK. ORRIN G. HATCH, UTAH JAMES D. ALLEN, ALA. MALCOLM WALLOP, WYO. JOSEPH R. OlDEN, JR •• DEL. COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIJ\~Y per offender."* JOHN C. CULVER, ,OWA HOWARD M. METZENDAUM, OHIO WASHINGTON. D.C. 20510 DENNIS DE CONCINI. ARIZ.

It should be apparent that the costs of habitual criminality FRANCIS C. ROSENBERGER CHIEF COUNSEL AND STAFF DIRECTOR will be presented to the public in th~ form of increased crime rates July 14, 1978 if the criminal justice system will not b~ encouraged to make parti­ The Honorable ~oseph R. Biden, Jr. cular efforts to identify, prgsecute and incarcerate the chronic o Chairman Subconmiittee on Criminal Laws recidivist. q' . and Procedures Committee on the Judiciary U.S. Senate * Injustice for All, Anne Strick, pgs. 207-208. Washington, D.C. 20510 Dear Mr. Chairman: On January 10, 1977, I introduced S. 28, the Repeat Offenders Prosecution and Prison Improvement Act of 1977. The bill is primarily designed to achieve two important goals. First, it would provide for financial assistance to improve the capabilities of units of local government to deal with career criminals by establishing the Office of Repeat Offenders Prosecution Projects within the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration. Secondly, it would help to relieve the overcrowding that plagues our Nation's prisons. I believe that the need for this legislation and the reforms for which it provides is great, and becoming more so as time passes. I therefore respectfully request that you convene hearings on S. 28 at your earliest convenience. Naturally my staff stands ready to assist in any way possible. For you information, I have enclosed a letter I have received from Louisville, Kentucky's Commonwealth Attorney in support of S. 28. You will note that Mr. Armstrong has offered to testify at hearings on the legislation to present Louisville's experience with its local Career Criminal Bureau for the Committee's benefit. I deeply appreciate your consideration of this vital piece of legislation and trust that we can work

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Chairman Biden COMMONWEA~TH 01" KENTUCKY July 13, 1978 O,..,..'CEO,.. THE COMMONWEAL.TH'S ATTORNEY Pag~ Two ~"'~

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Honorable Charles Mathias. Jr. October 20. 1977 Page 2

I would be more than happy to testify before any committee hearings that you might have relating to S.28 'and discuss the success of our local Career Criminal Program.

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