Crime and Justice Trends in the District of Columbia

• NCJ Number: 171052
• Author(s): J Austin; C M Johnson
• Date Published: 1997
• Length: 89 pages
• Grant Number(s): 95-BJ-CX-K018
• Sponsoring Agency: Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)
• Corporate Author: National Council on Crime and Delinquency; Justice Grants Admin, Executive Office of the Mayor, District of Columbia
• Sale Source: National Council on Crime and Delinquency; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Type: Statistics
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This report provides a statistical overview of activities and outcomes in different stages of the District of Columbia's criminal justice system through which people and cases are processed.

Abstract

The data are presented in a manner that parallels the actual flow of cases through the criminal justice system from reported offenses to corrections and parole for both adults and juveniles. The report includes several special segments on topics for which little statistical information is available, such as domestic violence, gangs, community policing, community prosecution, and the impact of the National Capital Revitalization and Self Government Improvement Act of 1997. The data show that the District of Columbia's population has been steadily declining in recent years and that the city continues to combat its 60,000- plus reported crime index offenses. From 1992 to 1996, the number of reported offenses declined by 4 percent. Overall violent crime decreased by 20 percent during the same period, but homicide increased by 10 percent from 1995 to 1996. Four percent fewer adults were arrested for Part I and Part II offenses in 1996 than in 1992. In 1996, Part I offenses accounted for 20 percent and Part II offenses accounted for 80 percent of total arrests. In 1996, 3,932 juveniles were arrested, 44 percent for Part I offenses and 56 percent for Part II offenses. Compared to 1995, the number of juveniles arrested for Part I offenses increased by 13 percent and the number of juveniles arrested for Part II offenses increased by 6 percent. Between 1992 and 1996, juvenile use of marijuana skyrocketed. Of all juvenile offenders in 1996, 46 percent were arrested for the first time. The overall inmate population declined by 16 percent between 1992 and 1996. Data on criminal justice costs incurred by the District of Columbia are tabulated. Appendixes contain additional tables, offense definitions, and legal terms. 37 tables and 6 figures