U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics Jan M. Chaiken, Ph.D. Director This Bureau of Justice Statistics report was prepared by Lisa Price-Grear under the supervision of Maureen A. Henneberg. Priscilla Middleton edited and produced it, with assistance from Jayne Robinson and Yvonne Boston. BJS staff are grateful to everyone who participates in our surveys. The data of this report and supporting graphs and spreadsheets are available on the internet -- http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/ Contents About the Bureau of Justice Statistics New in FY 1998 National Sex Offender Registry (NSOR) Assistance Program Hate crime statistics National Survey of DNA Laboratories Crime and Justice Database on BJS internet site6 Statistics on the length of stay for prison population Recidivism study Ongoing BJS statistical series and programs Crimes and victims Criminal offenders The justice system Firearms and crime International statistics General criminal justice statistics State Justice Statistics Program for Statistical Analysis Centers Visiting Research Fellowship Program Criminal record systems How to use BJS services To order BJS products About the Bureau of Justice Statistics BJS, a component of the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) in the U.S. Department of Justice, is the primary source for justice statistics in the United States. BJS collects, analyzes, publishes, and disseminates information on crime, criminal offenders, victims of crime, and the operation of justice systems at all levels of government. These data are critical to Federal, State, and local policymakers in combating crime and ensuring that justice is both efficient and evenhanded. This year BJS will -- * Interview almost 100,000 citizens in more than 50,000 households about any experiences they may have had as crime victims. * Describe characteristics and consequences of about 37 million criminal victimizations. * Analyze operations of some 50,000 agencies, offices, courts, and institutions that together comprise the justice system. * Count populations and conduct sample surveys among the more than 5.3 million adults who during an average day are subject to the care, custody, or control of criminal justice authorities. * Maintain more than two dozen major data collection series from which it publishes and distributes reports nationwide. Visit BJS's Internet site on the World Wide Web at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/ BJS publishes data annually on -- Criminal victimization Populations under correctional supervision Federal criminal offenders and case processing. BJS periodic data series include -- Felony convictions State court case processing Characteristics of correctional populations Prosecutorial practices and policies Administration of law enforcement agencies and correctional facilities Criminal justice expenditures and employment Civil cases in State courts Special studies on other criminal justice topics. A description of the various BJS data series can be found under the topical sections of this report. Many BJS data collection activities are carried out by the U.S. Bureau of the Census. BJS staff also coordinate with other Department of Justice statistical programs, such as the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program and National Incident-Based Reporting System. BJS provides financial and technical support to State governments in developing capabilities in criminal justice statistics; improving the automation, accuracy, and completeness of criminal history records and records of protective orders involving domestic violence and stalking; developing complete and accurate intrastate sex offender registries; and facilitating the interstate exchange of such records through national systems. ----------------------------------- New in fiscal year 1998 National Sex Offender Registry (NSOR) Assistance Program ----------------------------------- In FY 1998 BJS began administering the National Sex Offender Registry (NSOR) Assistance Program, which supports the President's goal of establishing an effective national registry of convicted sex offenders. Although currently all States have some form of registry in place, many cannot efficiently or accurately share information. The National Sex Offender Registry will ensure that accurate and complete information about released sex offenders is made available to law enforcement to protect the public and to prevent further victimizations. BJS was appropriated $25 million in FY 1998 to carry out this grant program. Specifically the program will ensure that-- * State registries are designed to identify, collect, and properly disseminate relevant information that is consistent, accurate, complete, and up to date. * States establish appropriate interfaces with the FBI's national system so that State registry information on sex offenders can be obtained and tracked from one jurisdiction to another. The NSOR assistance program will also assist States in implementing systems to meet relevant requirements of Federal legislation (Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act, Megan's Law, and Pam Lychner Sexual Offender Tracking and Identification Act) and related State standards. Accordingly, all States will be eligible for an award from these funds. BJS issued the program announcement in March 1998. In each State an agency designated by the governor is eligible to apply for NSOR-AP funding. ----------------------------------- Hate crime statistics ----------------------------------- As part of the Attorney General's Hate Crime Initiative, BJS will carry out a study to examine ways to improve participation by law enforcement agencies in collecting and reporting hate crime statistics to the FBI and will profile locality responses to hate crime. Findings will assist the Federal government in identifying activities to be undertaken to improve the accuracy of hate crime statistics, produce accurate trend data on hate crime statistics, and develop "best practices" models of hate crime reporting. In addition, as part of the City-level Victimization Surveys project, data will be collected on the prevalence of hate crime in the 12 selected cities (see page 11 for more information on these surveys.) Respondents will be asked to identify any crimes they experienced to which they attribute a racial, ethnic, religious, or sexual orientation motivation on the part of the offender. Hate crimes against disabled persons will also be identified. The Community-Oriented Policing Services (COPS) office provided funds for data collection in 10 cities. NIJ sponsored the city survey in Washington, DC, as part of its research support to the DC Revitalization Initiative. ----------------------------------------- National Survey of DNA Laboratories ----------------------------------------- The 1994 Crime Act included provisions establishing the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), a national DNA database program. As of December 1997, 48 States had enacted laws requiring the collection of DNA samples, primarily from sex offenders and other violent criminals. At this time, there are no national data on the operations and capacities of crime laboratories in the United States that process and store DNA evidence and samples. To fill this data gap, BJS, with funding from the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), will conduct a national survey of all public and private DNA laboratories to collect management and administrative statistics on staff size and characteristics, staff training, budgets, DNA testing procedures, processing policies, and archival capacity. The survey will also obtain information on the degree of laboratory compliance with national standards and participation in the national database of DNA samples. BJS is working closely with State and local crime laboratory directors and the FBI's Forensic Science Systems Unit in the design of the survey instrument. This effort will provide a mechanism for crime laboratory directors to compare procedures and capacities among the different laboratories, as well as a tool to measure compatibility between the national (CODIS) DNA database and State DNA databases. ------------------------------------------------------- Crime and Justice Database on BJS Internet site ------------------------------------------------------- The Attorney General has emphasized the need to provide on-line and timely crime data to the public. In response, BJS is developing an aggressive data distribution plan relying heavily upon electronic access to data. BJS, in conjunction with NIJ, will expand Internet access to data by developing a database interface. The data dissemination strategy provides a wide variety of data products to users of all interests and abilities. Currently, accessibility is limited to data already published on paper or in electronic form and to spreadsheets prepared by the BJS staff. With the advent of the database interface, even unsophisticated users will have easy access to customized data online. The benefits of the Internet Database include -- * meeting the growing needs of many of the users of BJS and NIJ crime and justice data * providing a new resource of information that will permit users to see trends on a jurisdictional basis * expanding services to BJS and NIJ customers. ------------------------------------------------------- Statistics on the length of stay for prison population ------------------------------------------------------- With funding from the OJP Corrections Program Office, BJS will track the sentence length and projected length of stay for prison admission cohorts as well as the elapsed time served and projected time to be served by the standing prison population in States receiving funds through the Violent Offender Incarceration and Truth-in-Sentencing grant programs. Key elements will include offender characteristics, most serious offense, admission type, maximum sentence length, elapsed time served, and expected length of stay. BJS will use its ongoing National Corrections Reporting Program (NCRP) to collect and analyze individual records of persons admitted and released from prison in selected States. Based on results of the ongoing Inventory of State and Federal Correctional Information Systems, the NCRP data series will be enhanced to include better admissions cohort data. Prison release data will also be used to recalibrate projected time to be served based on time actually served by released offenders. It is expected that BJS will publish findings by yearend 1999. ----------------------------------- Recidivism study ----------------------------------- With funding from the OJP Corrections Program Office and the FBI, BJS will conduct the first national followup study of prisoners in 16 years. The study will develop a sample of State prison releases with oversampling of violent offenders, particularly those offenders convicted of sexual assault crimes and crimes against children. Followups would be carried out through State and Federal criminal history records for 3 years. The most recent national study of post-prison recidivism conducted by BJS followed for 3 years a sample of offenders drawn to represent 109,000 prisoners discharged from prisons in 11 States in 1983. Two areas where recent recidivism data are particularly needed are for sex offenders and those who victimize children. Methods to be used for carrying out the proposed 1998 recidivism study will be far superior to those employed in the 1983 study due to the substantial improvements that have been made in the criminal history records infrastructure under the National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP) and other Federal initiatives. The sample will be supplemented with arrestees who are not imprisoned, so that comparative recidivism statistics can be generated at a future time. To the maximum extent possible, automated records will be utilized to track the national sample and will facilitate analyses of post-prison mobility across States as well as provide much more complete knowledge of the adjudication of new arrest offenses. ----------------------------------- Ongoing BJS statistical series and programs Crimes and victims ----------------------------------- The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) is the Nation's second largest ongoing household survey. The NCVS provides data on the number of rapes, sexual assaults, robberies, assaults, thefts, household burglaries, and motor vehicle thefts experienced by U.S. residents age 12 or older and their households each year. * In 1996 U.S. residents age 12 or older experienced approximately 36.8 million crimes. Twenty-seven million (74%) were property crimes, 9.1 million (25%) were crimes of violence, and (1%) were personal thefts. * Murders, as measured by law enforcement data provided to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports, were the least frequent violent victimization -- about 7 murder victims per 100,000 persons in 1996. * In 1996 for every 1,000 persons age 12 or older, there occurred -- -- 1 rape or sexual assault -- 2 assaults with serious injury -- 5 robberies. Initiated in 1972 and redesigned in 1992, the NCVS is the Nation's primary source of information on crime victimization and the victims of crime. It is the only national crime measure that includes both those crimes that people experience but do not report to law enforcement authorities and those that they do report. The survey redesign incorporated many important changes to the questionnaire, including the following: additional ways to help survey participants recall incidents; more direct questions on rape, sexual assault, and other sexual crimes; and new questions to measure victimizations by nonstrangers, including domestic violence. During a collection year, data are obtained in 6-month intervals from a nationally representative sample of roughly 50,000 households, comprising more than 100,000 persons, on the impact, frequency, and consequences of criminal victimization in the United States. The survey enables BJS to estimate the likelihood of victimization by rape, robbery, assault, larceny, household larceny, household burglary, or motor vehicle theft for segments of the population such as the elderly, city dwellers, or other groups. The NCVS is the only national forum for victims to describe consequences of crime and the characteristics of violent offenders. Reports in fiscal year 1998 include Violence by Intimates (NCJ 167237), March 1998, Violent Crime Victimization in the Workplace, 1992-96 (NCJ 168634) to be released in the spring 1998, and Injuries from Crime, 1992-95 (NCJ 168633) with joint publication with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Recent reports -- Criminal Victimization 1996: Changes 1995-96 with Trends 1993-96 released 11/97 (NCJ 165812) Sex Differences in Violent Victimization, 1994 released 9/97 (NCJ 164508) Age Patterns of Victims of Serious Violent Crime released 9/97 (NCJ 162031) ------------------------------------------------------- City-level victimization and citizen attitude surveys ------------------------------------------------------- Working in partnership with the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Office, BJS is conducting city-level victimization surveys in 12 cities which will provide a unique city-based dataset to examine attitudes toward community policing activities, perceptions of crime, police-public contact and characteristics of victimizations by crime. The U.S. Bureau of the Census began conducting the survey fieldwork in February 1998 in the following 12 cities: Chicago, IL; Knoxville, TN; Kansas City, MO; Los Angeles, CA; Madison, WI; New York, NY; San Diego, CA; Savannah, GA; Spokane, WA; Springfield, MA; Tucson, AZ; and Washington, DC. The data will also provide a better understanding of the impact of different community policing strategies. The COPS office provided funds for data collection in 10 cities. NIJ sponsored the city survey in Washington, DC, as part of its research support to the DC Revitalization Initiative. ----------------------------------- Software for local surveys ----------------------------------- BJS is developing a software program using a popular personal computer database for localities to conduct their own telephone surveys of residents to collect data on crime victimization, attitudes toward policing, and other community-related issues. Using this user-friendly version of the Crime Victimization Survey, localities can quickly design a questionnaire to reflect local interests while maintaining a standard core of NCVS questions. When completed and tested, the software will be made available at no charge to the criminal justice community. ----------------------------------- School crime ----------------------------------- BJS and the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) collaborated to add a special supplement to the NCVS to collect data on aspects of school crime. Household members age 12 or older who attended school were asked questions about their school environment. These data represent an estimated 22 million students, age 12 to 19. Information was obtained on availability of drugs at school, existence of street gangs, prevalence of gang fights, presence of guns at school, victimizations, and fear of being attacked or harmed. A joint BJS-NCES report entitled Students' Reports of School Crime: 1989 and 1995, summarizing these findings was released in April 1998 and will be a component of this year's Report to the President on School Crime and Safety. The report on school crime and safety, using data from the 1995 NCVS School Crime Supplement and other sources from the Department of Education, will provide statistics on school crime; examples of model safe and drug free schools; model programs and strategies to create safe schools; an overview of available state and local data; and steps that school officials, community members, including parents and students can take to ensure that their schools are safe. ----------------------------------- Hospital Emergency Department Statistics on Intentional Violence ----------------------------------- BJS recently published the first-ever national data on intentional violence, including domestic violence, rape, and child abuse, from a national sample of hospital emergency departments. Through the Consumer Product Safety Commission's (CPSC) National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, information was collected on intentional injuries treated in hospital emergency rooms in 1994. Data include characteristics of the victim and perpetrator, victim-perpetrator relationship, alcohol/drug involvement in the incident, and a description of the circumstances of the injury. Violence-Related Injuries Treated in Hospital Emergency Departments, (NCJ 156921) released in August 1997, reports that a higher percentage of women than men were treated for injuries inflicted by an intimate -- a current or former spouse, boyfriend, or girlfriend. Men were more likely than women to be treated for injuries caused by nonrelatives -- acquaintances and strangers. ----------------------------------- Measuring crime on campus ----------------------------------- BJS and NIJ jointly sponsored a baseline study on campus sexual assault, as required by the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. The survey that was carried out by the University of Cincinnati in spring 1997 collected sexual victimization data from a national sample of women enrolled at U.S. post-secondary institutions. Findings from this study are expected to be released in summer 1998. The BJS component of the study used an adapted NCVS questionnaire. BJS also has recent data available from a survey of campus law enforcement agencies. This study found that among 4-year schools with 2,500 or more students, an average of about 7 serious violent crimes (murder, forcible sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated assault) and about 256 property crimes occurred per year. ------------------------------------------------------- Research projects on crime and victims ------------------------------------------------------- BJS works with the American Statistical Association (ASA) to address specific issues of mutual interest and involve the broader statistical community in issues relevant to justice statistics. BJS provides funding to ASA for technical advice and analysis of substantive and methodological issues. BJS, in conjunction with ASA, is sponsoring the following research projects -- Effects of Interview Conditions on Rape and Domestic Violence Reporting: Are Adjustments Needed in the Rede-sign? The University of South Carolina is examining the use of statistical modeling to estimate the annual incidence rates of rape and domestic violence adjusting for conditions under which the redesigned National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) was conducted. Repeat Victimized Individuals and Households: Hierarchical Modeling of the 1994 National Crime Victimization Survey The University of Hull, United Kingdom, is conducting an effort to (1) expand the understanding of repeat victimization for effective crime prevention and (2) develop a statistical tool which will recognize the complex interactions between individuals and their environment and behavior as they relate to the victimizations. The Sexual Assault of Young Children: Incident, Victim and Offender Profiling Using NIBRS Data The National Center for Juvenile Justice is utilizing National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) data files to describe the characteristics of youthful victims of sexual assault. The characteristics of the incident including place of occurrence, time of occurrence, characteristics of the offender, and victim-offender relationship will be examined. ----------------------------------- Criminal offenders ----------------------------------- BJS collects data about criminal offenders, particularly those serving time in prison or jail. Frequent statistical analyses of various national datasets describe offenders committing particular types of offenses, such as violent offenses, victimization of children, and sex offenses. For example -- * If recent incarceration rates remain unchanged, an estimated 1 of every 20 persons (5.1%) will serve time in a prison during their lifetime. * Lifetime chances of a person going to prison are higher for -- -- men (9%) than for women (1.1%) -- blacks (16.2%) and Hispanics (9.4%) than for whites (2.5%). * An estimated 18.6% of inmates serving time in State prisons in 1991 for violent crimes, or about 61,000 offenders nationwide, had been convicted of a crime against a victim under age 18. * 1 in 5 violent offenders serving time in a State prison reported having victimized a child. * An estimated 24% of those serving time for rape and 19% of those serving time for sexual assault had been on probation or parole at the time of the offense for which they were in State prison in 1991. * Four datasets (the FBI's UCR arrests, State felony court convictions, prison admissions, and the NCVS) all point to a sex offender who is older than other violent offenders -- generally in his early thirties -- and more likely to be white than other violent offenders. BJS data collection programs, primarily related to corrections and courts and sentencing, provide a wealth of information on demographic characteristics of offenders, criminal histories, arrest offenses, criminal case processing, and sentencing, as well as data on offenders' drug and alcohol use, victims, and familial and economic backgrounds. Recent reports -- Lifetime Likelihood of Going to State or Federal Prison released 3/97 (NCJ 160092) Sex Offenses and Offenders: An Analysis of Data on Rape and Sexual Assault released 2/97 (NCJ 163392) ----------------------------------- The justice system Law enforcement ----------------------------------- BJS collects data about Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies and their activities. Recent findings include -- * As of June 1996, Federal agencies employed about 74,500 full-time personnel authorized to make arrests and carry firearms. Of all Federal law enforcement officers, 14% were women and 28% were members of a racial or ethnic minority. * In 1993, there were more than 17,000 State and local law enforcement agencies in the United States. Approximately 21 full-time local police officers were employed for every 10,000 residents served. * In 1995, BJS surveyed campus law enforcement agencies serving 4-year universities and colleges with 2,500 or more students and found that more than 9 in 10 public institutions used sworn police officers, compared to less than half of the private institutions. The Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS) survey, collects data from over 3,000 agencies, including all those that employ 100 or more sworn officers and a nationally representative sample of smaller agencies. Data are obtained on the organization and administration of police and sheriffs' departments, agency responsibilities, operating expenditures, job functions of sworn and civilian employees, officer salaries and special pay, demographic characteristics of officers, weapons and armor policies, education and training requirements, computers and information systems, vehicles, special units, drug enforcement activities, and employee drug testing policies. Preliminary findings from the 1997 LEMAS are expected by yearend 1998. Community Policing Supplement to LEMAS Survey, an enhancement to the BJS Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS) survey sponsored by the COPS office, collected information from law enforcement agencies about their community policing activities. The enhanced survey, for the first time, gathered information on community policing units, training activities, and policies related to community policing. Results from this data collection will be available in the summer of 1998. Survey of Campus Law Enforcement Agencies, conducted for the first time in 1995, collects data from campus law enforcement agencies from 4-year U.S. universities or colleges that had 2,500 or more students. The data collected describe agencies in terms of their personnel, expenditures and pay, operations, equipment, computers and information systems, policies, and special programs. Findings are available in Campus Law Enforcement Agencies, 1995 (NCJ 161137) released December 1996. Police use of force data collection is the only official collaborative source of information on this topic. In November 1997, BJS and NIJ released the second annual report to the Congress as required by the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. The report, Police Use of Force, Collection of National Data, presents findings of a pilot survey on police-public contacts, conducted by BJS in 1996 as a supplement to the NCVS. The survey, collecting data from 6,421 residents age 12 or older, provides preliminary estimates of the prevalence of citizen contacts with the police, including contacts in which police use force. Findings of the 1996 pilot study include: * One in five U.S. residents had some face-to-face contact with police annually. * About 1% of those who came in contact said police used force or threatened to use force against them, although a majority of those respondents said their own actions may have provoked the police. In 1998 a 2-year project sponsored jointly by BJS and NIJ with the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) to develop uniform data collection standards and electronic software for local police departments to collect police use of force data will be completed. To meet the 1998 reporting requirements, NIJ will produce the annual report for release in late 1998, presenting findings from NIJ's research portfolio on police use of force and will include a full description of the IACP use-of-force project activities. Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies provides national data on all State and local law enforcement agencies. Data collected include the number of full-time versus part-time employees, and the number of sworn versus non-sworn employees. In May 1998 current data will be available and published in the Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies, 1996 (NCJ 164618). Census of Federal Law Enforcement Officers, conducted by BJS in 1993 and 1996, obtains data on Federal law enforcement officers with arrest and firearms authority. The data describe job function, sex, race, and primary State of employment. Current data are available in the recently released Federal Law Enforcement Officers, 1996 (NCJ 164617). -------------------------------------------- Study of NIBRS implementation by law enforcement agencies -------------------------------------------- BJS and the FBI will continue efforts as part of a comprehensive project designed to assess the status of incident-based reporting among law enforcement agencies and address the impediments to implementing the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). During the initial phase of the project, SEARCH, the National Consortium for Justice Information and Statistics, under the joint direction of BJS, the FBI, and the NIBRS implementation steering committee, conducted a study which identified the impediments facing local law enforcement agencies in implementing incident-based reporting. Based on these findings, recommendations were developed by the steering committee and unanimously endorsed by the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Systems Advisory Policy Board. In 1998, SEARCH will be undertaking a multi-stage effort to systematically address the priority impediments and to implement key recommendations developed by the steering committee. This will include demonstrating how local agencies can or are using NIBRS data at the local level for crime analysis, resource allocation, and other purposes; assess technical issues relating to data elements, software, and data input; and provide technical assistance to local agencies in records system upgrades and NIBRS implementation. BJS and the FBI are currently working on a project to develop a cost matrix for implementing a modern records management system with NIBRS costs identified at different levels of automation and for different sizes of law enforcement agencies. The matrix will include the estimated gross costs of implementing the automated records management system while identifying the NIBRS component costs. ----------------------------------- Prosecution ----------------------------------- BJS collects data on State and Federal prosecutors and the cases they prosecute. For example -- * In 1994, 2,343 State court prosecutors' offices employed about 65,000 attorneys, investigators, and support staff: The total number represented a 14% increase from 1992. * About 70% of the Nation's chief prosecutors occupied full-time positions. Sixty-one percent of all offices had at least one full-time assistant attorney. * In about a quarter of all offices, the chief prosecutor or assistant prosecutors carried a firearm for personal security. * Among prosecutors' offices handling juvenile cases, almost two-thirds reported transferring at least one juvenile case to criminal court in 1994. National Survey of Prosecutors collects data on resources, policies, and practices of local prosecutors from a nationally representative sample of chief prosecutors who handle felony cases in State courts. The survey obtains basic information on staffing and operations and collects data on current topics such as the use of innovative prosecution techniques, intermediate sanctions, and work-related assaults and threats. The latest published findings are available in Prosecutors in State Courts, 1994 (NCJ 151656). Results from an analysis of State court prosecutors' handling of juveniles proceeded against in criminal court are available in Juveniles Prosecuted in State Criminal Courts (NCJ 164265). ----------------------------------- Courts and sentencing ----------------------------------- BJS collects data about the Nation's court systems, including information about both civil and criminal courts, the cases brought, and their outcomes. For example -- * State courts convicted about 872,200 adults of a felony in 1994, an increase of 31% over 6 years. Among offenses, convictions for aggravated assault and drug trafficking had increased the most. * The number of noncitizens prosecuted in the Federal system increased three-fold between 1984 and 1995. The increase in the number of noncitizens prosecuted was primarily the result of an increase in the number charged with drug offenses. * At the Federal level, 47,556 defendants were convicted in 1995 -- an increase of 9% over 7 years. The number of defendants convicted of drug and weapons offenses increased the most. * Seventy-one percent of those convicted at the State level in 1994 were sentenced to incarceration. More than 77% of those convicted at the Federal level were sentenced to incarceration. * About two-thirds of all defendants had been arrested previously, with 39% having at least five prior arrest charges. Fifty-six percent of defendants had a felony arrest record, including 63% of burglary defendants. National Judicial Reporting Program, conducted every 2 years, surveys a nationwide sample of felony trial courts in collecting detailed information on demographic characteristics of felons, conviction offenses, type of sentences, sentence lengths, and amount of time from arrest to conviction and sentencing. Recent and forthcoming reports include -- State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1994 released 3/98 (NCJ 164614) Felony Sentences in the United States, 1994 released 8/97 (NCJ 165149) Felony Sentences in State Courts, 1994 released 1/97 (NCJ 163391) State Court Processing Statistics (SCPS) provides data on the criminal justice processing of persons charged with felonies in 40 jurisdictions representative of the 75 largest counties. These counties account for about half the serious crime nationwide. The program tracks felony defendants from charging by the prosecutor until disposition of their cases or for a maximum of 12 months. Data are obtained on demographic characteristics, arrest offense(s), criminal justice status at time of arrest, prior arrests and convictions, bail and pretrial releases, decisions, court appearance record, re-arrests while on pretrial release, type and outcome of adjudication, and type and length of sentence if convicted. Findings from the 1994 data collection were released in January 1998 in Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties, 1994 (NCJ 164616). Survey of Civil Trial Cases in State Courts collects civil trial caseload data for a 1-year period from a sample of counties representative of the Nation's 75 largest counties. Data include case type, outcome, jury awards, type of parties, legal representation, and dates of filing and disposition. BJS will conduct a survey of State courts in 1998. Latest findings are reported in -- Civil Justice Survey of State Courts, 1992, CD-ROM released 7/96 (NCJ 157771) Contract Cases in Large Counties: Civil Justice Survey of State Courts, 1992 released 2/96 (NCJ 156664) Civil Jury Cases and Verdicts in Large Counties: Civil Justice Survey of State Courts, 1992 released 7/95 (NCJ 154346) Tort Cases in Large Counties: Civil Justice Survey of State Courts, 1992 released 4/95 (NCJ 153177) Criminal Case-Tracking System for Tribal Jurisdictions Program is designed to supplement data collected as part of the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) with data collected by the tribal courts. The case tracking will allow for better managed criminal justice resources and enhanced justice decisionmaking. Using the integrated system, tribal jurisdictions could track violent offenders, domestic abuse cases, the impact of drug testing, and probation and other forms of supervised release. With support from the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) Local Law Enforcement Block Grant Program, and with the cooperation of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), Department of Interior, BJS selected two tribal jurisdictions in FY 1997 to develop and implement an automated criminal case-tracking system. This pilot project is expected to take up to 18 months to implement. When the prototype has been developed and tested by the demonstration sites, the BIA will make the system available to all interested tribes. The Federal Justice Statistics series provides annual data on workload, activities, and case outcomes in the Federal criminal justice system. Information is reported on all aspects of processing in the Federal justice system, including the number of persons investigated, prosecuted, convicted, incarcerated, sentenced to probation, released pretrial, and under parole or other supervision; initial prosecution decisions; referrals to magistrates; court dispositions; sentencing outcomes; sentence length; and time served. Beginning in 1997 BJS expanded the Federal Justice Statistics program to include statistics describing the processing of civil cases of the Federal courts -- including tort trials and civil rights petitions filed by Federal and State inmates. Data are acquired from the Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (which provides data describing the Federal criminal and civil dockets, appellate dockets, pretrial services, and probation and parole), the U.S. Sentencing Commission, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Under the leadership of BJS, a coordinating committee comprising the Federal criminal justice agencies was formed. The committee discusses issues related to the collection of data describing the Federal criminal justice system and the reporting of Federal criminal case processing statistics. With the support of this coordinating committee, beginning in FY 1998, BJS will annually publish Federal Case Processing Statistics. This report will supplement each agency's annual statistical report and highlight specific aspects of the Federal criminal justice system as well as describe significant trends in Federal criminal case processing. The statistics produced will be tabulated according to procedures agreed upon by each participating agency. Recent and forthcoming reports include -- Compendium of Federal Justice Statistics, 1994 released 4/98 (NCJ 163063) Compendium of Federal Justice Statistics, 1995 released 4/98 (NCJ 164259) Federal Tort Trials and Verdicts, 1994-95 released 1/98 (NCJ 165810) Juveniles Delinquents in the Federal Criminal Justice System released 1/97 (NCJ 163066) Survey of State Court Organization, conducted by the National Center for State Courts, provides basic descriptive information relating to the Nation's State court systems. Information is collected on the following -- * trial courts -- the role of grand juries, peremptory jury challenges, jury verdict rules * appellate courts -- case selection, expedited procedures * governance of court systems -- budgets, administration * judges and judicial selection -- number of judges, mandatory judicial * education processing of criminal cases -- felony definition, mandatory minimum sentences and habitual offender sentencing provisions. This data collection will be conducted again in 1998. Latest published data are available in State Court Organization, 1993 (NCJ 148346). National Survey of Indigent Defense Systems Program BJS, in partnership with BJA, will develop, test, and implement a national level data collection program to measure the way in which States and localities provide legal services for indigent defendants, their caseload levels, related costs, policies, and practices. Court-appointed legal representation plays a critical role in the Nation's justice system. Much has changed over the past decade as States and local defender systems are relying more on contract and private services. The National Indigent Defense Survey will assist in developing a better understanding of the changing nature of public defender services in the United States. Data collection is scheduled to begin in the summer of 1998. ---------------------------- Corrections ---------------------------- BJS collects data about the Nation's correctional system, including information about prisoners and correctional facilities and agencies. For example -- * State and Federal prisons held about 1.2 million prisoners at midyear 1997. * Local jails held or supervised about 637,000 adults who were awaiting trial or serving a sentence at midyear 1997. * 5.5 million people were on probation, in jail or prison, or on parole at yearend 1996, nearly 2.8% of all U.S. adult residents. The correctional system of the United States includes a range of agencies and populations. Adequate statistical accounts of the extent and nature of the system require diverse reporting programs -- * annual counts and characteristics of persons entering or exiting probation or parole * annual and midyear counts of incarcerated persons in State or Federal prisons or local jails * annual statistics on persons admitted or released from State or Federal prisons and on persons released from parole supervision * annual counts and characteristics of persons sentenced to death * periodic surveys of national samples of prison and jail inmates and adult probationers * periodic censuses of State and local correctional facilities and parole and probation agencies. Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities provides detailed data on individual characteristics of prison inmates, current offenses and sentences, characteristics of victims, criminal histories, family background, gun possession and use, prior drug and alcohol use and treatment, and educational programs and other services provided while in prison. In 1997 BJS conducted the survey with personal interviews of a nationally representative sample of about 14,300 State prison inmates and 4,000 Federal inmates in about 275 State prisons and 40 Federal prisons. This effort represents the fifth in a series of national surveys of inmates conducted every 5 to 6 years. Findings from the 1997 survey are expected to released early 1999. Survey of Inmates in Local Jails is periodically administered to collect data on the local jail inmate population that includes persons who belong to all parts of the criminal justice continuum: those awaiting trial, those sentenced to jail and serving their sentence, and those sentenced to prison and awaiting transfer. The survey obtains information on the personal and family characteristics of jail inmates, past drug and alcohol use, history of physical abuse, and history of contact with the criminal justice system. BJS findings from the 1996 survey, which consists of personal interviews with a nationally representative sample of 6,100 inmates, will be reported in Profile of Jail Inmates, 1996 (NCJ 167247) to be released in April of 1998. Census of State and Local Probation and Parole Agencies, last conducted in 1991, is a complete census of Federal, State, and locally operated probation and parole agencies. The census gathers data on staffing, expenditures, program operation and participation levels, and drug and HIV testing policies and programs. The census serves as the sampling frame for the national Survey of Adults on Probation. Survey of Adults on Probation in 1995 obtained for the first time detailed information on the backgrounds and characteristics of a national sample of probationers representative of the 3 million adults under supervision in the community. Specific areas of inquiry include criminal history, prior drug and alcohol use, participation in drug and alcohol treatment programs, use of firearms, victim characteristics, the conditions of supervision, and the extent of contact with probation authorities. Initial findings from the survey, based on the administrative records of 5,867 probationers in 167 probation departments, were released in Characteristics of Adults on Probation, 1995 (NCJ 164267) in December 1997. BJS is currently analyzing data from approximately 2,000 personal interviews with adult probationers, with the first report to be based on these data, Substance Abuse and Treatment of Adults on Probation, 1995, (NCJ 166611) released for March 1998. Census of State and Federal Adult Correctional Facilities is conducted every 5 to 6 years, providing detailed information on the types of inmates housed, facility age and type, security level, court orders, programs, health and safety conditions, confinement space, and staff characteristics. The latest data were published in August 1997 in Census of State and Federal Correctional Facilities, 1995 (NCJ 164266). Census of Jails is conducted every 5 years, obtaining information on each facility, admissions and releases, court orders, programs that offer alternatives to incarceration, amount charged to hold an inmate for another jurisdiction, crowding and use of space, staffing, health care (including prevalence of HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis), and drug testing policies and practices. The census furnishes the sampling frame for the nationwide survey of jail inmates. A new data collection will start in 1999. Annual Survey of Jails collects data that permit intercensal estimates of the number of inmates in the Nation's local jails and data on the relationship between jail populations and capacities. Information is provided on an annual basis starting in 1982, excluding the years 1983, 1988, and 1993, in which a complete census of U.S. local jails was conducted. The latest data are available in the report Prison and Jail Inmates at Midyear, 1997 (NCJ 167247) released in January 1998. The National Prisoner Statistics (NPS) program produces annual and semiannual national and State-level data on the numbers of prisoners in State or Federal prison facilities. Since 1926 the Federal Government has published data annually on the prisoner count in each State, the District of Columbia, and the Federal prison system. A recent Bulletin, HIV in Prisons and Jails, (NCJ 164260) released in August 1997 reports that in 1995, 1,010 State inmates died of AIDS-related causes, up from 955 in 1994. For every 100,000 State inmates in 1995, 100 died of AID-related causes. Between 1991 and 1995 about 1 in 3 inmate deaths were attributable to AIDS-related causes. Other reports or releases include -- Substance Abuse and Treatment of Adults on Probation, 1995 released 3/98 (NCJ 166611) Prison and Jail Inmates at Midyear, 1997 released 1/98 (NCJ 167247) Characteristics of Adults on Probation, 1995 released 12/97 (NCJ 164267) Prisoners in 1996 released 6/97 (NCJ 164619) Profile of Jail Inmates, 1996 released 4/98 (NCJ 164620) Correctional Populations in the United States, 1995, released 6/97 (NCJ 163916) National Corrections Reporting Program (NCRP) collects data annually on all prison admissions and releases and on all parole entries and discharges in participating jurisdictions. Demographic information, conviction offense, sentence length, minimum time to be served, credited jail time, type of admission, type of release, and time served are collected from individual prisoner records. Recent NCRP data suggest that the actual time served by State prisoners is increasing. The Bulletin, Prisoners in 1996, (NCJ 164619) reported that State prisoners released for the first time on their current offense served on average 24 months in prison and 5 months in jail in 1995, up from 20 months in prison in 1985. Capital Punishment series yields annual national and State-level data on persons sentenced to death and those executed. Data collected include offender demographic characteristics, prior criminal history, criminal justice system status at the time of the capital offense, and time spent on death row. Data are available on executions since 1930 and on sentencing since 1974. The latest data were reported in Capital Punishment 1996, released 12/97 (NCJ 167031). National Probation and Parole Reporting Program gathers annual data on local, State, and Federal probation and parole counts and movements, and the characteristics of persons under the supervision of probation and parole agencies. BJS staff collects and analyzes these data, using survey forms completed by Federal, State and local probation and parole agencies. Published data include admissions and releases by method of entry and discharge. The latest data available are in a press release describing the 1996 probation and parole populations, released 8/97 (NCJ 166364). Also, detailed data by jurisdictions are published in the Correctional Populations in the United States, 1995 (NCJ 163916). Inventory of State and Federal Corrections Information Systems is a survey that BJS conducted in collaboration with the OJP Corrections Program Office. This survey of State and Federal corrections agencies built a data inventory on offender profiles, recidivism, program effectiveness, internal order, public safety, and operational costs. In addition, on behalf of BJS, the Urban Institute conducted short, unstructured telephone interviews with each correctional agency to obtain general information about the organization, structure, and capacity of the information systems. The final report, expected in summer 1998, will summarize the results of the capacity survey and inventory. ----------------------------------- Expenditure and employment ----------------------------------- BJS collects expenditure and employment data about the Nation's criminal justice system. For example -- * In fiscal 1992 Federal, State, and local governments spent $94 billion for civil and criminal justice, a 59% increase over 1987. For every resident, the three levels of government together spent $368. * 3.8 cents of every government dollar went for justice activities, including police protection, jails or prisons, and the courts. * In fiscal 1992 the Federal Government spent 14.4% of all justice dollars, while the State and local governments combined spent the rest. * Spending for corrections increased 79.3% from 1987 to 1992, faster than judicial and legal (67.2%) and police (43.7%). The Criminal Justice Expenditure and Employment Program collects, analyzes, and publishes data on the cost of operating the Nation's criminal justice systems. Using data extracted from the Census Bureau's ongoing finance and employment survey series, BJS produces national estimates of expenditures and employment relating to major criminal justice activities, including police protection, judicial (including courts, prosecution, legal services, and public defense), and corrections. The latest data are available in Justice Expenditure and Employment Extracts, 1992, released 1/97 (NCJ 148821). The 1993 extracts are expected to be published in the spring of 1998. ----------------------------------- Firearms and crime ----------------------------------- BJS has published a series of reports on firearms, crime, and criminal justice using several collections of national data, including: Guns Used in Crime: Firearms, Crime, and Criminal Justice (NCJ 148201), Weapons Offenses and Offenders S Firearms, Crime, and Criminal Justice: Selected Findings (NCJ 155284), and Firearm Injury from Crime: Firearms, Crime, and Criminal Justice (NCJ 160093). During 1998 BJS intends to continue the series with a report on where criminals obtained guns and how they used the guns in crimes. This report will use data from the recently released Survey of Adults on Probation, as well as several earlier collections, including the 1991 Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities, and the weapons addendum to NIJ's Drug Use Forecasting System. These sources cover people who are arrested for crimes as well as those on probation or in prison. ----------------------------------- International statistics ----------------------------------- Through the International Statistics Program BJS cooperates with the United Nations and with other countries in efforts to improve the international collection of statistics on crime and criminal justice systems so that cross-national comparisons can be made and the relationship between crime trends in the United States and in other countries can be examined. BJS also funds international studies that compare aspects of the U.S. criminal justice system with those of other countries. In 1997 a study was done comparing prosecution in the United States and Germany. These findings are published in German and American Prosecutions: An Approach to Statistical Comparison (NCJ 166610). In the summer of 1998, BJS will release findings from a study comparing crime rates in England and the U.S. from 1981-1995. Information will also be presented on how the two countries= justice systems respond to crimes. The World Factbook of Criminal Justice Systems, developed under a BJS grant and available electronically through the BJS Internet site, provides narrative descriptions of the criminal justice systems of countries around the world. These descriptions are written to a common template so that comparisons of similar functions in different countries can be easily made. ----------------------------------- General criminal justice statistics ----------------------------------- BJS produces a number of statistical documents and other products that cover more than one criminal justice topic. Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics, first published in 1972, is compiled annually from more than 150 separate sources, presented with minimal text and extensive tables. Almost all data are nationwide in scope and, where possible, are displayed by region, State, and city for comparative analyses. The Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics can be accessed online at http://www.albany.edu/sourcebook and is updated as new information becomes available. Criminal Justice Agency Survey List is an updated listing of various State and local jurisdictions and criminal justice agencies from which sample surveys are selected. ---------------------------------------- State Justice Statistics Program for Statistical Analysis Centers ---------------------------------------- BJS offers technical and financial support to State governments for the establishment and operation of State-level Statistical Analysis Centers (SACs) to collect, analyze, and report statistics on crime and justice to Federal, State, and local levels of government and to share State-level information nationally. Under the State Justice Statistics Program, SACs analyze particular criminal justice issues identified by BJS in conjunction with other OJP components. These issues are selected for nationwide consistency and interest across the States and change every 12 months. In 1998, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention will sponsor juvenile justice related research to be conducted by the SACs. BJS is also encouraging SACs to collect and analyze data derived from sex offender registries, criminal history record information, incident-based crime data, and to conduct research and analyses related to other themes described in the FY 1998 program announcement. Detailed program and application guidelines are available in State Justice Statistics Program for Statistical Analysis Centers: Program Application Guidelines, Fiscal Year 1998, to be released in April 1998. Through the Justice Research and Statistics Association (JRSA), BJS offers technical assistance to the State SACs in the development, collection, analysis, use, and dissemination of criminal justice statistics. JRSA was organized in 1974 by the directors of the State SACs. The association was formed to promote cooperation and the exchange of information, statistics, and technology among States. In providing technical and liaison services to the SACs for BJS, JRSA maintains a criminal justice information clearinghouse; provides an automated Database of State Activities and Research; and conducts an annual conference on justice statistics, research, and policy analysis. ------------------------------------------ Visiting Research Fellowship Program ------------------------------------------ The Visiting Research Fellowship Program promotes criminal justice statistical research among the academic and professional criminal justice community. Visiting Fellows participate in a specifically designed research project of particular operational relevance to the national or international justice system. The fellowship program offers criminal justice researchers an opportunity to have a significant impact on specific BJS projects as well as a chance to examine innovative approaches to the analysis and dissemination of BJS data. Ongoing and new fellowship projects -- The measurement of assaultive behavior -- Murder and aggravated assault rates sometimes vary enormously from one city to the next. A suspected reason is differences between police departments in their record keeping practices. For example, a particular incident that one department classifies as "simple" assault might be classified as "aggravated" assault by another. This project analyzes data from the FBI's newly available National Incident-Based Reporting System to investigate whether such inconsistencies in record keeping help explain some of the variation in crime rates observed in the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports. Innovative graphical methods for presenting criminal justice data -- Tabular presentation of criminal justice data is sometimes difficult to comprehend. This project experiments with different ways of presenting criminal justice data graphically to facilitate understanding. For example, a margin of error surrounds all estimates from sample surveys. One of the goals of this grant is to come up with a graphical presentation of such error margins so that their implications are more readily understood. Demonstrating the utility of incident-based data -- A slowly growing number of police departments across the Nation is adopting a new system for keeping records on crime. The National Incident-Based Reporting System produces larger amounts of data on crime than previously existed. The benefits of this new system over the old will become clear as researchers gain access to these data and demonstrate their value. This project is devoted to making these data more easily accessible to researchers. ----------------------------------- Criminal record systems ----------------------------------- BJS supports several programs aimed at improving criminal records. Criminal history records are fingerprint cards or their electronic counterparts, linked with information about arrests, convictions and sentences when available. Records are inaccessible electronically to other States if they are not automated or if a State does not participate in the national system referred to as the Interstate Identification Index. Records without dispositions delay inquiries and handicap law enforcement. The records are used in identifying individuals with a prior conviction and those who are prohibited from purchasing a firearm, are subject to domestic violence protective orders, or are ineligible to hold positions of responsibility involving children, the elderly, or the disabled. * Of the 52 million criminal history records in the United States, 56% are now accessible nationally -- up from 50% a year ago. * Approximately a third of the records are both accessible and include dispositions, an increase of more than 3 million records over the past 3 years. Criminal Records Data Quality Program supports surveys, studies, conferences, and technical assistance on issues relating to criminal justice records. The primary emphasis is on accuracy and completeness of records, limitations on dissemination, commingling of juvenile and adult records, data auditing techniques, and the interstate exchange of records. Under this program the 50-State Survey of Criminal History Information Systems is conducted, providing information on the policy, technology, and legislative status of criminal history records. The third update to the survey, reporting 1995 yearend data, was released in May 1997. The next survey update describing record status as of yearend 1997 was initiated in January 1998. Proceedings from the national conference held in July 1997 on the impact of recent legislation focusing on sex offenders and establishment of the National Sex Offender Registry will be issued in the spring of 1998. A task force has also been established jointly with the National Center for State Courts to identify increased demands for court data created by recent legislation and to develop protocols to meet these needs. National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP) assists States in improving the quality of their criminal history records and supports the timely development of the capability to perform adequate criminal background checks. Availability of complete computerized criminal records is vital for criminal investigations, prosecutorial charging, sentencing decisions, correctional supervision and release, and background checks for those applying for licenses, handgun purchases, and work involving the safety and well-being of children, the elderly, and the disabled. Since NCHIP's inception in FY 1995, BJS has awarded over $162 million to assist States in upgrading criminal records to support operation of the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). Awards have been made to all States and eligible territories to upgrade records (including protection orders) to interface with the national criminal history record system, and to identify persons convicted of crimes involving domestic violence, crimes against children, the elderly, and the disabled; and persons subject to protective orders involving domestic violence. Funds also have been awarded to provide direct technical assistance and evaluation. The FY 1998 NCHIP program will focus on ensuring that States can fully participate in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), which will become operational in November 1998, and systems are adequately interfaced to ensure that background checks for noncriminal justice purposes, such as child and elderly care, are complete and include all relevant data. Specifically, the $45 million appropriated in FY 1998 will support -- * activities that will enable States to serve as a point of contact to the Federal NICS system or to otherwise communicate with the Federal system, including acquisition of equipment and software, training for personnel, and development and implementation of procedures. * States in adopting the recently approved FBI Uniform Data standards and to develop interfaces between the criminal record and other related systems such as the State sex offender registry. This will ensure that complete data is provided in response to applicant screening inquiries and will permit statistical analysis based on criminal record data. * ongoing efforts to improve record quality, and upgrade and expand the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS). * States= activities in collecting, identifying, and making available records of arrests, warrants, convictions, and protective orders relating to stalking and domestic violence; to date, approximately $10 million of the total $162 million has been awarded to 32 States to identify domestic violence offenses and protection orders. BJS also continues its efforts initiated in 1997 to establish and promulgate model standards for definitions and data collection protocols applicable to data describing domestic violence and sexual assault. Building on work of the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the National Research Council report, Domestic and Sexual Violence Data Collection, BJS will work with CDC toward development of compatible data systems for the routine collection of data on sexual and domestic violence at the State level. For further information on the NCHIP program, refer to National Criminal History Improvement Program: FY 1997 Program Announcement (NCJ 165589), released June 1997. The FY 1998 Program Announcement will be released in spring 1998. The National Sex Offender Registry Assistance Program is an additional component of NCHIP in FY 1998. (See page 3.) Firearm Inquiry Statistics (FIST) program, a component of NCHIP, is designed to use relevant statistics to assess the impact of presale firearm checks, as required under the Brady Act and related State legislation. The statistical data obtained by BJS under the program focus on the total number of inquiries related to firearm purchases, the number of rejections, and the basis for the rejections. Data are also collected separately concerning the procedures followed by States and law enforcement officers in connection with presale checks under both the Brady Act and related State legislation. In February 1997 BJS released Presale Firearm Checks: A National Estimate (NCJ-162787), which provides a national estimate of the number of presale background checks conducted in connection with proposed firearm purchases, the number and percent of rejections, and the basis for the rejections. The data show that on average during the 28 months between the effective date of the Brady Act (February 1994) and June 31, 1996, 6,600 attempted firearm purchases per month were blocked by the results of the presale check. The report is designed to permit the reader to estimate the total rejections to any given date by multiplying the monthly estimate by the relevant number of months. A recent report, Presale Handgun Checks, 1996, (NCJ 165704) was released in September 1997. It reported that approximately 70,000 of an estimated 2,593,000 applications for handgun purchases were rejected due to a presale background check during 1996. ----------------------------------- How to use BJS services What's available on the Internet ----------------------------------- The BJS World Wide Web site is located at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/ Providing information on the Internet has proven to be the most efficient way BJS can make its data accessible to those who need it instantly. BJS information is updated frequently. The BJS web site presents information by crime and justice topics. Summary findings, statistical graphics, descriptions of the data collections, publications, and additional work by BJS staff are listed under each topic and subtopic. Links are provided to pages on the BJS site and to external related sites. Visit these areas on the web site -- What's new at BJS -- The most recent information from BJS is highlighted in this section, including announcements, releases, solicitations, and the latest data. About BJS -- An overview of BJS is provided, describing its mission and responsibilities, criminal justice areas covered by data collection programs, grant programs, and dissemination programs maintained. Key facts at a glance -- Small versions of the charts and brief statements of findings are presented with links to full-size charts, additional information about the charts and findings, and the data that support the chart. Publications -- Electronic versions of many BJS reports are also available on the Internet. To find the publication you are interested in, you can look under the appropriate criminal justice topic on the BJS home page. If you know the name of the publication, go to the publications list, which is in alphabetical order. In addition to this list of all publications, a list of periodic reports is available. The electronic versions of BJS publications are presented in two formats: in ASCII without formatted graphics and in portable document format (.pdf) as published with graphics and tables (viewable on any computer and printable on any printer). Many tables from our reports and some additional data are available in the .wk1 format, readable by most spreadsheet software. In many instances, the spreadsheets have been grouped and compressed into files using the .zip format to speed downloads. Except for ASCII documents, our products are in formats that require interpreter applications you need to install on your computer as plug-ins to web browsers or stand-alone applications. Press releases -- The most recent press releases from BJS are published on the web site at the press release section of the BJS home page. ----------------------------------- Data to download ----------------------------------- Crime & justice electronic data abstracts -- Aggregated data from a wide variety of published sources are assembled into spreadsheets. Intended for analytic use, the files include crime, justice, and sociodemographic variables. Many of the files contain data over time and by State, locality, and Federal district. Source data & codebooks -- BJS data files are archived, documented, and made available on the Internet through the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data of the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) at the University of Michigan. BJS reports are linked to the raw data used in the report, which can be downloaded from the archive. Users can access over 43 gigabytes of data collected since the mid-1970's, covering the full range of criminal justice topics. Crime & justice data from other sources -- Provides links to data from other sources, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other Federal agencies. Also provides links to juvenile justice statistics and international crime statistics. Comments and inquiries from users -- BJS encourages all users of its Internet site to send comments, suggestions, and information inquiries to askbjs@ojp.usdoj.gov. BJS has received over a thousand inquiries and useful comments since the BJS web site opened in February 1996. ----------------------------------- Internet conference ----------------------------------- Proceedings from the conference "Justice Agencies and the Internet" held in San Francisco on November 4-5, 1997, are available online from SEARCH, the National Consortium for Justice Information and Statistics, at http://www.97internet.search.org/. Computer industry leaders and several hundred justice practitioners from around the country attended the event. Conference sessions explored issues ranging from linking a few rural justice agency intranets to form Aextranet@ systems to the exciting opportunities and new Web applications made possible by the emergence of eXtensible Markup Language (XML). --------------------------------------------- Bureau of Justice Statistics Clearinghouse --------------------------------------------- The BJS Clearinghouse, a component of the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS), provides information about crime and justice statistics. The clearinghouse offers products and services tailored to the needs of the criminal justice professional. Clearinghouse staff who specialize in BJS statistical resources can assist you in locating data that best meet your particular information needs. BJS specialists can also direct users to a variety of other criminal justice data. The NCJRS Justice Information Center can be accessed by Internet at http://www.ncjrs.org. By calling the BJS Clearinghouse at 800-732-3277, you can receive -- * BJS reports and BJS mailing list information * Criminal justice statistics over the phone * Custom literature searches of the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) * Database referrals to other sources of crime data * Data assistance from information specialists. The BJS Clearinghouse responds to data requests from a variety of audiences -- * Federal policymakers and practitioners * State and local criminal justice practitioners * private organizations * faculty and students * media and the public. The Clearinghouse has developed several products to assist researchers, policymakers, and other professionals -- * CD-ROM's * statistical information packages * slide presentations * topical searches * topical bibliographies. Contact the Clearinghouse to request information or to order publications and products. Internet: http://www.ncjrs.org E-mail: askncjrs@ncjrs.org Mail: BJS Clearinghouse/NCJRS P.O. Box 179 Annapolis Junction, Maryland 20701-0179 Visit: BJS Clearinghouse/NCJRS 1600 Research Boulevard Rockville, Maryland 20850 Call: 1-800-732-3277 FAX orders: 1-410-792-4358 Access fax-on-demand system: 1-301-519-5550 National Archive of Criminal Justice Data, on behalf of BJS, archives data files, documents them, and makes them available to researchers, scholars, journalists, and other users. Established in 1978, NACJD headquarters are located with the central staff of the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) in the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan. The central mission of NACJD is to facilitate and encourage research in the field of criminal justice through the sharing of data resources. Specific goals include -- * Providing machine-readable data for the quantitative study of crime and the criminal justice system through the development of a central data archive. * Supplying technical assistance in analyzing data collections and selecting the computer hardware and software for analyzing data efficiently and effectively. * Offering training in quantitative methods of social science research to facilitate secondary analysis of criminal justice data. NACJD routinely receives data from four agencies within the U.S. Department of Justice: BJS, the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Individual scholars and researchers in the criminal justice field may also deposit data with NACJD, and interested individuals should contact NACJD staff for more information on this process. Data files that are maintained by the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data are available at no charge for search and download from the NACJD site on the Internet. http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/nacjd/ Write or call: National Archive of Criminal Justice Data ICPSR Institute for Social Research P.O. Box 1248 Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106 1-800-999-0960 1-313-763-5011 Ask Archive staff questions via e-mail: nacjd@icpsr.umich.edu ----------------------------------- National Clearinghouse for Criminal Justice Information Systems (CJIS) ----------------------------------- The clearinghouse was created in 1976 to provide facts on criminal justice information system resources and to promote and facilitate the transfer of automated public domain criminal justice information systems. The clearinghouse -- * Disseminates facts about public domain and proprietary criminal justice information systems * Maintains an index of criminal justice software * Facilitates communication among criminal justice practitioners nationwide. BJS supports the clearinghouse, which is dedicated to improving the administration of justice through information technology. Operated by SEARCH, the National Consortium for Justice Information and Statistics, CJIS is accessible through the Internet at http://www.search.org/clearinghouse. CJIS provides online access to the FBI's Law Enforcement Bulletin, opinions of the United States Supreme Court, all four volumes of FBI specifications for the National Incident-Based Reporting System, and publications from other agencies and associations. A library of hundreds of criminal justice shareware programs is online as well. For more information about the clearinghouse call 916-392-2550, or send e-mail to webmaster@search.org. ----------------------------------- Database of State Activities and Research ----------------------------------- Maintained by the Justice Research and Statistics Association (JRSA), this database covers the activities of State criminal justice statistical agencies, including current Statistical Analysis Center (SAC) activities, research efforts and statistical programs, abstracts of SAC publications, information on publications in the JRSA library, and data from the SAC Skills Survey. The JRSA staff can search the database for specific topics using key words and provide printouts of search results. Contact JRSA by -- * Internet at http://www.jrsainfo.org/ * e-mail to cjinfo@jrsa.org * telephone: 202-842-9330 ----------------------------------- To order BJS products Publications ----------------------------------- You may order single-copy paper versions of BJS publications through the Bureau of Justice Statistics Clearinghouse, a component of the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS). The latest BJS data releases are available 24 hours a day through the Internet and other electronic means. Order online If you have a forms-compatible browser, you can place your order directly through the Internet at the Online Order Form. http://www.ncjrs.org/statordr.htm Order via Internet e-mail Send a message with the name of the publication, the NCJ number, and your mailing address to askncjrs@ncjrs.org Order by telephone In the United States, the BJS Clearinghouse offers toll-free access at 1-800-732-3277. Order via Fax-on-Demand System Call 301-519-5550 to order from a touchtone menu which automatically faxes your selection to you. (Only shorter publications are on this system.) Order by FAX FAX your order to the clearinghouse at 410-792-4358 (include name, address, title, and NCJ number) or download an order form in Acrobat format, print it off, complete it, and FAX it to the clearinghouse. ----------------------------------- Data files and codebooks ----------------------------------- In addition to online Internet access, data files and codebooks can be requested by telephone or mail from the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data. Call or write -- National Archive of Criminal Justice Data ICPSR Institute for Social Research P.O. Box 1248 Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106 1-800-999-0960 1-313-763-5011 Ask Archive staff questions via e-mail -- cdunn@icpsr.umich.edu ------------------------------------ Tables in the report -- Characteristics of violence-related injuries treated at hospital emergency departments, 1994 Characteristics of injury and violent event Number Percent Injury diagnosis Total 1417500 100% Gun shot wound 70300 5.0 Concussion/head injury 50900 3.6 Muscular/skeletal injury 234800 16.6 Cut/stab wound/internal injury 433500 30.6 Bruise 477600 33.7 Burns/chemical injury 13300 0.9 Poison injury 1400 0.1 Rape/sexual assault 63800 4.5 Other 72000 5.1 Note: Detail may not add to totals shown because of rounding. ------------------------------ Age Cumulative percent of male U.S. population ever in prison at first White, Non- Black, Non- admission All males Hispanic Hispanic Hispanic 13 0 0 0 0 14 0 0 0 0 15 0 0 0 0 16 0 0 1 0 17 0 0 2 0 18 1 0 3 1 19 1 0 6 2 20 2 1 8 3 21 2 1 10 3 22 3 1 12 4 23 3 1 13 5 24 4 1 15 6 25 4 2 16 6 26 5 2 17 7 27 5 2 18 7 28 5 2 20 8 29 6 2 21 8 30 6 2 21 9 31 6 3 23 9 32 6 3 23 10 33 7 3 24 10 34 7 3 24 10 35 7 3 25 11 36 7 3 25 11 37 7 3 26 12 38 8 3 26 12 39 8 3 26 12 40 8 3 27 13 41 8 4 27 13 42 8 4 27 13 43 8 4 27 13 44 8 4 27 14 45 8 4 27 14 46 8 4 28 14 47 8 4 28 14 48 8 4 28 14 49 8 4 28 15 50 9 4 28 15 51 9 4 28 15 52 9 4 28 15 53 9 4 28 15 54 9 4 28 15 55 9 4 28 15 56 9 4 28 16 57 9 4 28 16 58 9 4 28 16 59 9 4 28 16 60 9 4 28 16 61 9 4 28 16 62 9 4 28 16 63 9 4 28 16 64 9 4 28 16 65 9 4 28 16 66 9 4 28 16 67 9 4 28 16 68 9 4 28 16 69 9 4 28 16 70 9 4 28 16 71 9 4 28 16 72 9 4 28 16 73 9 4 28 16 74 9 4 28 16 75 9 4 28 16 76 9 4 29 16 77 9 4 29 16 78 9 4 29 16 79 9 4 29 16 80 9 4 29 16 ------------------------------- Felony convictions in State courts Percent of felons Felony convicted in State courts convictions and sentenced to: in State courts Prison Jail Probation 1988 667,366 44 25 31 1990 829,344 46 25 29 1992 893,630 44 26 30 1994 872,217 45 26 29 Source: Felony Sentences in State Courts, 1994 -------------------------- Defendants in cases concluded in U.S. district court Violent Property Drug Public-order 1980 2,871 13,544 7,119 15,638 1981 3,022 13,851 8,077 15,887 1982 3,111 15,340 8,987 15,301 1983 2,737 16,384 9,774 16,963 1984 2,814 15,969 11,361 18,380 1985 2,871 16,250 12,984 19,009 1986 2,818 17,286 14,746 19,202 1987 2,850 17,175 16,443 18,153 1988 2,697 16,261 16,710 18,524 1989 2,805 16,188 19,750 18,916 1990 2,857 16,128 20,035 19,684 1991 3,124 15,749 21,203 20,115 1992 3,601 16,876 22,728 19,910 1993 3,581 17,440 24,127 19,484 1994 3,367 16,545 21,854 19,907 Note: Includes all cases handled by U.S. district court judges and Class A misdemeanors handled by U.S. magistrates. Beginning with 1994, the data are based on the Federal fiscal year beginning O prior years' data are based on the calendar year *Public-order offenses include weapons offenses. Source: Federal Criminal Case Processing, 1982-93 with Preliminary Data for 1994. --------------------------------- State and local probation agencies supervised about 2.6 million adults at the end of 1995. Percent of adults on probation Total Felony Misdemeanor Offense Violent 17.3 % 19.5 % 13.5 % Property 28.9 36.6 18.2 Drug 21.4 30.7 7.6 Public-order 31.1 12.1 59.6 Criminal history None 49.9 % 49.2 % 52.1 % Priors 50.1 50.8 47.9 Juvenile 9.0 10.3 5.6 Adult 45.1 45.1 44.3 Type of sentence Probation only 49.8 % 45.7 % 54.8 % Split 50.2 54.3 45.2 Jail 37.3 36.5 38.3 Prison 15.3 20.6 9.0 Special conditions Any 98.6 % 98.4 % 98.9 % Fees/fines/costs 84.3 84.2 85.1 Drug testing 32.5 43.0 17.1 Drug/alcohol treatment 41.0 37.5 45.7 Employment 34.7 40.9 27.3 Community service 25.7 27.3 24.0 Number of probationer* 2620560 1491670 991161 *Excludes persons supervised by a Federal probation agency, those only on parole, persons on presentence or pretrial diversion, and absconders. Source: Characteristics of Adults on Probation, 1995, NCJ 164267. ---------------------------- Number of persons under sentence of death, 1953-96 Number of prisoners under Year sentence of death 1953 131 1954 147 1955 125 1956 146 1957 151 1958 147 1959 164 1960 212 1961 257 1962 267 1963 297 1964 315 1965 331 1966 406 1967 435 1968 517 1969 575 1970 631 1971 642 1972 334 1973 134 1974 244 1975 488 1976 420 1977 423 1978 482 1979 593 1980 692 1981 860 1982 1,066 1983 1,209 1984 1,420 1985 1,575 1986 1,800 1987 1,967 1988 2,117 1989 2,243 1990 2,346 1991 2,465 1992 2,580 1993 2,727 1994 2,905 1995 3,064 1996 3,219 Source: Capital Punishment, 1996, December 1997, NCJ-167031 END OF FILE pm 5/13/98