NCJ Number
83886
Date Published
1978
Length
118 pages
Annotation
This document presents a cross-jurisdictional analysis and summary of results from the national evaluation of the Improved Lower Court Case Handling (ILCCH) Program.
Abstract
The program was a LEAA effort to provide resources to four sites for the operation of eight components designed to improve the case processing of misdemeanants. The development, operations, use, and effects of each component were assessed across these sites, and a summary and analysis of program results were provided. The four sites selected were located in Wilmington, Del.; Columbia, S.C.; Kalamazoo, Mich.; and Las Vegas. The eight ILCCH components included police citation, court summons, pretrial release, select offender probation, prosecutor case screening, Prosecutor's Management Information System, (PROMIS), short form presentence investigation reports, and a mass case coordinator. Of all the ILCCH components, the pretrial release program in Las Vegas was the only one to result in substantial resource savings. Of the components implemented as processing alternatives, five were institutionalized. Three of these, citations and summons in Wilmington and citations in Kalamazoo, are procedural mechanisms that will continue to be employed by the police and courts, although the extent of their use cannot be predicted. The other two institutionalized components, select offender probation in Kalamazoo and court counseling in Las Vegas, are sentencing options. As a whole, the eight components contributed little towards lasting improvements in lower court case handling. Tables and reference notes are provided. (Author summary modified)