NCJ Number
235533
Date Published
February 2010
Length
28 pages
Annotation
This report presents New York State prison admissions data for 2008 and combines it with criminal history information for the State in order to describe the 5,190 drug offenders committed to the New York State Department of Correctional Services in 2008.
Abstract
Prior to the arrest that led to the 2008 drug commitment, the 2008 drug offenders had been arrested an average of 10 times and convicted an average of 6 times in New York State. On average, the arrests included five felony arrests and five misdemeanor arrests; the convictions included two felonies and four misdemeanors. Twenty-four percent of the drug offenders had one or more prior violent felony convictions. Of the 4,813 offenders with a prior criminal history, most had arrests or convictions for both drug and other crimes. Only 9 percent had a "drug only" criminal history. Only 7 percent had no prior arrests or convictions in New York State before their 2008 commitment. Statewide, the most common drug commitments were first-time felony offenders convicted of a class B felony offense (23 percent), followed by second felony offenders convicted of a class C offense (20 percent) and a class D (18 percent) felony offense. Only 5 percent of the drug commitments (276) were for class A felonies. Only 1 percent (71) of the drug offenders was committed for a felony marijuana offense. Eighty-four percent of the 5,190 drug offenders in 2008 were convicted of a crime that mandated a prison sentence. Demographics (race, gender, and age) are also reported for the sample. These data establish a baseline for the profiles of offenders committed to prison under the impact of New York's drug reform laws enacted in 2009. Appended data by county