NCJ Number
152571
Date Published
1994
Length
32 pages
Annotation
This 1994 annual report of the American Bar Association's Criminal Justice Section is the second annual report on trends in crime and criminal justice.
Abstract
In the area of crime, serious property crime continues to decline; violent crimes have remained relatively stable in number, but violent victimization rates, the percentage of violent crimes that involve firearms, and violent victimizations by strangers continue to increase. Regarding the criminal justice response to crime, police continue to respond to changes in property and violent offenses, as they are making fewer arrests for property offenses and more arrests for violent offenses. Decreasing drug use, however, has been accompanied by more arrests for drug offenses. Increasing numbers of arrestees are imprisoned, and new incarceration records are being set. Minorities continue to be disproportionately represented both as victims and as persons arrested and imprisoned, but disparities in arrests for violent offenses and particularly for drug offenses are decreasing. Juveniles (ages 12 to 15) are increasingly being victimized by violent crime and are now about as likely as older juveniles and more likely than nonjuveniles to be victimized. Juvenile arrests for drug offenses are increasing, and juvenile arrests for violent offenses have continued to increase substantially. The number of criminal cases continues to increase, and courts face greater backlogs. 26 references and extensive graphs and tables