NCJ Number
162141
Date Published
1989
Length
34 pages
Annotation
This report provides a statistical overview of numbers and trends in crimes, arrests, prosecutions, convictions, and corrections in the District of Columbia for 1988 and the previous 5 and 10 years and reveals that drug abuse and drug law offenses have had an impact on every part of the criminal justice system.
Abstract
Drug arrests have increased 23 percent since 1984 and accounted for 25 percent of all arrests in 1988. In 1988, 60 percent of adult arrestees and 31 percent of juvenile arrestees tested positive for at least one drug. Drug law offenses accounted for 52 percent of felony prosecutions, compared with 34 percent in 1984. Drug felony convictions have increased by 199 percent since 1984. The correctional population increased 10 percent from 1987 to 1988; more than half of the new inmates were convicted for drug law offenses. Approximately 22 percent of the District of Columbia budget for fiscal year 1988 was spent on public safety and criminal justice. Police and corrections expenditures have used most of the District's criminal justice expenditures since 1984. Overview of the criminal and juvenile justice systems, tables, figures, and appended glossary and tables