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UN Profile - United States of America
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2.0. GENERAL BACKGROUND
The beginning of the American criminal justice system was influenced by the
cultural and legal heritage of the colonists. Primarily, the American method of
crime control and crime sanctions resembled those of England, France and
Holland. The colonists were selective in borrowing certain aspects of the
criminal justice system, leaving behind those traditions that they deemed
unsuitable in the best interests of their colony.
Systematic attempts to reform the criminal justice system were first initiated
in the 1920s. The Wickersham Commission's findings helped to identify problems
with the existing criminal justice system as well as helped to establish the
philosophy of "treating" offenders. In 1967, the President's Commissions on Law
Enforcement and Administration of Justice published a report entitled "The
Challenge of Crime in a Free Society." The outcome of this report was the
enactment of the "Safe Streets and Crime Control Act of 1968" and the
establishment of the "Law Enforcement Assistance Administration" (LEAA).
Together they were responsible for funnelling millions of dollars into
programmes aimed at restructuring various institutions of the criminal justice
system. In addition, funds were made available to develop programmes for
improving the efficiency of policing, courts and corrections.
The American criminal law has its roots in English common law. In addition,
contemporary criminal law reflects constitutional law, federal and state
statutes, and administrative law. The U.S. Constitution which was signed in
1787 has a preamble, seven articles, and twentysix amendments. Though very few
parts of the Constitution relate directly to matters pertaining to criminal
justice, the Supreme Court and lower court interpretations of its articles and
amendments influence criminal law and criminal procedure. Federal statutes
framed within the confines of the Constitution apply to all fifty states of the
Union. In addition each of the fifty states is governed by its own statutes.
The roots of modern American policing can be traced to the efforts of Englishmen
Patrick Colquhoun and Sir Robert Peel. The first modern police organization was
established in New York City in 1845. Today, there are more than 40 000
professional public sector police agencies serving city, county, state and
national interests. Federal law enforcement agencies include the Federal Bureau
of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the
Immigration and Naturalization Service (NIS), the U.S. Marshal Service, the
Organized Crime and Racketeering Section (OCR), the Intelligence Division of the
Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Secret Service, the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF), the Customs Service, the Postal Inspection Service,
and the U.S. Coast Guard. In addition to public law enforcement agencies there
are numerous private police agencies whose personnel far outnumber those in the
public sector.
The function of law enforcement and peace keeping is primarily vested with the
local city/municipal police departments. However, in larger cities the
situation is complicated by the presence of various policing agencies whose
jurisdiction and authority cross local as well as state boundaries. For
example, New York City has five boroughs with law enforcement agencies which
include the new York City Police Department, the transit system police, the
public housing authority police, and the New York/New Jersey Port Authority
Police. In addition, there are also the New York State Police, private police,
and the federal enforcement agencies operating in the city.
Once a suspect is arrested the police are required to issue him or her a warning
about selfincrimination, generally referred to as Miranda Warning. This
provision is made available to the suspect under the Fifth Amendment (Miranda v.
Arizona) to be free from selfincrimination prior to any questioning by the
police. An arrest is followed by the booking process which includes recording
date and time of arrest, making arrangements for bail in advance of the first
court hearing, and the fingerprinting and photographing of the suspect.
There are two separate court systems, federal and state. Federal courts are
responsible for enforcing federal laws. Local codes such as those in the Virgin
Islands, Guam, and the Panama Canal Zone have a threetiered system. In a
descending order the court system consists of the U.S. Supreme Court (1), U.S.
Court of Appeals or circuit courts (12), and the U.S. District courts (94).
The states maintain their own court system and no two systems are identical.
Generally, state courts can be classified in a descending order state appellate
courts or state supreme courts, courts of general jurisdiction (approximately 3
650), and lower courts (approximately 13 000). In 1983, state courts processed
approximately 81 million civil, criminal and traffic cases while federal courts
heard approximately 250 000 civil and criminal cases.
The prosecutor generally makes one of the four following decisions before an
accused comes up for trial:
(a)whether to charge or not to charge a defendant, and if so with what offence;
(b)if a defendant should receive pretrial release or detention;
(c) if a defendant should receive a pretrial diversion (i.e. pretrial release of
an accused person on his own recognizance and /or participate in a treatment
program); and
(d) if a defendant's case will be plea bargained or go to trial (plea bargaining
is a process by which a defendant in a criminal case gives up the right to go to
trial in exchange for a reduction in charge and/or sentence).
Though a right to trial is guaranteed by the Constitution and all indigents have
a constitutional right to counsel, the number of cases which eventually result
in a trial is a very small (approximately 5 %).
Trial by grand jury, an English common law tradition, is incorporated into the
Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which states that "no person shall be
held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on presentment
or indictment of a grand jury." A grand jury is employed in the federal system
and about half the states.
Among the ideas borrowed from Europe in to the American colonies were
punishments such as branding, flogging, and the ducking stool. However, reform
measures arising from the humanitarian movement of the 18th century (initiated
by such reformers as Beccaria, Bentham, Penn, Rush and others) paved the way for
the modern penitentiary. As with court systems, there are two separate
corrections systems in the U.S., the Federal Bureau of Prisons (established
1930) and the state systems. Before federal prisons came into existence,
federal prisoners were housed in state prisons. The states have their own
prisons (for felony offences), jails (temporary detention, misdemeanour offences
etc.), prisons for women, and juvenile institutions. In 1986 there were
approximately 520 000 prisoners (of whom approximately 20 000 were women) in
about 700 state and federal prisons: 260 000 in 3 500 jails; and 49 000 juvenile
offenders in 1 000 juvenile institutions. Also, in 1986 there were 1 968 712
and 300 203 adult offenders under probation and parole supervision respectively.
In addition, there were thousands of other offenders restrained in various other
diversion and treatment programmes.
II. Statistics
The FBI has been publishing annual official crime data best known as the Uniform
Crime Report (UCR) since 1930. The FBI compiles data provided by various local
and state law enforcement agencies on various crime categories such as the
amount of crime reported, the number of property crimes, violent crimes,
classification of offenders by age, sex and race. Violent crimes include
murder, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault while property crimes
include offences such as burglary, larceny theft, and motor vehicle theft.
These crimes along with the offence of arson constitute Part I offences.
Violent and property crime together constitute the "crime index" per 100 000
population. However, this crime index does not include data on arson as the
figures are not accurate. Other minor offences such as fraud, embezzlement,
prostitution and gambling are referred to as part II offences. Offences not
included in the UCR reports are computer crime, organized crime and whitecollar
crime.
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2.1. STATISTICS --BACKGROUND
Selected Offences
Intentional homicide. This category includes:
a) murder and nonnegligent manslaughter. Deaths caused by negligence, attempts
to kill, assaults to kill, suicides, accidental deaths, and justifiable homicide
are excluded. Justifiable homicides are limited to (1) the killing of a felon by
a law enforcement officer in the line of duty; and (2) the killing of a felon by
a private citizen.
b) manslaughter by negligence: the killing of another person through gross
negligence. It excludes traffic fatalities.
While manslaughter by negligence is a Part I crime, it is not included in the
Crime Index.
The figures in Table 29 from 198086 indicate total number and the rate per 100
000 population for murders reported to the police. The data suggest that there
has been a slight increase in the last couple of years but overall the rates
seem to be fairly stable in this category over the last seven years. 19 190
people were arrested for murder in 1986.
Table 29. Murders Reported to the Police (USA)
Year Number Rate/100 000
Population
1980 23 040 10,2
1981 22 520 9,8
1982 21 010 9,1
1983 19 310 8,3
1984 18 960 7,9
1985 18 980 7,9
1986 20 610 8,6
Other violent crime. Crime categories which are included in this category are
rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. The rape category includes rape by force
and attempts or assaults to rape. However, statutory rape, i.e. where the victim
is under the age of consent, are excluded. Robbery includes attempts to take
from another person anything of value by force or threat of violence.
Aggravated assault includes attack by one person on another causing severe
bodily injury. Simple assaults are excluded. In Table 30 figures in
parenthesis indicate rates per 100 000 population. Data for the categories rape
and aggravated assault suggest that though the rates have decreased in 1982 and
1983, there has been a gradual increase thereafter. Robbery rates decreased
gradually since 1981 but the trend was reversed in 1986. The data of Table 30
are for offences. In 1986, the estimated number of arrests for the crimes of
rape, robbery and aggravated assault were 37 140, 145 800, and 351 770
respectively.
Table 30. Violent Crimes Reported to the Police (USA).
Crime
Rape Robbery Agg.Assault
Year
1980 82 990 (37) 565,840 (251) 672 650 (299)
1981 82 500 (36) 592 910 (259) 663 900 (299)
1982 78 770 (34) 553 130 (239) 669 480 (289)
1983 78 920 (34) 506 570 (217) 653 290 (279)
1984 84 230 (36) 485 010 (205) 685 350 (290)
1985 87 340 (37) 497 870 (209) 723 250 (303)
1986 90 430 (38) 542 780 (225) 834 320 (346)
Property offences. Property offences include categories such as burglary,
larceny theft and motor vehicle theft. Burglary is an unlawful entry or attempt
forcible entry of a structure to commit a felony or a theft. Larceny theft is
an unlawful taking away of property from another, or an attempt to do so.
Examples include thefts of bicycles, shoplifting, pocketpicking. Figures for
Table 31 indicate number of offences (in millions) reported to police while
those in parenthesis indicate rates per 100 000 population. The rate for all
three categories suggest that there has been no increase in the years 198087.
However, all three categories also displayed a gradual decease up to the year
1983 and since then a steady increase. The data in Table 31 represent offences.
In contrast, the estimated total arrests (i.e., offenders) in 1986 for the crime
of burglary, larceny theft and motor vehicle theft were 450 600, 1 400 200, and
153 600 respectively.
Table 31. Property Offences Reported to the Police (USA)
Crime in Millions and (Rate/100 000 pop.)
Burglary Larcenytheft Motor Vehicle theft
1980 3,8 (1 684) 7,1 (3 167) 1,1 (502)
1981 3,8 (1 650) 7,2 (3 140) 1,1 (475)
1982 3,4 (1 489) 7,1 (3 085) 1,1 (459)
1983 3,1 (1 338) 6,7 (2 869) 1,0 (431)
1984 3,0 (1 264) 6,6 (2 791) 1,0 (437)
1985 3,1 (1 287) 6,9 (2 901) 1,1 (462)
1986 3,2 (1 345) 7,3 (3 010) 1,2 (508)
Substance abuse. The UCR indicate that approximately 30 % of all arrests made
in 1986 were alcohol or drug related. The breakdown of such arrests is as
follows:
Drug abuse violations 666 132
Driving under the influence 1 390 597
Liquor law violations 469 317
Public drunkennes 750 887
All arrests (including the above) 9 944 411
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2.2. CRIMINAL JUSTICE STATISTICS 1970 -1980
A. The following reported offences are based on estimated United States offense
totals 1) assualt; 2)sexual offences; 3) kidnapping; 4)Robbery; 5) theft, including
burglary and housebreaking..
B. "Fraud and other types of white collar crimes" and Substance abuse offences" are
based on estimated United States arrest totals.
C. "assault" aggravated assault only.
D. "Sexual Offenses" only includes forcible rape, arres for sex offences are listed
separately.
E. "^Theft" - Property crimes total; includes burglary, larceny-theft, and motor
vehicle theft. Added prior to rounding.
F. "Fraud and other white collar crimes" includes fraud and embezzlement arrest.
G. "Substance abuse" offences includes arrests for driving under the influence,
liquor laws, and drunkenness.
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2.3. Offenses Reported To The Police
Crime Years Total Numbers
MURDER 70-75 15980 17806 18587 19568 20767 20506
MURDER 75-80 20505 18785 19121 19555 21460 23044
ASSAULT 70-75 333946 368549 392623 420808 455604 484881
ASSAULT 75-80 484713 490850 522509 558102 614213 654957
SEX CRIME 70-75 36878 41410 45945 50497 55096 55537
RAPE 75-80 56093 56730 63022 67131 75989 82088
ROBBERY 70-75 349927 387598 376333 384198 442466 465016
ROBBERY 75-80 464973 420214 404847 417038 466881 548809
THEFT 70-75 7359110 7772657 7413891 7841757 9279495 10229496
THEFT 75-80 10230300 10318200 9926278 10079508 10974171 11986502
FRAUD 70-75 114730 138724 144101 155699 161051 183699
FRAUD 75-80 183500 209300 255400 270600 270500 269672
KIDNAPING 70-75
KIDNAPING 75-80 590 225 150 149 48 103
TOTAL CRIMES
70-75
75-80 11256566 11304788 10935777 11141334 12152730 13295400
DRUG USE 70-75 415691 491951 527326 628898 642084 601295
DRUG CRIMES
75-80 601400 609700 642700 628700 558600 533010
DRUG TRAFFIC
70-75
75-80
BRIBERY 70-75
BRIBERY 75-80 300 410 295 159 M 300
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2.4. Offenders apprehended or arrested
OFFENDERS 70-75 4910854 5170039 5218962 4782483 4496709 5936055
OFFENDERS 75-80 8013545 7912348 9029335 9775087 9506347 9703181
JUVENILES 70-75 1661536 1797194 1793953 1716897 1682557 2078367
JUVENILES 75-80
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2.5. Offenders Convicted
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2.6. Sanctions - Background
Capital punishment. This punishment, reserved for the crime of murder, was
suspended for a period of 10 years (196777). In 1972, opinion polls indicated
that 52 % of the public favoured the death penalty while in the mid1980s the
figure was about 75 %. About forty states and the federal government have
adopted the death penalty for murder and serious crimes. In 1986, seven states
executed a total of eighteen prisoners by various methods which included
hanging, electrocution, gas, and the injection of lethal drugs. Also, in 1986,
297 prisoners received the sentence of death and 32 states reported a total of 1
781 prisoners under sentence of death.
Table 3.2 indicates the total number of prisoners in federal and state prisons
for the period 198086. Figures in parenthesis indicate rate per 100 000
population. These figures represent an overall increase of approximately 57 %,
54 %, and 82 % increases in rates of imprisonment for total, male and female
imprisonment rates respectively over the seven year period.
Table 3.2. Prisoners in State and Federal Prisons.
Year Total Male Female
1980 315 974 (138) 303 643 (274) 12 331 (11)
1981 353 167 (153) 338 940 (302) 14 227 (12)
1982 394 374 (170) 378 045 (336) 16 329 (14)
1983 419 820 (179) 402 391 (352) 17 429 (14)
1984 445 381 (188) 425 986 (369) 19 395 (16)
1985 481 616 (201) 460 210 (394) 21 406 (17)
1986 523 922 (216) 499 140 (423) 24 782 (20)
Jails are usually administered on a county or local level, are smaller generally
than prisons, and offenders usually spend no longer that two years in them. The
estimated average daily population in U.S. jails from 1983 to 1986 is given in
Table 33 below. The increase over the last four years in the inmate jail
population is approximately 17 %. Of these categories females experienced the
highest increase of approximately 37 % while juveniles registered a decrease of
about 20 %. Excluded from this survey are those locked up for less than 48
hours, and those detained in privately administered facilities.
Table 33. Estimated daily jail inmates (USA)
Average daily
population 1983 1984 1985 1986
All inmates 227 541 230 641 265 010 265 517
Adults 225 781 228 944 263 543 264 113
Males 210 451 212 749 244 711 243 143
Females 15 330 16 195 18 832 20 970
Juveniles 1 760 1 697 1 467 1 404
In 1985 the total number of juveniles confined in 1 040 public juvenile
facilities which include public juvenile, detention, correctional, shelter
facilities, residential programmes and group homes was 49 322. This population
experienced only 1 % growth since 1983.
The average sentences in months for offenders in the U.S. District Courts in
1986 were as follows: murderfirst degree 302,7; murdersecond degree 183,5;
manslaughter 49,0; robbery 161,3; bankrobbery 164,6; assault 58,3; burglary in
general 62,6; bankburglary 141,0; and larceny/theft 46,0.
In 1986, the adult probationers under supervision at federal and state levels
numbered 55 378 and 1 913 334 respectively while there were 17,064 and 283,139
adult parolees under supervision from federal and state sentences respectively.
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2.7. Prison Statistics
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2.8. Criminal Justice Personnel and resources - background
The USA reports the following personnel engaged, and expenditure incurred, in
the criminal justice system in 1985. The expenditure is represented as U.S.
dollars.
There were 737 741 police officers. Of these, 568 793 were county and municipal
police officers, 107,606 state police and the rest federal law enforcement
officers. A total of 22 013 594 000 000 was spent on the police service. (This
figure rose to 26 254 993 000 000 in 1986.) Of this, 16 billion was spent on
local police departments. It should be noted that all police officers are
engaged in crime prevention duties for on average, about onethird of their time.
There were 192 504 judicial officers, of whom 115 967 were employees in the
county and municipal courts while the state and federal courts employed 61 082,
and 15 455 people respectively. These employees cost local, state and federal
governments approximately 2 841, 2 262, and 852 millions respectively.
There were 105 834 prosecution, defence and legal service employees. These
workers cost 4 291 million dollars.
There were 394 677 corrections employees at all levels of the government at the
cost of 13 034 million in 1985. In addition, there were other justice
activities which employed 6 409 people at the cost of 489 million dollars.
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2.9. Criminal Justice Resources Statistics
POLICE 1973 643836
POLICE 75-80 350402 344089 355091 359313 363169 493331
JUDGES 1973 32629 32629 36064 35419 M
PROSEC 70-72 37975 32430 34163 37975 39036 M
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3.0. CRIMINAL JUSTICE STATISTICS (1980-1985)
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3.1. Offenses Reported To The Police
1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986
Crimes Recorded
TOTAL 13408300 13423800 12974400 12108600 11881800 12430400 13210800
INT.HOM. 23040 22520 21010 19310 18690 18980 20610
MAJ.ASSAULT 672650 663900 669480 653290 685350 723250 834320
RAPES 82990 82500 78770 78920 84230 87670 90430
ROBBERIES 565840 592910 553130 506570 485010 497870 542780
THEFT 12063800 12061900 11652000 10850600 10608500 11102600 11695700
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3.2. Offenders apprehended or arrested
Suspected Offenders
1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986
TOTAL 10441000 10840000 12136400 11700500 11564000 11965200 12487500
INT.HOM. 20040 21590 21810 20310 17770 18330 19190
ASSAULT 766070 777470 856550 846330 827860 942990 1062770
RAPE 31380 31710 33600 34080 36700 36970 37140
ROBBERY 146270 153890 157630 146170 138630 136870 145800
THEFT 1843500 1909700 2024300 1910200 1846500 1925600 2004400
FRAUD 291500 295100 334400 309800 270700 342600 349300
EMBEZZLEMENT 8500 8700 9000 8800 8100 11400 12600
DRUG POSS. 488550 486000 575950 556900 602850 619100 617250
OTHER DRUG 92350 73900 100050 104500 105550 192300 206850
OTHER 3322200 3473900 3936000 3793700 3597600 3424900 3403600
Persons Prosecuted
1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986
TOTAL 31218 35117 43538 45957
INT. HOM. M 98 242 173 164 139 138
ASSAULT 432 451 540 520 453 437 581
RAPE 16 21 22 26 37 45 54
ROBBERY 1652 1911 2331 1901 1803 1675 1661
THEFT 1810 1916 2429 2116 2009 1913 2106
FRAUD 3206 4318 6458 5915 6307 5960 6758
EMBEZLEMENT 1712 2179 2976 3074 2681 2693 2919
KIDNAPPING 84 77 113 178 108 126 120
DRUG POSS. 7003 7677 9906 10162 11224 12576 14952
BRIBERY 162 158 184 179 197 166 18
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3.3. Offenders Convicted
1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986
TOTAL 29943 32007 34193 37187 39065 40924 43920
INT.HOM. 111 116 110 107 101 101 93
NON.INT.HOM. 11 16 10 14 23 23 29
ASSAULT 450 422 435 451 415 458 489
RAPE 49 53 48 67 90 75 80
ROBBERY 1371 1523 1564 1318 1440 1308 1258
THEFT 3613 3296 3430 3825 3721 3757 3541
FRAUD 3307 3722 4515 4919 5005 4989 6139
KIDNAPPING 73 56 66 80 51 71 48
DRUG POSS. 498 1085 1598 1597 1808 1770 1636
OTHER DRUG 4637 4896 5381 6060 7090 8519 10348
BRIBERY 170 150 156 183 189 203 200
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3.4. Prisoners
Prison Admissions
1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986
TOTAL M 149186 164648 173289 166927 183131 203315
INT.HOM. M 10592 7079 6584 M M M
NON.INT.HOM. M M 4280 3292 M M M
ASSAULT M 10293 10866 12130 M M M
RAPE M 4177 4280 4158 M M M
ROBBERY M 28196 28978 24780 M M M
THEFT M 13426 17123 19581 M M M
FRAUD M 8801 10208 9877 M M M
DRUG POSS. M 14487 13171 14382 M M M
Convicted Prisoners
1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986
TOTAL M M M M M M 450416
INT.HOM. M M M M M M 50446
NON.INT.HOM. M M M M M M 14413
ASSAULT M M M M M M 36033
RAPE M M M M M M 18917
ROBBERY M M M M M M 94136
THEFT M M M M M M 27024
FRAUD M M M M M M 17115
KIDNAPPING M M M M M M 7657
DRUG POSS. M M M M M M 38735
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3.5. Criminal Justice Resources Statistics
CRJ PErsonnel
1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986
POLICE 514335 611488 629745
PROF.JUDGES 839 878 889
LAY JUDGES 483 457 467
OTHER JUDGES M M 2499
MAN.STF.-ADULT M 5061 M
CUST.STF.-ADULT M 92680 M
TREAT.STF.-ADULT M 22320 M
OTHER STF.-ADULT M 20783 M
MAN.STF.-JUV. 48482 M M
CUST.STF.-JUV. 25244 M M
TREAT.STF.-JUV. 11334 M M
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4.0. Selected Issues
Victimization surveys. Victimization surveys are administered to a large
representative national sample to determine the extent of crime in the country.
(See Part II of this Report, above). Though there are some problems with this
type of survey the results indicate that UCR estimates of crime should be
doubled for certain categories. Data on criminal victimization for the year
198086 suggest a decrease of approximately 15,2 %. Violent crime and household
crime experienced decreases of 10 % and 18,3% respectively.
Motor vehicle theft is probably the only crime which has a high concordance rate
among the UCR and victimization reports. Other categories suggest that UCR
estimates are at least 50 % lower than the total victimization experienced.
Demographic Variations in Crime.
Sex distribution of arrestees. In 1986 four out of every five arrests made in
the United States were of males. Males also accounted for 79 % of all Index
Crime arrests (89 % and 76 % arrests for violent and property crime
respectively).
Age distribution. In 1986 approximately twothirds of all the arrests made were
of people below the age of thirty. The arrested offenders for all three
categories of crime are predominantly under twentyfour. The under eighteens
appear to have committed more property crimes than other groups. However, for
violent crimes, the age group most likely to be arrested were those aged
eighteen to twentyfour.
Racial distribution. Crime in the United States is generally associated with
nonwhite populations (nonwhite populations include Blacks, American
Indians/Alaskan Natives and Asian or Pacific Islanders). According to UCR data
in 1986, 62 % of all arrestees of Index Crime were white. However, nonwhites
represent less than 15 % of the general population. For example, for every
white arrest per 100 000 white population, 6,15 nonwhites per 100 000 nonwhite
population were arrested for murder and nonnegligent manslaughter. Similarly,
the corrected ratios of white to nonwhite arrestees were for rape (1:5), robbery
(1:10), aggravated assault (1:4), burglary (1:3), larcenytheft (1:3), motor
vehicle theft (1:3,5), driving under the influence of alcohol (1:0,7).
Nonwhites were overrepresented in every category except for "driving under the
influence of alcohol".
Private prisons. About 40 states contract private firms to provide prison
services or programmes such as medical, college courses, construction, and
community treatment centres. A few states are in the process od enacting laws
authorizing privately operated correctional facilities. Private corporations
already operate many juvenile facilities as well as facilities for the federal
government, among them a halfway house, two Immigration and Naturalization
Service facilities for detention of illegal aliens, and a maximum security jail
in Florida. In 1986, a 300bed minimum security private state prison was opened
in Marion, Kentucky.
Sentencing guidelines. The type and length of sentence for similar offences
differ by state. Sentencing guidelines are intended to provide judges with
information on how judges in particular jurisdictions acted in similar
situations. These provide a reference point to guide a judge in measuring the
sentence he/she proposes to impose. Minnesota was one of the first states to
implement sentencing guidelines.
Computerization in criminal justice. During the last few years computers have
entered various stages of the criminal justice system in the United States.
National Crime Information Centre (NCIC). This is a national computer based
information system operated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Since
1968, NCIC has assisted law enforcement agencies at various levels and private
agencies in criminal justice as well as for noncriminal justice functions such
as employment screening and licencing. The Centre collects, stores, retrieves,
transmits and disseminates criminal justice information to various agencies in
the U.S.A., Canada, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
Computers for law enforcement agencies. Various police agencies have begun to
install Mobile Data Access Terminals in patrol cars to allow police officers
immediate access to crime related information from their headquarters which are
usually linked to the NCIC. In addition, for larger cities such as New York
City, arrest processing is very complex process. For example, in 1986 for a
period of eleven months, New York City, in its five boroughs, 268 437 arrests
were made. Defendants must be processed through a complex network of criminal
justice agencies which have overlapping city, county, and state jurisdictions.
Computers assist in minimizing duplication of information and for better
coordination of police duties. Courts have also introduced computers for
improved coordination and to reduce cumbersome paperwork in its functions such
as case processing (docketing, indexing etc.), calendar management, and records
management. In addition, computers provide sentencing information for judges.
The National Centre for State Courts located in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia
sponsors various projects relating to computer applications in courts.
Electronic jails. In 1985, Kenton County's Fiscal Court, Kentucky, first
introduced a home incarceration programme in the United States. Soon other
states such as Oregon, Michigan, and New York have either followed Kentucky or
are seriously considering introducing such programmes. Home incarceration
involves attaching an electronic monitoring device to the detainee's leg which
would transmit a signal verifying the presence or absence of the wearer within a
determined radius. In addition, such electronic surveillance of convicted
offenders is either introduced or being considered for use in some states for
its probationers.
IV. Crime Prevention Strategies
A number of programmes are in operation, of which the following is a small
selection:
1) A 4 year project on the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court judges
to establish State Planning Task Forces to help abused and neglected children
obtain permanent families through adoption.
2) There are many programmes to provide continuous assistance to indigent
families, such as Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), Effective
Parenting Programmes, and special programmes for parents of inner city families,
especially Hispanic families in need.
3) Approximately 69 public and 316 private shelters for juveniles in need of
temporary care such as runaways, homeless street youth and neglected children.
4) There have been many job training and development programmes on federal,
state and local levels available both for institutional and noninstitutional
offenders and those at risk. Emphasis has been placed on innovative
partnerships between public and private organizations.
5) The National Institute of Justice has conducted research into the
environmental/physical design of communities and buildings and their
relationship to crime. Model building codes have been developed to help
residential and commercial areas to resist and prevent burglary. Public housing
projects have been redesigned in an attempt to reduce opportunities for crime.
6) Media campaigns have attempted to sensitize the public to crime prevention.
These programmes concentrate on TV daily or weekly crime news, with a "crime of
the week" featured. Viewers are asked for assistance in "solving" the crime.
These programs have been popular, and some crimes have been solved. The overall
effect of these programmes is, however, unknown. A great deal of media
attention during this period has also been given to campaigns against drunk
driving, and more recently to drug abuse.
7) Community Policing and Neighbourhood Watch programmes have increased during
the period. Local patrols, escorts of senior citizens, personal fingerprinting
of children, and placing ID marks on personal property, have been subject to
many campaigns nation wide.
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Modified Tuesday, January 18, 2011 Copyright @ 2007 by Fathers' Manifesto & Christian Party |
