Cost of Prosecuting Repeat Felony Offenders

• NCJ Number: 102683
• Author(s): T L Cannon; M Lehtinen
• Date Published: 1986
• Length: 55 pages
• Corporate Author: Salt Lake Cty Attorney's Office
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Criminal Justice Research Series Number 2

Annotation

This Utah study calculates the cost of reprosecuting probationers who recidivate as part of cost comparisons of incarceration and probation for 1 year.

Abstract

A recent study by the Salt Lake County Attorney's Office found that nearly one-half of all felony probationers were rearrested for new crimes while on probation. This suggests that one of the costs of probation compared to incarceration is the cost of reprosecuting recidivist probationers. This study computed the case processing costs for three defendant scenarios representing minimal, moderate, and maximal processing through the criminal justice system. Cost data were obtained from city, county, and State criminal justice agencies. These figures were compared to the cost of incarcerating an offender in the Utah State Prison for 1 year. The cost of reprosecuting an offender, when combined with victim losses, generally exceeds the cost of incarceration for 1 year, whether there is maximal, moderate, or minimal penetration of the criminal justice system. Including the cost of reprosecuting probationer recidivists (approximately 1 out of 2 probationers) makes probation a more expensive option than incarceration. 3 figures, 8 tables, a 30-item bibliography, and an appended description of criminal case processing in Utah.