New York City Criminal Justice Agency, Inc Annual Report 2005

• NCJ Number: 217370
• Author(s): Mary T. Phillips Ph.D.
• Date Published: December 2006
• Length: 48 pages
• Corporate Author: New York City Criminal Justice Agency, Inc
• Sale Source: New York City Criminal Justice Agency, Inc
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Report (Annual/Periodic)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This annual report presents the 2005 accomplishments of the New York City Criminal Justice Agency (CJA), a not-for-profit organization that provides pretrial services to defendants prosecuted in New York City’s (NYC’s) adult criminal courts.

Abstract

The CJA has four main goals: (1) decrease the number of detention days for defendants who could be released while awaiting trial; (2) screen defendants for a range of noncustodial services through the community courts; (3) reduce the rate of failure to appear (FTA) in court by defendants who are released pretrial; and (4) provide information and research to criminal justice policymakers, city officials, and the public. In order to realize these goals, the CJA engages in three principle activities: (1) interview and recommendation; (2) notification; and (3) research. The CJA also maintains a database of background and court processing information on virtually every adult arrested in New York City. During 2005, CJA conducted 302,386 interviews of defendants held for criminal court arraignment. The report details the demographic information on the 307,017 cases that were prosecuted in NYC during 2005, including the sex, employment status, age, ethnicity, charge severity and type, and release recommendation for each defendant. These figures indicate that in 2005, 85 percent of criminal cases in NYC involved a male defendant, 49 percent of whom reported some type of full-time employment/schooling prior to their arrest. Nearly half of the defendants were under the age of 30 while only 8 percent were as old as 50 years. Almost half of the defendants were Black, 33 percent were Hispanic, and 12 percent were White. CJA's process for recommending release on recognizance is detailed followed by statistics on 2005 release on recognizance recommendations. Citywide in 2005, 33 percent of adult defendants and 80 percent of juvenile defendants were recommended for release on recognizance while awaiting trial. Statistics are also presented for criminal court arraignments, bail setting and making, FTA, desk appearance tickets, and notification. Two special programs--the Bail Expediting Program and Failure-to-Appear Units--are described. Exhibits