NCJ Number
116596
Date Published
1989
Length
70 pages
Annotation
This study examines the records of 1,012 adults arrested in 1981 for felony crimes in the city and county of Honolulu.
Abstract
The crimes are divided into 'serious' (560 people) and 'selected' (452 people) felony offense categories. Two case processing flows follow the conviction offense and the original arrest offense. Higher attrition rates (percent not convicted out of the total arrested) are found for persons arrested for selected felony crimes than for those arrested for serious felony crimes. Of the persons convicted, the majority changed their plea. The selected felony offender's plea changed more often than did the serious felony offender's. Many of the selected felony offenders negotiated their pleas to include lenient sentencing. Of the offenders sentenced, the serious felony offenders received stiffer sentences more often than did the selected felony offenders. The most successfully prosecuted arrest group consisted of those arrested for sexual abuse. Those less successfully prosecuted were arrested for forcible rape, sodomy, weapons, or auto theft. The majority of convictions resulted from plea changes, which apparently brought more lenient sentences. The chance that homicide defendants would be convicted decreased with an increase in case processing time. 14 tables, 34 figures, 4-item bibliography.