NCJ Number
69786
Date Published
1980
Length
32 pages
Annotation
This is a report of the first year of an LEAA-funded Violent Criminal Division (VCD) in Jacksonville, Fla., a specialized division designed to identify and prosecute the repeat, violent offender.
Abstract
All defendants prosecuted in 1979 by VCD were charged with violent felony. They also had one or more prior convictions for violent felony, or were codefendants involved in crimes with target offenders. During the first grant year, cases were brought to final sentencing on 80 defendants. In general, the defendants were predominately male (98 percent) and black (61 percent). The two women prosecuted by the project were codefendants having no prior violent criminal records. The effects of the VCD priority prosecution is evident: 91 percent of all defendants were convicted and 93 percent of those convicted received incarceration time. Three life sentences were given and the average sentence was 14 years for all defendants, both those who were target criminals and the codefendants handled by VCD. Due to the grant restrictions on the use of plea bargaining, VCD took 20 defendants to trial; one case was dismissed, 12 defendants were found guilty, four not guilty, and one defendant was found incompetent to stand trial. All defendants found guilty by a jury received lengthy prison sentences. Over 79 percent of the codefendants handled by the project received incarceration time, compared to only 51 percent of the general office case load. Property records and caseload flow charts are appended. (Author abstract modified).