This report provides 1981 statistics from 37 jurisdictions on what happens to criminal cases between arrest and incarceration and explains the role of the prosecutor in the felony disposition process.
Data from 1982 or other years were used for jurisdictions for which 1981 data were unavailable. The statistics cover rejections by the prosecutor, dismissals in court, convictions by guilty plea or trial, acquittals at trial, sentences to incarceration, and elapsed time from arrest to disposition. For every 100 adults arrested for a felony crime, 52 will not be convicted. Of those not convicted, 6 will be referred to diversion programs or to other courts for prosecution, 23 will have their cases rejected for prosecution at screening, 22 will have their cases dismissed in court, and 1 will be acquitted at trial. Of the 48 convicted, 45 will plead guilty and 3 will be found guilty at trial. Appendixes present case-processing statistics by crime type and descriptions of the felony disposition process in each jurisdiction. Extensive figures and tables.