NCJ Number
115794
Date Published
1988
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This study examines the New York State arrest histories of persons born in 1955 having at least one arrest for a fingerprintable offense between 1971 and 1987.
Abstract
Data for the study came from the special 'Offender-Based Transaction Statistics Trends' file created from a computerized criminal history database maintained by the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services. The analysis was limited to a single birth year to control for historical differences in drug involvement and in arrest practices. Each arrest in an offender's criminal history was classified into one of six groups based on the top arrest charge. Non-drug arrests were grouped as follows: theft (not robbery), robbery, violence, and other nondrug. Drug arrests were classified as follows: drug possession/use and drug sale. Analysis of the data establish that there is a relationship between drug arrests and the number of nondrug arrests. Those offenders with histories of drug arrests also have more extensive nondrug arrest histories than persons without drug arrests. Those with more drug arrests tend to have a greater number of nondrug arrests. The analysis also shows other drug-crime relationships, including the finding that offenders with drug arrests in their histories are more likely to have one or more arrests for robbery than those without drug arrests.