U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Statistics State Court Processing Statistics Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties, 2000 December 2003, NCJ 202021 -------------------------------------------------------------- This file is text only without graphics and many of the tables. A Zip archive of the tables in this report in spreadsheet format (.wk1) and the full report including tables and graphics in .pdf format are available from: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/fdluc00.htm This report is one in a series. More recent editions may be available. To view a list of all in the series go to http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pubalp2.htm#fdluc -------------------------------------------------------------- Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties, 2000 Arrest charges Demographic characteristics Criminal history Pretrial release and detention Adjudication Sentencing Arrest charges Gerard Rainville and Brian A. Reaves, Ph.D. BJS Statisticians Contents Lawrence A. Greenfeld Director Gerard Rainville and Brian Reaves, BJS statisticians, prepared this report. Thomas Cohen provided statistical review. Tina Dorsey and Tom Hester edited the report. Jayne Robinson produced the final submission for printing. The data were collected and processed by the Pretrial Services Resource Center under the supervision of Jolanta Juszkiewicz. Carma Hogue of the Economic Statistical Methods and Procedures Division, U.S. Census Bureau, assisted with sample design. Data presented in this report may be obtained from the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data at the University of Michigan, 1-800-999-0960. The report and data are available on the Internet at: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs Highlights State Court Processing Statistics Arrest charges Demographic characteristics Criminal history Criminal justice status at time of arrest Prior arrests Prior convictions Pretrial release and detention Rates of release and detention Bail amounts Time from arrest to release Criminal history and probability of release Conduct of released defendants Adjudication Time from arrest to adjudication Adjudication outcome Case processing statistics Sentencing Time from conviction to sentencing Type and length of sentence Prior record and felony sentencing Methodology Appendix ----------------------------------------------------- Highlights State Court Processing Statistics Every 2 years, as part of its State Court Processing Statistics (SCPS) program, the Bureau of Justice Statistics tracks a sample of felony cases filed during the month of May in 40 of the Nation's 75 largest counties. The most recent SCPS study analyzed cases filed during May 2000. Trends in processing of felony defendants, 1990-2000 Since 1990 the proportion of defendants charged with a violent offense has remained at about a fourth. From 1992 to 2000, the proportion of drug defendants increased from 30% to 37%. During this period, the percentage of defendants charged with a property crime decreased from 35% to 30%. The proportion of defendants charged with a public-order offense has remained under 1 in 10. In 2000 the percentage of defendants age 40 or older was 21%, about twice the 10% found in the 1990 study. During the same time, the percentage of defendants under age 25 decreased from 41% to 34%. The percentage of female defendants has increased from 14% in 1990 to 19% in 2000. In 2000, non-Hispanic blacks accounted for 45% of defendants, the same as in 1998, but a slightly smaller percentage than in prior years. Compared to 1998, the percentage of non- Hispanic whites increased slightly to 30%, while the percentage of Hispanic or Latino defendants decreased slightly to 23%. Since 1990 approximately 3 in 8 defendants have had an active criminal justice status at the time of arrest, including 35% in the 2000 study. The percentage of defendants with a felony arrest record in 2000 (62%) was slightly higher than in 1998 (60%), and higher than in previous years when it averaged about 55%. The proportion of defendants with a felony conviction record in 2000 (40%), was down slightly from 1998 (42%), but still higher than the 36% recorded in 1996. Since 1990 the percentage of felony defendants released prior to case disposition has been fairly consistent, ranging from 62% to 65%, with 62% released in 2000. In 2000, the proportion of releases accounted for by surety bond (37%) was greater than that accounted for by release on personal recognizance (26%), a finding first observed in the 1998 study. From 1990 to 2000, the proportion of released defendants charged with misconduct such as failure to appear in court or rearrest has remained at just under a third, including 32% in 2000. Failure-to- appear rates have held steady at about a fourth, including 22% in 2000. After reaching a high of 61% in the 1994 study, the felony conviction rate fell to 55% in 1996 and 52% in both 1998 and 2000. This rate was still slightly higher Figure 4Figure 4than the 50% rate in the 1990 study. Sixty-four percent of defendants were convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor in 2000 the same as in 1990, but this continued a downward trend from a high of 72% in 1994. For defendants convicted of a felony, sentences in 2000 (73%) were more likely to involve incarceration than in 1998 (70%) or 1996 (69%). In 2000 a felony conviction was more likely to result in a sentence to prison (40%) than jail (33%) as was the case in 1990, 1992, and 1994. In 1996 and 1998, jail and prison sentences had almost equal frequencies. The use of probation as a sentence for felony convictions in 2000 (27%) was slightly less than in 1998 and 1996, but about the same as in prior years. Felony defendants in large urban counties, 2000 Arrest charges An estimated 54,590 felony cases were filed in the State courts of the Nation's 75 largest counties during May 2000. About a fourth of defendants were charged with a violent offense, usually assault (12.1%) or robbery (5.4%). About 1 in 40 defendants were charged with murder (0.9%) or rape (1.6%). Two-thirds of defendants were charged with either a drug (37%) or property (30%) offense. Nearly half of drug defendants, 17% of defendants overall, were charged with drug trafficking. A majority of property defendants were charged with larceny/theft (8.2% of all defendants) or burglary (7.3%). About 9% of defendants were charged with a public-order offense. Often these charges were driving-related (3%) or weapons-related (2.6%). Demographic characteristics Eighty-one percent of defendants were male, including 90% or more of those charged with rape (99%), murder (96%), a weapons offense (93%), a driving-related offense (92%), or robbery (91%). Women accounted for more than half of the defendants charged with fraud (55%) and more than a third of those charged with forgery (37%). Non-Hispanic blacks comprised at least half of the defendants charged with robbery (61%), a weapons offense (56%), drug trafficking (52%), or murder (50%). Non-Hispanic whites accounted for about half of those charged with a driving-related felony (48%). Half of defendants were under age 30. Eighteen percent were under age 21, including 38% of those charged with robbery and 27% of those charged with murder. Three percent of defendants were under age 18, including 13% of robbery defendants and 10% of murder defendants. Criminal history At the time of arrest, 35% of defendants had an active criminal justice status such as probation (14%), release pending disposition of a prior case (13%), or parole (6%). Burglary defendants (44%) were the most likely to have had a criminal justice status when arrested, followed by drug trafficking, robbery, and motor vehicle theft defendants, at 39% each. Seventy-four percent of all defendants had been arrested previously, with 45% having at least five prior arrest charges. Sixty-two percent of defendants had a felony arrest record. Fifty-eight percent of defendants had at least one prior conviction, including 40% with one or more felony convictions. Pretrial release and detention Thirty-eight percent of all defendants were detained until the court disposed of their case, including 7% who were denied bail. Half or more of defendants charged with murder (87%), robbery (56%), motor vehicle theft (54%), or burglary (51%)were detained until case disposition. Defendants with an active criminal justice status (54%) were nearly twice as likely to be detained until case disposition as those without such a status (30%). Defendants on parole (77%) were the most likely to be detained. Defendants were most likely to be released on commercial surety bond (37% of all releases), followed by release on personal recognizance (26%). The next most common types of pretrial release were conditional release (14%), deposit bond (10%), and unsecured bond (9%). An estimated 32% of released defendants committed one or more types of pretrial misconduct while in a release status. Twenty-two percent failed to appear in court as scheduled. Sixteen percent were rearrested for a new offense, including 10% for a felony. Adjudication A fourth of defendants had their case adjudicated within 1 month of arrest, and half within 3 months. At the end of the 1-year study period, 86% of all cases had been adjudicated. Sixty-four percent of the cases adjudicated within 1 year resulted in a conviction. Fifty-two percent of defendants were convicted of a felony, and 12% of a misdemeanor. Felony conviction rates were highest for those originally charged with a driving-related offense (70%), drug trafficking (67%), or murder (64%). Fraud (33%) and assault (35%) defendants had the lowest felony conviction rates. Nearly all (95%)convictions obtained during the 1-year study period were the result of a guilty plea. About 4 in 5 guilty pleas were to a felony. Seventy-eight percent of trials resulted in a guilty verdict, including 81% of bench trials and 74% of jury trials. Sentencing About two-thirds of convicted defendants were sentenced within 1 day of adjudication. Nearly three-fourths of all sentences for felony convictions were either to prison (40%) or jail (33%). Ninety-six percent of those convicted of murder were sentenced to prison. A large majority of robbery (73%) and rape (56%) convictions also resulted in prison sentences. Nearly all convicted defendants who did not receive an incarceration sentence were placed on probation. Sixty-two percent of those with multiple prior felony convictions were sentenced to prison following a felony conviction in the current case, compared to 24% of those with no prior felony convictions. Excluding life sentences, the mean prison sentence for violent felony convictions was about 8 years, and the median was 5 years. For nonviolent felonies, the mean was about 31/2 years and the median, 2 years. Murder (15 years) and rape (7 years) convictions carried the longest median prison sentences. About 1 in 3 convicted murderers received a life sentence. ------------------------------------------------------ State Court Processing Statistics Since 1988, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) has sponsored a biennial data collection on the processing of felony defendants in the State courts of the Nation's 75 most populous counties. Previously known as the National Pretrial Reporting Program, this data collection series was renamed the State Court Processing Statistics (SCPS) program in 1994 to better reflect the wide range of data elements collected. The SCPS program collects data on the demographic characteristics, criminal history, pretrial processing, adjudication, and sentencing of felony defendants. The SCPS data do not include Federal defendants. The reader should refer to the annual BJS Compendium of Federal Justice Statistics for information on the processing of Federal defendants. The 2000 SCPS collected data for 14,877 felony cases filed during May 2000 in 40 large counties. These cases, which were tracked for up to 1 year, were part of a 2-stage sample that was representative of the estimated 54,590 felony cases filed in the Nation's 75 most populous counties during that month. A small number of cases (162 weighted) were omitted from analysis as they could not be classified into 1 of the 4 major crime categories (violent, property, drug, and public-order offenses). In 2000, the 75 largest counties accounted for 37% of the U.S. population. According to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports program for 2000, these jurisdictions accounted for 49% of all reported serious violent crimes in the United States, including 60% of robberies, 47% of murders and non-negligent manslaughters, 46% of aggravated assaults, and 37% of forcible rapes. These counties accounted for 39% of all reported serious property crimes, including 55% of motor vehicle thefts, 37% of burglaries, and 37% of larceny/thefts. Arrest Charges During May 2000, about a fourth of the felony defendants in the 75 largest counties were charged with a violent offense (24.9%). About half of those charged with a violent felony, 12.1% of defendants overall, faced assault charges, and about a fifth, 5.4% of defendants overall, were charged with robbery. Murder defendants comprised 3.6% of the defendants charged with a violent felony, and 0.9% of all felony defendants. Rape defendants accounted for 6.5% of the defendants charged with a violent felony, and 1.6% of all felony defendants. (See Methodology for the specific crimes included in each offense category.) For about 3 in 8 defendants, the most serious arrest charge was a drug offense (36.8%). Nearly half (47%) of drug defendants were charged with drug trafficking. Overall, defendants were more likely to be charged with drug trafficking (17.2%) or other drug offenses (19.6%) than any other type of offense. About 3 in 10 felony defendants were charged with a property offense (29.5%). More than a fourth of property defendants, 8.2% of defendants overall, were charged with larceny/theft offenses, and about a fourth, 7.3% overall, were charged with burglary. Defendants charged with a public-order offense comprised 8.7% of all defendants. About 2 in 3 public-order defendants faced a weapons (2.6%) or driving-related (3.0%) charge. The percentage of felony defendants in the 75 largest counties facing a drug-related charge (36.8%) was about the same as in 1998 (37.1%), but significantly higher than the low of 30% in 1992. The percentage of property defendants in 2000 (29.5%) ended a trend of small decreases that have occurred since a high of 34.9% in 1992. The percentage of defendants charged with a violent offense in 2000 (24.9%) was about the same as in 1998 (24.0%), and slightly lower than the high of 26.5% in 1992. More than half of all felony defendants (56%) faced at least one additional charge, and 39% were charged with at least one additional felony. Defendants whose most serious charge was drug trafficking (70%) were the most likely to have been charged with one or more additional offenses. More than three-fifths of defendants whose most serious arrest charge was murder (64%), rape (64%), robbery (65%), or burglary (63%) were also charged with one or more additional offenses. A majority of rape (60%), murder (59%), robbery (57%), and drug trafficking (56%) defendants faced at least one additional felony charge. About half of defendants charged with burglary (50%) or motor vehicle theft (49%) faced one or more additional felony charges. More than two-fifths of forgery (46%), fraud (43%), and weapons (42%)defendants faced multiple felony charges. Demographic characteristics Forty-five percent of the felony defendants in the 75 largest counties were non-Hispanic blacks, 30% were non- Hispanic whites, 23% were Hispanics of any race, and 2% were non-Hispanic members of some other race. Non-Hispanic blacks comprised a majority of the defendants charged with robbery (61%), a weapons offense (56%), or drug trafficking (52%). The smallest percentage of black defendants was found among those charged with a driving-related offense (28%). Non-Hispanic whites accounted for the largest percentage among defendants facing driving-related charges (48%). This was about 3 times the percentage accounted for by whites among defendants charged with robbery (14%) or a weapons offense (17%). The largest percentage of Hispanics was found among defendants charged with motor vehicle theft (31%). The smallest percentages of Hispanics were found among defendants charged with fraud (13%), forgery (14%), or larceny/theft (15%). Overall, 81% of felony defendants in the 75 largest counties were male. Men comprised the largest percentages among defendants charged with rape (99%), murder (96%), weapons offenses (93%), driving-related offenses (92%), robbery (91%), burglary (88%), or motor vehicle theft (88%). Women accounted for 19% of defendants, including 55% of those charged with fraud and 37% of those charged with forgery. The average age of defendants at the time of arrest was 31 years. By specific offense, the average age ranged from 26 years for robbery defendants to 36 for those charged with a driving-related offense. About 1 in 8 robbery defendants and 1 in 10 murder defendants were under age 18. An estimated 21% of defendants were 40 or older, including about a third of those charged with a driving-related offense (32%). Defendants charged with robbery (10%), motor vehicle theft (11%), a weapons offense (12%), or murder (13%) were the least likely to be 40 or older. Overall, 32% of defendants were under age 25. More than half of robbery defendants (56%) were under age 25, as were more than two- fifths of defendants charged with a weapons offense (47%), murder (44%), vehicle theft (43%), or burglary (42%). Defendants charged with a driving-related offense (14%) or fraud (17%) were the least likely to be under age 25. About 18% of defendants were under the age of 21 at the time of arrest. About 3 in 8 robbery defendants (38%) were under age 21, as were more than a fifth of those charged with murder (27%), burglary (26%), a weapons offense (25%), or vehicle theft (24%). Defendants charged with a driving-related offense (4%) or fraud (6%) were the least likely to be this young. Males formed a higher percentage of defendants under age 18 (91%) than of other age groups. The largest percentage of female defendants was in the 35 to 39 age group (24%). A majority of the defendants under age 18 were black (54%), compared to less than half in each of the other age groups. Black males comprised the largest proportion of defendants in each age group. This effect was most pronounced in the under-age-18 category in which black males (48%) accounted for nearly 3 times the percentage of white males (18%), and nearly twice the percentage of Hispanic males (25%). It was least pronounced in the age 25 to 39 categories, where black males accounted for a proportion of defendants closer to that accounted for by Hispanic and white males. Hispanic females comprised the smallest proportion of defendants in each age group. Black females constituted a slightly higher percentage than white females in all age categories, but for no more than 12% of the defendants in any single age category. Criminal history Criminal justice status at time of arrest Thirty-five percent of felony defendants had an active criminal justice status at the time of their arrest on the current felony charge. Among defendants charged with a violent offense, 31% had an active criminal justice status, ranging from 39% of robbery defendants to 25% of rape defendants. Thirty-six percent of property defendants had a criminal justice status, including 44% of defendants charged with burglary and 39% of those charged with motor vehicle theft. Among property defendants, those charged with fraud (21%) were the least likely to have had an active criminal justice status at the time of arrest. Among drug defendants, 36% had a criminal justice status overall. Those charged with drug trafficking (39%) were more likely to have a criminal justice status than those charged with other drug offenses (34%). Forty percent of public-order defendants had an active criminal justice status at the time of the current arrest. This included 32% of those charged with a weapons or driving-related offense, and 53% of those charged with other public-order offenses. Some defendants with a criminal justice status had more than one type of status. When just the most serious criminal justice status is considered, 14% of defendants were on probation, 13% had been released pending disposition of a previous case, and 6% were on parole at the time of the current arrest. Allowing for multiple types of criminal justice status, 6% of defendants were on parole, 15% were on probation, and 15% had been released pending case disposition. The percentage of defendants on parole at the time of their current felony arrest ranged from 8% of those charged robbery or motor vehicle theft, to 2% of those charged with fraud. Other offenses with at least 5% of the defendants on parole at the time of arrest included burglary (7%), weapons offenses (7%), murder (6%), drug trafficking (6%), and larceny/theft (6%). The highest percentages of defendants on probation at the time of arrest were among those charged with motor vehicle theft (22%) or burglary (19%). Defendants charged with rape (8%) or fraud (9%) were less likely to have been on probation at the time of arrest. Twenty percent of defendants charged with robbery or drug trafficking had been released pending disposition of a prior case when they were arrested on the current felony charge. These defendants were more than twice as likely as those charged with fraud (8%) to have had such a status at the time of the current arrest. Prior arrests Seventy-four percent of all defendants had at least one prior felony or misdemeanor arrest. Defendants whose most serious current arrest charge was for a public-order (80%) or drug (78%) offense were more likely to have been previously arrested than those charged with a property (72%) or violent (69%)offense. Among defendants charged with a violent offense, robbery (73%) and assault (72%) defendants were more likely to have an arrest record than those charged with murder (67%) or rape (58%). Among property defendants, those charged with burglary (82%) or motor vehicle theft (78%) were the most likely to have been arrested previously, followed by those charged with larceny/theft (72%) or forgery (69%). Defendants charged with fraud (50%) were the least likely, among property defendants, to have one or more prior arrests. Among public-order defendants, defendants charged with a driving- related felony (85%) were more likely to have an arrest record than those facing weapon charges (72%). Among defendants with an arrest record, about 7 in 8 had more than one prior arrest charge, and a majority had at least five. Overall, 65% of defendants had two or more prior arrest charges, and 45% had five or more. Defendants charged with burglary (52%), a driving- related offense (51%), or motor vehicle theft (51%) were the most likely to have 5 or more prior arrest charges, and those charged with fraud (21%)the least likely. An estimated 26% of defendants had 10 or more prior arrest charges. This included 33% of defendants charged with a driving-related offense, 32% of burglary defendants, and 30% of robbery defendants. Three-fourths of the defendants under age 18 had no previous arrests. This proportion dropped to about two-fifths among defendants age 18 to 20, about a fourth among those aged 21 to 29, and about a fifth among those age 30 to 49. About 3 in 10 defendants age 50 or older had no arrest record. Approximately a fifth of the defendants age 18 to 20 had five or more prior arrests. This proportion rose to nearly two-fifths in the 21-to-24 age range, nearly half in the 25-to-29 age range, and more than half in the 30-to-49 age range. In the latter age range, defendants were nearly 3 times as likely to have five or more prior arrests as no prior arrests. Among defendants with an arrest record, about 4 in 5 had been arrested at least once for a felony. Overall, three-fifths of defendants had a felony arrest record. Nearly half of all defendants had multiple prior felony arrest charges, including 25% with five or more. More than half of the defendants facing a current charge for a violent felony had been previously arrested for a felony, including 64% of robbery defendants and 60% of murder defendants. Thirty-one percent of robbery defendants had 5 or more prior felony arrest charges, including 16% with 10 or more. Sixty percent of property defendants had one or more prior felony arrests. More than two-thirds of those currently charged with burglary (70%) or motor vehicle theft (69%) had a prior felony arrest record. Fifteen percent of burglary defendants and 14% of motor vehicle theft defendants had 10 or more prior felony arrest charges. Sixty-six percent of drug defendants had at least one prior felony arrest charge, and 27% had five or more. Sixty-seven percent of public-order defendants had been previously arrested for a felony, including 27% with five or more prior felony charges. Prior convictions Fifty-eight percent of felony defendants in the 75 largest counties had at least one prior conviction for a misdemeanor or a felony. More than three- fourths of those with a conviction record, accounting for 45% of defendants overall, had more than one prior conviction. Twenty-two percent of all defendants had five or more prior convictions. Among defendants charged with a violent offense, 52% had at least one prior conviction. Assault (54%)and robbery (53%) defendants were more likely to have a conviction record than other defendants charged with a violent offense (47%). Fifty-five percent of property defendants had been convicted previously, including 65% of burglary defendants. Fifty percent of burglary defendants had multiple prior convictions, including 30% with five or more. Sixty-two percent of drug defendants had at least one prior conviction. About half (48%) had two or more, and about a fourth (23%)had at least five. Among public-order defendants,67% had a conviction record, and 26% had five or more. About three-fourths of the defendants facing driving-related charges (77%) had at least one prior conviction of some type, and three-fifths had multiple prior convictions. More than two-thirds of the defendants with a conviction record, 40% of defendants overall, had at least one prior conviction for a felony. Thirty-three percent of defendants whose current charge was for a violent felony had previously been convicted of a felony. Among these defendants, the percentage with a prior felony conviction ranged from 40% among those charged with robbery to 26% of those charged with rape. Thirty-nine percent of property defendants had a felony conviction record, including nearly half of those charged with motor vehicle theft (48%) or burglary (47%). Defendants charged with fraud (21%) were the least likely to have a prior felony conviction. Forty-four percent of the defendants whose most serious current arrest charge was for a drug offense had been previously convicted of a felony. There was no variation by type of drug offense. A majority of the defendants with a felony conviction record, 25% of defendants overall, had multiple prior felony convictions. Six percent of all defendants had five or more prior felony convictions. By specific offense, defendants charged with burglary (30%) or motor vehicle theft (29%) were the most likely to have multiple prior felony convictions. Eleven percent of burglary defendants had five or more such convictions. Defendants charged with fraud (11%)were the least likely to have more than one prior felony conviction. Eighty-nine percent of defendants under age 18 at the time of the current arrest had no prior adult convictions. Six percent of these defendants had been previously convicted of at least one felony. In the 18-to-20 age range, 67% of defendants had no prior convictions, while 18% had at least one prior felony conviction. A majority of the defendants age 21 or older had a conviction record, and defendants ages 25 to 49 were more likely to have a felony conviction record than no prior convictions. About half of defendants age 30 to 49 had a felony conviction record. For nearly a fourth of the defendants with a prior felony conviction, 10% of defendants overall, their criminal history included at least one conviction for a violent felony. Thirteen percent of the defendants currently charged with a violent offense had a prior conviction for a violent felony. By specific arrest charge, the percentage of defendants previously convicted of a violent felony was highest among those charged with robbery (16%), a weapons offense (13%), or assault (13%). Defendants charged with fraud (4%) or forgery (6%)were the least likely to have a prior conviction for a violent felony. For 38% of motor vehicle theft defendants, the most serious prior conviction was a nonviolent felony. This was also the case for 36% of defendants charged with burglary or drug trafficking, and 34% of those charged with a driving-related offense. Defendants charged with a driving-related offense (33%) were much more likely than other defendants to have a conviction record that consisted only of misdemeanors. The next most likely were defendants charged with rape (21%) or assault (21%). Pretrial release and detention Rates of release and detention An estimated 62% of felony defendants in the 75 largest counties were released prior to the final disposition of their case. By general offense category, defendants charged with a violent offense (56%) were less likely to be released than those whose most serious arrest charge was a public-order (66%), drug (64%), or property (64%) offense. Within the violent offense category, release rates varied greatly. Just 13% of murder defendants were released compared to 61% of those charged with assault. Fifty-six percent of rape defendants and 44% of robbery defendants were released before the court disposed of their case. Among defendants charged with a property offense, just under half of those charged with burglary (49%) or motor vehicle theft (46%) were released prior to case disposition. Higher proportions of those charged with fraud (85%), forgery (72%), or larceny/theft (68%) were released. Among drug defendants, those charged with drug trafficking (62%) were slightly less likely to be released than those charged with other drug offenses (66%). Among public-order defendants, those charged with a driving-related (75%) or weapons (70%) offense were more likely to be released than those charged with other public-order offenses. Among the 38% of defendants who were detained in jail until case disposition, about 5 in 6 had a bail amount set but did not post the money required to secure release. Detained murder defendants were the exception to this rule; a majority of them, 46% of murder defendants overall, were ordered held without bail. Overall, 7% of felony defendants in the 75 largest counties were denied bail. A slight majority of the defendants released prior to case disposition, 32% of defendants overall, were released under financial conditions that required the posting of bail (see Methodology for definitions related to pretrial release). The most common type of financial release was surety bond (24% of all defendants and 37% of released defendants), which involves the services of a commercial bail bond agent. Other types of financial release were deposit bond (6% of all defendants and 10% of released defendants), full cash bond (2%), and property bond (less than 1%). All of these types of bonds are posted directly with the court without the use of a bail bond agent. Just under half of released defendants, 30% of defendants overall, were released under nonfinancial conditions not requiring the posting of bail. Release on personal recognizance (16% of all defendants and 26% of released defendants), was the type of nonfinancial release used most. Other nonfinancial types of release included conditional release (8% of all defendants and 14% of released defendants), and release on unsecured bond (6% and 9%). A small number of defendants were released prior to case disposition as the result of an emergency release used to relieve jail crowding. Such releases did not involve the use of any of the release types mentioned above. Bail amounts Overall, 63% of felony defendants had a bail amount set by the court, and were required to post all or part of that amount to secure release while their case was pending. The remainder were granted nonfinancial release (30%), ordered held without bail (7%), or were part of an emergency release (less than 0.5%). More than half of those with a bail amount had it set at $10,000 or more, and a fifth had it set at $50,000 or more. Among defendants with a bail amount set, those charged with a violent offense (31%) were about twice as likely as other defendants to have it set at $50,000 or more. About 7 in 8 murder defendants (88%) with a bail amount had it set at $50,000 or more, as did about a third of robbery (36%) and rape (33%) defendants. Among property defendants with a bail amount set, those charged with burglary (19%) were the most likely to have bail set at $50,000 or more. Defendants charged with drug trafficking (22%) were twice as likely to have bail set at $50,000 or more as other drug defendants (11%). Among public-order defendants, those charged with a weapons offense (18%) were nearly twice as likely as those charged with a driving-related offense (10%) to have bail set this high. Overall, defendants who were detained until case disposition had a median bail amount 5 times that of defendants who secured release ($25,000 versus $5,000). The mean bail amount for detained defendants ($76,200) was about 6 times that of defendants who secured release ($12,800). Detained murder defendants had the highest median ($500,000) and mean ($692,800) bail amounts. Overall, the median bail amount for murder defendants was $250,000 and the mean was $587,800. Overall, about half (51%) of defendants who were required to post bail to secure release did so. About three-fourths of defendants with a bail set at under $5,000 (76%) posted the amount needed for release, as did nearly two-thirds of those with a bail amount of $5,000 to $9,999 (64%). In contrast, about 1 in 6 defendants with bail set at $50,000 or more (17%), and just over 1 in 3 defendants with a bail amount of $25,000 to $49,999 (36%) met the financial conditions required for release. Defendants released on full cash bond posted a median of $1,000 and a mean of $4,100 to secure release. Among defendants given financial release, the median and mean bail amounts were slightly higher for those released on surety bond ($7,500, $13,800) than for those released on deposit bond ($5,000, $12,600). Unlike those released on full cash bond, defendants released on deposit bond generally posted 10% of the full bail amount with the court to secure release. However, they remained liable to the court for the full bail amount if they violated the terms of release. Those released on surety bond paid a similar fee to a bail bond agent, who assumed liability to the court for the full bail amount if the defendant violated the terms of release. Defendants released on an unsecured bond had a median bail amount of $5,000 and a mean bail amount of $8,000. These defendants did not have to post any of this amount, but like those on financial release, they were liable for the full bail amount if they violated the terms of release. Time from arrest to release Among defendants released prior to case disposition, 50% were released within 1 day of arrest, and 78% within 1 week. Nearly all releases during the 1-year study occurred within a month of arrest (93%). By general offense category, less than half of the defendants charged with a violent (42%) or drug (47%)offense were released within 1 day of arrest. A majority of those charged with a public- order (55%) or property (57%) offense were released this quickly. By specific offense, murder defendants typically waited the longest to be released, and those charged with fraud had the shortest wait. Thirteen percent of released murder defendants were released within 1 day of arrest, compared to 75% of those charged with fraud. After 1 month, 47% of murder defendant releases had occurred, compared to nearly all of the releases of other defendants. When differences among offense types are held constant, defendants released under financial terms generally took longer to secure their release than those who were released under nonfinancial conditions. Among defendants who were released under financial conditions, the amount of time from arrest to pretrial release tended to increase as the bail amount did. Criminal history and probability of release Court decisions about bail and pretrial release are primarily based on the judgment of whether a defendant will appear in court as scheduled and whether there is potential danger to the community from crimes that a defendant may commit if released. Many States have established specific criteria to be considered by the courts when setting release conditions. The SCPS data illustrate how release rates vary with some of these factors. For example, 70% of the defendants without an active criminal justice status when arrested for the current offense were released prior to case disposition, compared to 46% of those with such a status. Defendants on parole (23%) or probation (41%)at the time of arrest were the least likely to be released. This compared with 60% of those released pending disposition of a prior case. Seventy-nine percent of the defendants with no prior arrests were released, compared to 56% of those who had been previously arrested. Among defendants with an arrest record, those who had never missed a court appearance (60%) had a higher probability of being released than those who had failed to appear at least once during a previous case (50%). About three-fourths of defendants without a prior conviction (77%)were released prior to disposition of the current case, compared to about half of those with a conviction record(51%). Among defendants with a conviction record, release rates ranged from 63% for those with a single prior conviction to 42% for those with five or more. Less than half of the defendants with one or more prior felony convictions (45%) were released prior to disposition of the current case, compared to about two-thirds of those whose prior convictions involved only misdemeanors (65%). Those with a prior conviction for a violent felony (42%) had a slightly lower release rate than those whose most serious prior conviction was for a nonviolent felony (46%). Conduct of released defendants Among defendants who were released prior to case disposition, 32% committed some type of misconduct while in a release status. This may have been in the form of a failure to appear in court, an arrest for a new offense, or some other violation of release conditions that resulted in the revocation of that release by the court. By original offense category, the proportion of defendants charged with pretrial misconduct was highest for drug defendants (38%) and lowest for those released after being charged with a violent offense (24%). Thirty percent of defendants charged with a property or public-order offense committed some type of pretrial misconduct. By specific arrest offense, rates of pretrial misconduct were lowest among defendants released after being charged with murder (12%), rape (12%), or fraud (18%). Failure to appear in court Seventy-eight percent of the defendants who were released prior to case disposition made all scheduled court appearances. Bench warrants for failing to appear in court were issued for the remaining 22%. Released drug defendants (27%)had the highest failure-to-appear rate followed by property (21%)and public-order (20%)defendants. Thirteen percent of defendants charged with a violent offense failed to appear in court as scheduled, ranging from 17% of robbery defendants to less than 10% of murder (6%)and rape (8%) defendants. Nearly a fourth of the defendants who failed to appear in court, 6% of all defendants, were still fugitives at the end of the 1- year study period. The remainder were returned to the court (either voluntarily or not) before the end of the study. Defendants released after being charged with a drug offense (7%) were more likely to be a fugitive after 1 year than defendants released after being charged with a violent (4%)or public-order (4%) offense. Six percent of released murder defendants were in a fugitive status at the end of the 1-year study period. Rearrest for a new offense Overall, 16% of released defendants were rearrested for a new offense allegedly committed while they awaited disposition of their original case. About three-fifths of these defendants, 10% of all released defendants, were charged with a new felony. By specific original arrest charge, released drug trafficking (21%) and robbery (21%) defendants had the highest pretrial rearrest rate. Defendants originally charged with rape (4%), murder (6%), or fraud (6%) had the lowest. About 1 in 7 defendants released after originally being charged with drug trafficking (15%) or robbery (14%)were rearrested for a new felony while in a release status. Adjudication Time from arrest to adjudication For 50% of felony defendants in the 75 largest counties, adjudication of their case occurred within 3 months of arrest, and 70% of cases were adjudicated within 6 months of arrest. By the end of the 1-year study period, 86% of all cases had been adjudicated. While the overall median time from arrest to adjudication was 92 days, it was about twice this long for rape defendants (187 days), and was more than a year for murder defendants. Defendants charged with motor vehicle theft had the shortest median time from arrest to adjudication (48 days). At the end of the 1-year study period, 50% of murder defendants were awaiting adjudication of their case, compared to 25% of rape defendants, and no more than 18% of the defendants in any other offense category. For each offense other than murder (for which medians could not be calculated), the median time from arrest to adjudication was shorter for detained defendants than for those released pending case disposition. For most charged offenses, the median time from arrest to adjudication was about 2 months longer for defendants released after being charged than for those detained. The difference was about 11/2 months for weapons defendants, and about 1 month for robbery defendants. Overall, the median time from arrest to adjudication was 105 days for released defendants compared to 40 days for those detained. Excluding murder, the longest median time from arrest to adjudication among released defendants was for those charged with rape (155 days), followed by those charged with assault (123 days), robbery (120 days), or a driving-related offense (120 days). Detained defendants charged with motor vehicle theft (28 days) had the shortest adjudication time. Adjudication outcome Sixty-four percent of the defendants whose cases were adjudicated within 1 year of arrest were convicted. A majority of these convictions were for a felony, with 52% of defendants eventually convicted of a felony. Defendants originally charged with a violent offense (56%) were less likely to eventually be convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor, than those originally charged with a drug (65%), property (66%), or public-order (72%) offense. By specific type of arrest offense, the proportion of defendants convicted ranged from 86% of those charged with a driving-related felony to 52% of those charged with fraud or assault. The probability of being convicted of a felony was highest for defendants whose most serious arrest charge was a driving-related offense (70%), drug trafficking (67%), or murder (64%). A majority of defendants charged with burglary (59%), a weapons offense (56%), motor vehicle theft (56%), or forgery (53%) were also convicted of a felony. The lowest felony conviction rates were for fraud (33%) and assault (35%)defendants. In most cases where the defendant was not convicted, it was because the charges against the defendant were dismissed. An estimated 26% of all cases ended in this way. Defendants charged with assault (40%) were the most likely to have their case dismissed, and those charged with a driving-related offense (10%) the least likely. About 9% of cases had other outcomes such as diversion or deferred adjudication. Defendants charged with fraud (30%) were the most likely to have had their case handled in this manner. Seventy-seven percent of the defendants who were detained until case disposition were eventually convicted of some offense, compared to 55% of those released pending disposition. Approximately two-thirds of detained defendants (68%) were convicted of a felony, compared to about two-fifths of released defendants (42%). Adjudication outcome was related to some extent to the number and type of the original arrest charges filed. Seventy-two percent of defendants who were originally charged with more than 1 felony were eventually convicted of some offense, compared to 59% of the defendants who had no additional felony charges. Sixty-three percent of defendants whose original arrest charges included more than one felony were eventually convicted of a felony compared to 45% of those with no additional felony charges. Among the defendants who had no additional felony charges, those who were charged with one or more misdemeanors (41%), were less likely to be convicted of a felony than those who had no additional charges of any type (46%). Defendants with only one felony charge, but one or more additional misdemeanor charges, were more likely than other defendants to eventually be convicted of a misdemeanor (21%). This almost always was the result of their pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge instead of the original felony charge. Overall, about three-fifths of defendants entered a guilty plea at some point, with 49% pleading guilty to a felony, and 12% to a misdemeanor. Defendants charged with a driving-related offense had the highest overall plea rate (84%) and the highest felony plea rate (68%). A majority of the defendants in each offense category except murder (33%) and assault (48%) eventually pleaded guilty to either a felony or a misdemeanor. A majority of the defendants charged with drug trafficking (63%), burglary (56%), motor vehicle theft (55%), a weapons offense(53%), or forgery (52%)pleaded guilty to a felony. Murder (31%) and assault (32%) defendants had the lowest felony plea rates. An estimated 4% of the cases adjudicated within 1 year went to trial. Fifty-seven percent of these trials were bench trials, decided by a judge, and 43% were jury trials. An estimated 78% of all trials ended with a guilty verdict, and 22% with an acquittal. Bench trials (81%) were more likely to result in a conviction than jury trials (74%). Sixty-nine percent of both bench and jury trials resulted in a felony conviction. Thirty-four percent of defendants facing murder charges went to trial, compared to no more than 10% of defendants charged with other offenses. Regardless of adjudication method, a majority of convicted defendants were convicted of the same felony offense as the original arrest charge. Among defendants arrested for murder and later convicted, 84% were convicted of murder. The corresponding percentages for other violent offenses were as follows: robbery (66%), assault (59%), and rape (56%). Among defendants originally charged with a property offense and later convicted, the percentages whose conviction offense corresponded with their most serious arrest charge were as follows: forgery (70%), motor vehicle theft (69%), larceny/ theft (66%), burglary (63%), and fraud (54%). The conviction offense corresponded with the most serious arrest charge for 79% of defendants convicted after being charged with a driving-related offense, and for 76% of drug trafficking and weapons defendants. For most offenses a smaller percentage of defendants were in each felony conviction category than were in the original distribution by arrest charge. The biggest drop was in the violent felony category, which accounted for about 25% of all defendants by arrest charge, but just 14% of them by conviction charge. Much of this change can be accounted for by the fact that about 12% of all defendants were originally facing felony assault charges, but just 6% of all convictions were for such an offense. Overall, 19% of convicted defendants were convicted at the misdemeanor level. A majority of the defendants whose most serious arrest charge was for drug trafficking (56%), murder (55%), a weapons offense (53%), or a driving-related offense (68%)were eventually convicted of that same offense. This was true for slightly less than half of the defendants originally charged with forgery (48%), motor vehicle theft (45%), burglary (45%), or larceny/theft (44%). Thirty percent of defendants originally facing felony assault charges were eventually convicted of such an offense. Case processing statistics Among the approximately 47,000 cases with a known adjudication outcome that occurred within 1 year of arrest, about 29,000 were disposed by a guilty plea. Based on the 94% of cases for which the adjudication date was known, about a fourth of pleas occurred within 1 month of arrest and about three-fifths within 3 months of arrest. The next most common type of adjudication, dismissal of the charges against the defendant, occurred in about 12,500 cases. About two-fifths (39%) of all dismissals occurred within the first month after arrest and 66% within 3 months. Trials occurred in about 1,800 cases. About 3% of trials were completed within a month of arrest and about 1 in 7 within 3 months of arrest. Guilty pleas accounted for 95% of the estimated 30,138 convictions obtained within 1 year of arrest. This included about 23,200 felony pleas and about 5,600 misdemeanor pleas. Twenty-six percent of the felony pleas occurred within 1 month of arrest, and 57% were obtained within 3 months of arrest. Thirty percent of the misdemeanor pleas were obtained within 1 month of arrest, and 61% within 3 months. Of the approximately 1,400 trial convictions obtained within 1 year, nearly all were for a felony, with an estimated 155 trials resulting in a misdemeanor conviction. About a sixth of all trial convictions occurred within 3 months of arrest, and slightly less than half within 6 months of arrest. Sentencing Time from conviction to sentencing About 2 in 3 convicted defendants were sentenced within 1 day of adjudication. Defendants convicted of a misdemeanor (83%) were more likely to be sentenced this quickly than those convicted of a felony (64%). Sentencing after a felony conviction was most likely to occur within 1 day if the conviction was for a drug (67%), property (65%), or public-order (63%) offense. Fifty-five percent of defendants convicted of a violent offense were sentenced this quickly. Within the violent offense category, the proportion of convicted defendants sentenced within 1 day ranged from less than half of those convicted of rape (42%)or murder (46%)to about three-fifths of those convicted of robbery (61%). A majority of the defendants in all other offense categories were sentenced within a day of conviction. Seventy-nine percent of defendants convicted of a felony received their sentence within 30 days, compared to 88% of those convicted of a misdemeanor. Ninety-one percent of defendants convicted of a felony and 95% of those convicted of a misdemeanor were sentenced within 60 days. Type and length of sentence Sixty-nine percent of convicted defendants were sentenced to incarceration in a State prison or local jail. Seventy-three percent of defendants convicted of a felony were sentenced to incarceration, compared to 53% of those convicted of a misdemeanor. A majority of incarceration sentences following a felony conviction, 40% of felony sentences overall, were to State prison. Nearly all convictions for murder (96%) resulted in a prison sentence, as did a majority of robbery (73%), and rape (56%) convictions. About half of defendants convicted of motor vehicle theft(51%) or burglary (49%) were sentenced to prison. Although less than half of defendants convicted of a weapons offense (44%), drug trafficking (42%), or a driving-related offense (40%) were sentenced to prison, a prison term was still more likely for these felonies than jail, probation, or a fine. Nearly all incarceration sentences for misdemeanor convictions, 53% of all misdemeanor sentences, were to jail. Among defendants who were convicted but not sentenced to incarceration, 99% of those convicted of a felony and 88% of those convicted of a misdemeanor received a probation term. Probation sentences may have included a fine, restitution, community service, treatment, or other conditions. Overall, 30% of convicted defendants received a sentence to probation without any incarceration. This included 27% of those convicted of a felony and 41% of those convicted of a misdemeanor. Defendants convicted of forgery (40%) or fraud (35%) were the most likely to be sentenced to probation. Overall, 1% of convicted defendants were fined but were not sentenced to a term of incarceration or probation. This included 6% of those convicted of a misdemeanor. Fines may have been in addition to other court-ordered conditions. Among persons arrested and charged with a felony by the prosecutor, murder defendants had the highest probability of eventually being convicted and sentenced to prison (54%). The next highest probability of an eventual prison sentence was for defendants charged with robbery (32%). Twenty-seven percent of defendants originally charged with burglary, motor vehicle theft, drug trafficking, or a driving-related offense were eventually convicted and sentenced to prison. Defendants originally charged with fraud (8%) were the least likely to eventually be sentenced to prison. Defendants originally charged with a driving-related offense (35%) were the most likely to be eventually convicted and receive a jail sentence. A majority of defendants originally charged with a driving-related offense (62%), murder (57%), burglary (54%), or motor vehicle theft (53%) were eventually convicted and sentenced to either prison or jail. This was the case for half of drug trafficking defendants. Defendants originally charged with assault (34%) or forgery (36%) were the least likely to eventually be convicted and sentenced to incarceration. Among defendants convicted of a felony and sentenced to prison, the mean sentence was 55 months and the median was 32 months. By general conviction offense category, defendants convicted of a violent felony received the longest prison sentences (a mean of 99 months and a median of 60 months), and those convicted of a public- order felony the shortest (a mean of 39 months and a median of 24 months). By specific conviction offense, murderers received the longest prison terms, a mean of 282 months and a median of 180 months. Next were defendants convicted of rape with a mean prison sentence of 146 months, and a median of 84 months. Median prison sentences for other felony convictions included 60 months for robbery, 48 months for assault, and 36 months for burglary, drug trafficking, or weapons offenses. Thirty-two percent of all murder convictions resulted in a life sentence, compared to 4% of rape defendants and a maximum of 2% of the defendants convicted of any other offense. In addition to those receiving life sentences,35% of the defendants convicted of murder were sentenced to more than 10 years in prison. Defendants convicted of rape (28%) or robbery (21%) were the next most likely to receive a prison term this long. For defendants convicted of a felony and subsequently sentenced to jail, the mean jail term was 7 months and the median was 6 months. Misdemeanor convictions resulted in a mean jail term of 5 months and a median of 3 months. Excluding murder and rape (for which few cases resulted in a jail sentence), defendants sentenced to jail for robbery received the longest average sentence (a mean of 10 months and a median of 12 months). About three-fifths of all jail sentences were for a period of greater than 3 months. About 4 in 5 jail sentences following convictions for violent felonies were for more than 3 months compared to about 2 in 3 sentences for other types of felonies. About 2 in 5 jail sentences following misdemeanor convictions were for more than 3 months. For defendants sentenced to probation without incarceration for a felony, the median sentence length was 36 months, compared to 24 months for a misdemeanor. Three percent of defendants convicted of a felony were given a probation term of greater than 5 years, including 8% of those sentenced for a violent felony. Some probation sentences were supplemented by one or more special court-ordered conditions. For example,18% of the defendants who received a probation sentence were required to perform a specified number of hours of community service work. Fourteen percent of offenders sentenced to probation were required to pay restitution, including 33% of those convicted for a property- related felony. Twelve percent of probation sentences included a requirement that the defendant enter a treatment program. Prior record and felony sentencing For defendants convicted of a felony on their current charge, the probability of receiving a sentence to incarceration was highest if they had multiple prior felony convictions (86%). Seventy-nine percent of defendants with just one prior felony conviction, and 68% of those with only prior misdemeanor convictions were also sentenced to incarceration following a felony conviction in the current case. Defendants with no prior convictions of any type (58%) were the least likely to receive a sentence to incarceration for a felony conviction. Defendants with no prior convictions and whose current conviction was for a property or drug offense were the least likely of all defendants convicted of a felony to be sentenced to incarceration (53%). Sixty-two percent of the defendants with more than one prior felony conviction were sentenced to prison for a new felony conviction. This included 75% of those whose current conviction was for a violent offense. Forty-six percent of the defendants with a single prior felony conviction were sentenced to prison following a felony conviction in the current case, including a majority of those convicted of a violent (55%) or public-order (53%) felony. Overall, about a fourth of defendants without a prior felony conviction received a prison sentence for a felony conviction in the current case. However, about two-fifths of such defendants received a prison sentence when the current conviction was for a violent felony. Defendants with a prior conviction record consisting solely of misdemeanors were more likely than other defendants to receive a jail sentence (44%). Defendants with no prior convictions of any kind whose current conviction was for a property (47%) or drug (46%) offense were the most likely to receive a probation sentence. Defendants convicted of a violent felony were much more likely to be sentenced to prison than jail or probation if they had at least one prior felony conviction. Incarceration was also likely for those without prior felony convictions, with jail and prison having similar probabilities. Among defendants convicted of a nonviolent felony, a prison sentence was only slightly more likely than a jail sentence for those with one prior felony conviction, but much more likely if they had multiple prior felony convictions. For those with a prior conviction record that consisted of only misdemeanors, jail was the most probable sentence. Probation was the most likely sentence if they had no conviction record at all. Methodology The SCPS sample was designed and selected by U.S. Census Bureau staff. It 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 filing information. Ten counties were included in the sample with certainty because of their large number of court filings. The remaining counties were allocated to the three noncertainty strata based on the variance of felony court dispositions. The second-stage sampling (filings) was designed to represent all defendants who had felony cases filed with the court during the month of May 2000. 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 in May 2000. Data from jurisdictions that were not required to provide a full month of filings were weighted to represent the full month. The 2000 SCPS collected data for 14,877 felony cases filed during May 2000 in 40 large counties. These cases, which were tracked for up to 1 year, were part of a sample that was representative of the estimated 54,590 felony cases filed in the Nation's 75 most populous counties during that month. A small number of cases (162 weighted) were omitted from analysis as they could not be classified into one of the four major crime categories (violent, property, drug, public order). This report is based on data collected from the following counties: Alabama (Jefferson); Arizona (Maricopa, Pima); California (Alameda, Contra Costa, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Mateo, Santa Clara); Connecticut (New Haven); Florida (Broward, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, Pinellas); Georgia (Fulton); Hawaii (Honolulu); Illinois (Cook); Indiana (Marion); Maryland (Baltimore, Montgomery); Michigan (Macomb, Wayne); New Jersey (Essex); New York (Bronx, Kings, Nassau, Westchester); Ohio (Franklin); Pennsylvania (Philadelphia); Tennessee (Shelby); Texas (Dallas, El Paso, Harris, Tarrant, Travis); Utah (Salt Lake City); Virginia (Fairfax). 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. 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 each category; however, these lists are not meant to be exhaustive. All offenses, except for murder, include attempts and conspiracies to commit. Violent offenses 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, car- jacking, 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 manslaughter, 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. Property offenses Burglary -- Includes any type of entry into a residence, industry, or business with or without the use of force with the intent to commit a felony or theft. Does not include possession of burglary tools, trespassing, or unlawful entry for which the intent is not known. Larceny/theft -- Includes grand theft, grand larceny, and any other felony theft, including burglary from an automobile, theft of rental property, and mail theft. Does not include motor vehicle theft, receiving or buying stolen property, fraud, forgery, or deceit. Motor vehicle theft -- Includes auto theft, conversion of an automobile, receiving and transferring an automobile, unauthorized use of a vehicle, possession of a stolen vehicle, larceny or taking of an automobile. Forgery -- Includes forging of a driver's license, official seals, notes, money orders, credit or access cards or names of such cards or any other documents with fraudulent intent, uttering a forged instrument, counterfeiting, forgery. Fraud -- Includes possession and passing of worthless checks or money orders, possession of false documents or identification, embezzlement, obtaining money by false pretenses, credit card fraud, welfare fraud, Medicare fraud, insurance claim fraud, fraud, swindling, stealing a thing of value by deceit, larceny by check. Other property offenses -- Includes receiving or buying stolen property, arson, reckless burning, damage to property, criminal mischief, vandalism, criminal trespassing, possession of burglary tools, and unlawful entry for which the interest is unknown. Drug offenses Drug trafficking -- Includes trafficking, sales, distribution, possession with intent to distribute or sell, manufacturing, and smuggling of controlled substances. Does not include possession of controlled substances. Other drug offenses -- Includes possession of controlled substances, prescription violations, possession of drug paraphernalia, and other drug law violations. Public-order offenses Weapons -- Includes the unlawful sale, distribution, manufacture, alteration, transportation, possession, or use of a deadly weapon or accessory. Driving-related -- Includes driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, driving with a suspended or revoked license, and any other felony in the motor vehicle code. Other public-order offenses -- Includes flight/escape, parole or probation violations, prison contraband, habitual offender, obstruction of justice, rioting, libel, slander, treason, perjury, prostitution, pandering, bribery, and tax law violations. Terms related to pretrial release Released defendant -- Includes any defendant who was released from custody prior to the disposition of his or her case by the court. Includes defendants who were detained for some period of time before being released and defendants who were returned to custody after being released because of a violation of the conditions of pretrial release. The terms "on pretrial release" and "released pending disposition" are both used in this report to refer to all released defendants. Detained defendant -- Includes any defendant who remained in custody from the time of arrest until the disposition of his or her case by the court. This report also refers to detained defendants as "not released." Failure to appear -- Occurs when a court issues a bench warrant for a defendant's arrest because he or she missed a scheduled court appearance. Types of financial release Surety bond -- A bail bond company signs a promissory note to the court for the full bail amount and charges the defendant a fee for the service (usually 10% of the full bail amount). If the defendant fails to appear, the bond company is liable to the court for the full bail amount. Frequently the bond company requires collateral from the defendant in addition to the fee. Deposit bond -- The defendant deposits a percentage (usually 10%) of the full bail amount with the court. The percentage of the bail is returned after the disposition of the case, but the court often retains a small portion for administrative costs. If the defendant fails to appear in court, he or she is liable to the court for the full bail amount. Full cash bond -- The defendant posts the full bail amount in cash with the court. If the defendant makes all court appearances, the cash is returned. If the defendant fails to appear in court, the bond is forfeited. Property bond -- Involves an agreement made by a defendant as a condition of pretrial release requiring that property valued at the full bail amount be posted as an assurance of his or her appearance in court. If the defendant fails to appear in court, the property is forfeited. Also known as "collateral bond." Types of nonfinancial release Release on recognizance (ROR) -- The court releases the defendant on a signed agreement that he or she will appear in court as required. In this report, the ROR category includes citation releases in which arrestees are released pending their first court appearance on a written order issued by law enforcement or jail personnel. Unsecured bond -- The defendant pays no money to the court but is liable for the full amount of bail should he or she fail to appear in court. Conditional release -- Defendants are released under specified conditions. Monitoring or supervision, if required, is usually done by a pretrial services agency. In some cases, such as those involving a third-party custodian or drug monitoring and treatment, another agency may be involved in the supervision of the defendant. Conditional release sometimes includes an unsecured bond. Other type of release Emergency release -- Defendants are released in response to a court order placing limits on a jail's population. End of file 12/09/03 ih