Survey of Local Career Criminal Programs Report (From Armed Robbery and Burglary Prevention Act, 1983, P 76-159, See-NCJ-92899)

• NCJ Number: 92900
• Author(s): J Dimm; P Pacheco; C Noe
• Date Published: 1983
• Length: 84 pages
• Grant Number(s): JYFRP-81-C-0126
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice
• Corporate Author: INSLAW
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This survey of local career criminal programs focuses on their organization and funding, their selection criteria and target offenses, the extent of their interaction with Federal investigative and prosecutory agencies, and their reaction to the concept of a Federal career criminal program.

Abstract

Using the Directory of Career Criminal Programs to identify those jurisdictions operating such programs, interviewers contacted about 85 percent of the eligible jurisdictions. Project staff interviewed the district attorney, the career criminal project manager, or a career attorney thoroughly familiar with the development, implementation, and operation of the program. A 55-item questionnaire was used. Eighty percent of those jurisdictions that received Federal funds to implement and operate career criminal programs were found to still be operating, although Federal funding expired 2 or 3 years ago for many of these programs; they have been largely successful in obtaining financial support from State and local sources. Questions pertaining to organization dealt with staffing patterns and organizational structures. Another series of questions was designed to elicit information on the types of cases targeted for career criminal prosecution, the processes for case selection, the extent of prosecutory discretion in selecting cases, and the annual caseload. Most career criminal units were found to have adopted selection criteria which, if applied strictly, would yield a larger caseload than is manageable by the unit; however, almost all local programs use prosecutorial discretion to identify cases that do not require special treatment. Findings pertaining to interagency coordination, particularly the degree of coordination between Federal agents or U.S. attorneys and the State attorneys or local career criminal unit staff, indicate that small jurisdictions have an overall low level of cooperation and information sharing as well as a general lack of followup with local police. A final series of questions was intended to assess prosecutors' attitudes toward and evaluation of their own programs, to examine whether they emphasized the program's purpose, and to identify perceived problems. Benefits and liabilities of a Federal career criminal program are listed. Summaries of the selected site-visit interviews are appended (most interviews were by telephone).