U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report State Court Processing Statistics, 1990-2002 Violent Felons in Large Urban Counties July 2006, NCJ 205289 ---------------------------------------------------------- This file is text only without graphics and many of the tables. A Zip archive of the tables in this report in spreadsheet format (.cvs) and the full report including tables and graphics in .pdf format are available from: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/vfluc.htm ----------------------------------------------------------- By Brian A. Reaves, Ph.D. BJS Statistician ----------------------------------------------- Highlights * From 1990 to 2002, 18% of felony convictions in the 75 largest counties were for violent offenses, including 7% for assault and 6% for robbery. * Six percent of those convicted of violent felonies were under age 18, and 25% were under age 21. Ten percent of murderers were under 18, and 30% were under 21. * Thirty-six percent of violent felons had an active criminal justice status at the time of their arrest. This included 18% on probation, 12% on release pending disposition of a prior case, and 7% on parole. * Seventy percent of violent felons had a prior arrest record, and 57% had at least one prior arrest for a felony. Sixty-seven percent of murderers and 73% of those convicted of robbery or assault had an arrest record. * A majority (56%) of violent felons had a prior conviction record. Thirty-eight percent had a prior felony conviction and 15% had a previous conviction for a violent felony. * Forty-one percent of murder convictions occurred at a trial rather than through a guilty plea. Trial convictions accounted for 12% of rape and robbery convictions and 11% of assault convictions. * Eighty-one percent of violent felons were sentenced to incarceration with 50% going to prison and 31% to jail. Nineteen percent received a probation term without incarceration. * Median prison sentences received included a maximum of 240 months for murder, 120 months for rape, 60 months for robbery, and 48 months for other violent felonies. ----------------------------------------------- Convicted violent felons are among the most serious offenders in the criminal justice system. They are convicted of violent offenses, such as murder, rape, robbery, and assault, and given the most severe sanctions. A BJS analysis of felony convictions in the 75 most populous counties found that a majority of those committing violent felonies had–- * multiple prior arrests * at least 1 prior felony arrest * at least 1 prior conviction. Additionally, the analyses found that most convicted violent felons were -- * detained from arrest through conviction * sentenced to incarceration upon conviction * sentenced to a prison term of 10 years or more if convicted of murder or rape. These findings are based on data from the BJS State Court Processing Statistics (SCPS) program. The multi- year SCPS dataset includes a sample of felony cases filed during selected months in the 75 largest counties from 1990 through 2002. About half of all reported violent crimes nationwide occur in these counties. In 2002 these counties accounted for -- * 61% of robberies * 51% of murders and non-negligent manslaughters * 47% of aggravated assaults * 36% of forcible rapes. This report presents data on approximately 9,000 persons convicted of committing violent felonies. When weighted, these cases represent about 33,000 violent felons including -- * 12,950 (39.5%) convicted of aggravated assault * 10,120 (30.9%) convicted of robbery * 1,987 (6.1%) convicted of rape * 1,077 (3.3%) convicted of murder or non-negligent manslaughter * 6,650 (20.3%) convicted of other violent felonies. The full SCPS dataset used for this report included a sample of 103,000 felony cases. These cases represent about 386,000 defendants when weighted according to the sample design(see Methodology on page 9). About 180,000 of these defendants were convicted of a felony and 18.2% of these were convicted of a violent felony. Of the total number of felony convictions, 7.2% were for assault, 5.6% for robbery, 1.1% for rape, and 0.6% for murder, including nonnegligent manslaughter. An additional 3.7% were for other violent felonies such as involuntary manslaughter, negligent homicide, and kidnaping (see Methodology for offense category definitions). Demographic characteristics Gender Overall, 91% of violent felons in the 75 largest counties were male, ranging from 89% of those convicted of felony assault to 99% of convicted rapists. Ninety-three percent of convicted robbers and 91% of convicted murderers were male. Age Six percent of violent felons were under age 18 at the time of their arrest, and 25% were under age 21. Fourteen percent were 40 years or older. The mean age was 29. Half of convicted murderers were younger than 25; 30% were under age 21 and 10% were under 18. Twelve percent were at least 40 years old. The mean age for those convicted of murder was 27. A third of rapists were under age 25: 18% were under 21 and 4% were under 18. Nineteen percent were 40 or older. The mean age of those convicted of rape was 31. A majority (56%) of robbers were under the age of 25. About 3 in 8 were under the age of 21 and 1 in 8 were under 18. Six percent were 40 years or older. Among those convicted of assault, 4% were under 18, 22% under 21, and 40% under 25. Sixteen percent were 40 or older, and the mean age was 29. Race and ethnicity Forty-one percent of violent felons were black, non- Hispanic , 30% were Hispanic, and 26% were white, non-Hispanic. Blacks (46%) comprised a higher percentage of murderers than Hispanics (27%) or whites (23%). Whites(37%)and blacks(35%)accounted for higher percentages of rapists than Hispanics (23%). Blacks accounted for 54% of robbers, twice the percentage of Hispanics(27%)and about 3 times that of whites (17%). Blacks (39%) accounted for about two-fifths of those convicted of felony assault, compared to about a third who were Hispanic (32%), and a fourth who were white (26%). Blacks (55%) comprised a majority of the violent felons who were under age 18. Blacks accounted for about two-fifths of the total in each age category from 21 through 34. Whites accounted for 13% of the violent felons under age 18. The percentage of whites rose in each successive age category, and was about the same as for blacks in the 35 to 39 age category, and slightly higher in the 40 or older category. Hispanics accounted for 30% of violent felons under age 18, and about a third in each age group from 18 to 29. The percentage of Hispanics was lower than that for both blacks and whites in the 35 and older age categories. Criminal history Criminal justice status at arrest More than a third (36%) of violent felons had at least one type of active criminal justice status when arrested. Eighteen percent were on probation, 12% had been released pending disposition of a prior case, and 7% were on parole when arrested. Robbers(45%)were the most likely to have had a criminal justice status at the time of arrest. An estimated 20% were on probation, 17% had been released pending disposition of a prior case, and 11% were on parole. Those convicted of murder(36%)or felony assault(35%) were the next most likely to have had an active criminal justice status when arrested. Fifteen percent of murderers were on probation, 13% were on pretrial release, and 8% were on parole. Nineteen percent of those later convicted of assault were on probation when arrested, 11% on pretrial release, and 6% on parole. Rapists (23%) were the least likely among violent felons to have a criminal justice status when arrested. Ten percent were on probation, 6% were on pretrial release, and 6% were on parole at the time of their arrest. Prior arrests An estimated 70% of violent felons in the 75 largest counties had been arrested previously. Seventy-three percent of those convicted of robbery or assault had an arrest record, as did 67% of murderers, and 53% of rapists. Sixty percent of violent felons had multiple prior arrest charges, including 40% with 5 or more, and 23% with 10 or more. About a fourth of those convicted of robbery (26%) or assault (24%)had 10 or more prior arrest charges, as did about a fifth of murderers (21%) and a tenth of rapists (10%). A majority (57%) of violent felons had been arrested previously for a felony. The percentage with a felony arrest record ranged from 40% of rapists to 63% of robbers. Fifty-nine percent of those convicted of assault and 58% of those convicted of murder had at least one prior felony arrest. Forty-four percent of violent felons had more than one prior felony arrest charge, and 22% had at least five. About half of those convicted of robbery (51%)had more than one prior felony arrest, as did nearly half of those convicted of assault(46%)or murder (44%). Twenty-eight percent of robbers had 5 or more prior felony arrest charges and 12% had at least 10. Among murderers, 21% had 5 or more prior felony arrest charges, and 10% had 10 or more. Rapists (12%) were least likely to have five or more prior felony arrest charges. Prior convictions Fifty-six percent of convicted violent felons in the 75 largest counties had been previously convicted of a felony or misdemeanor. About three- fifths of those convicted of assault(60%)or robbery (59%) had at least one prior conviction. More than half of murderers (53%) had a conviction record as well. Rapists (42%) were the least likely to have already had a conviction record. Three-fourths of the violent felons with a prior conviction record had been convicted on more than one charge. This included 21% with 5 or more prior convictions, and 7% with 10 or more. Nearly half of those whose current conviction was for assault (46%) or robbery (45%) had multiple prior convictions. An estimated 39% of murderers and 29% of rapists had more than one prior conviction. Twenty-three percent of those convicted of robbery or assault had five or more prior convictions, about twice the percentage among murderers(13%)and rapists (11%). About 3 in 8 violent felons had at least one prior conviction for a felony (38%). This included 43% of robbers, 40% of those convicted of assault, and 38% of murderers. Rapists (27%) and those convicted of other violent felonies (29%)were less likely to have already had a felony conviction. Twenty-three percent of violent felons had more than one prior conviction for a felony, with robbers(27%)about twice as likely as rapists(14%) to have such a conviction record. Nearly a fourth of those convicted of assault(23%)or murder(23%) had multiple prior felony convictions. Five percent of violent felons had been convicted on five or more prior felony charges, including 7% of robbers. Fifteen percent of those convicted of a violent felony during the current study had at least one prior conviction for a violent felony. For 22% of violent felons, the most serious prior conviction was a nonviolent felony, and for 19% a misdemeanor. Pretrial release and detention An estimated 38% of violent felons were released from custody pending disposition of the case that resulted in their conviction. Fifty percent were held on bail, and 11% were denied bail. Among violent felons who had a bail amount set, about two-thirds were released when their bail was set at under $5,000, compared to just 4% when it was set at $100,000 or more. About three-fourths (73%) of those eventually convicted of murder were denied bail or had their bail set at $100,000 or more. One of these conditions was applied to less than a fourth of other violent felons. As a result of these bail conditions, murderers (12%) had the lowest rate of pretrial release. About two-fifths of those eventually convicted of assault (43%) or rape (38%) were released prior to case disposition, compared to about a fourth (28%) of those eventually convicted of robbery. (See Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties, 2002 at for more information on pretrial release.) Pretrial misconduct About 1 in 4 released violent felons committed one or more types of misconduct while in a release status. This misconduct usually involved a rearrest for a new offense (14%) or a failure to appear in court (13%). Thirty-five percent of those eventually convicted of robbery were charged with pretrial misconduct. This included 24% rearrested for a new offense and 18% who failed to appear in court. Misconduct rates were next highest for those eventually convicted of assault (23%). The rate was 17% for murderers and 14% for rapists. Adjudication Eighty-eight percent of violent felons were convicted through a guilty plea and 12% at trial. About two- thirds of trial convictions resulted from jury verdicts. The other third occurred as bench trials where the verdict was determined by a judge. Murder convictions (41%) were much more likely to occur at a trial than convictions for rape (12%), robbery (12%), assault (11%), or other violent felonies (8%). This was consistent with the greater likelihood of murder defendants (44%) going to trial than defendants charged with other violent felonies (6%). (See Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties, 2002 at for more information on the adjudication of felony defendants.) At the time of conviction, 59% of violent felons were represented by a public defender, 21% by a private attorney, and 20% had legal representation assigned by the court. Murder (44%) and rape (46%) defendants were less likely to have a public defender than other violent felons (60%). Robbery defendants (16%) were the least likely to have a private attorney. Violent felons who pled guilty (60%)were more likely to have a public defender than those convicted at trial(49%). Assigned counsel and private attorneys were each used in about a fourth of trials and about a fifth of cases involving guilty pleas. Sentencing Eighty-one percent of violent felons in the 75 largest counties were sentenced to incarceration. Half were sentenced to State prison and about a third to a local jail (31%). Nearly all murder convictions (96%) resulted in a prison sentence. About two-thirds of sentences for robbery (69%) or rape (62%) convictions were to prison and about a fifth were to jail. Felony convictions for assault resulted in equal percentages of jail and prison sentences (38%). The mean prison sentence for a violent felony conviction was 105 months and the median was 60 months. Mean prison sentences ranged from about 26 years for murder to about 61/2 years for assault. Median prison sentences were 20 years for murder, 10 years for rape, 5 years for robbery and 4 years for assault and other violent felonies. Two percent of violent felons received a life sentence including 22% of murderers and 4% of those convicted of rape. Seventy-five percent of murder sentences were either to a term greater than 10 years or to life. Among the 31% of violent felons who received a jail sentence, the mean sentence was 8 months and the median was 6 months. About a third of all jail sentences were for 10 months or longer, including 4% for more than 1 year. Among the 19% of violent felons who were sentenced to probation without incarceration, 7% received a probation term that exceeded 5 years. The mean probation sentence was 42 months and the median was 36 months. When all sentences are considered, including those not involving prison or jail, the mean amount of incarceration received for violent felony convictions in the 75 largest counties was about 23 years for murderers, about 8 years for rapists, and about 6 years for robbers. For assault convictions, the overall mean amount of incarceration received was about 3 years, and for other violent felonies it was about 21/2 years. The median amount of incarceration received at sentencing was 16 years for murderers, 4 years for rapists, and about 3 years for robbers. The overall median amount of incarceration received was less than 1 year for those convicted of assault (9 months) or other violent felonies (7 months). Methodology Sample design The SCPS sample is a 2-stage stratified sample, with 40 of the 75 most populous counties selected at stage one and a systematic sample of State court felony filings (defendants) within each county selected at stage two. The 40 counties were divided into 4 first-stage strata based on court filings. The second-stage sampling (filings) was designed to represent all defendants who had felony cases filed with the court during the selected month. The participating jurisdictions provided data for every felony case filed on selected days during that month. Depending on the first-stage stratum in which it had been placed, each jurisdiction provided filings data for 5, 10, or 20 randomly selected business days in May. Data from jurisdictions that were not required to provide a full month of filings were weighted to represent the full month. (See the individual reports in the Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties series for sampling information specific to each year of the data collection .) Because the data came from a sample, a sampling error is associated with each reported number. In general, if the difference between two numbers is greater than twice the standard error for that difference, we can say that we are 95% confident of a real difference and that the apparent difference is not simply the result of using a sample rather than the entire population. Standard errors may be used to construct confidence intervals around any percentage. For example, if the standard error for the percentage of violent felons sentenced to prison is 1.3%, then the 95% confidence interval is approximately 50% plus or minus 1.96 times 1.3% (or 47.4% to 52.6%). Offense categories Felony offenses were classified into 18 categories for this report. These were further classified into the four major crime categories of violent, property, drug, and public-order. The following listings are a representative summary of the crimes in the violent category; however, these lists are not meant to be exhaustive. All offenses, except for murder, include attempts and conspiracies to commit. Murder -- Includes homicide, nonnegligent manslaughter, and voluntary homicide. Excludes attempted murder (classified as felony assault), negligent homicide, involuntary homicide, or vehicular manslaughter, which are classified as other violent offenses. Rape -- Includes forcible intercourse, sodomy, or penetration with a foreign object. Does not include statutory rape or nonforcible acts with a minor or someone unable to give legal consent, nonviolent sexual offenses, or commercialized sex offenses. Robbery -- Includes unlawful taking of anything of value by force or threat of force. Includes armed, unarmed, and aggravated robbery, carjacking, armed burglary, and armed mugging. Assault -- Includes aggravated assault, aggravated battery, attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, felony assault or battery on a law enforcement officer, and other felony assaults. Does not include extortion, coercion, or intimidation. Other violent offenses -- Includes vehicular mans- laughter, involuntary manslaughter, negligent or reckless homicide, nonviolent or non-forcible sexual assault, kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment, child or spouse abuse, cruelty to a child, reckless endangerment, hit-and-run with bodily injury, intimidation, and extortion. --------------------------------------------- The Bureau of Justice Statistics is the statistical agency of the U.S. Department of Justice. Jeffrey L. Sedgwick is director. This Special Report was written by Brian Reaves. Thomas A. Cohen verified the report. Carolyn C. Williams produced and edited the report. Jayne Robinson prepared the report for final printing. July 2006, NCJ 205289 ---------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------- This report in portable document format and in ASCII and its related statistical data and tables are available at the BJS World Wide Web Internet site: ---------------------------------------------- End of file 07/26/06 ih