Prosecutors in State Courts, 1992

• NCJ Number: 145319
• Author(s): J. M. Dawson; S. K. Smith; C. J. DeFrances
• Date Published: December 1993
• Length: 12 pages
• Publication Series: BJS Special Reports
• Agencies: BJS
• Publication Type: Survey

Annotation

The 1992 National Prosecutor Survey Program sent questionnaires to 290 chief prosecutors; findings revealed that, during the year ending June 30, 1992, 50 percent of prosecutor offices trying felony cases in State courts closed 200 or more such cases and that prosecutor offices employed about 57,000 staff, with a median annual office budget of $190,000.

Abstract

This BJS Bulletin presents findings from the 1992 National Prosecutor Survey Program, a series of biennial sample surveys of State court prosecutors. Data from the survey include the number of employees, median annual office budget for prosecution, median size of total office staff, median number of felony cases closed, average cost to taxpayers per felony case, and median number of felony convictions. The report also includes data on use of innovative prosecution techniques, intermediate sanctions, plea bargaining, and work-related assaults and threats. Personal protective efforts are also addressed; for example, in 27% of prosecutors' offices, at least one prosecuting attorney carried a firearm for protection.