NCJ Number
122141
Journal
Prosecutor Volume: 23 Issue: 1 Dated: (Summer 1989) Pages: 23-25
Date Published
1989
Length
3 pages
Annotation
Florida's State Attorney's Office conducted an indepth, 6-month study to provide information on the criminal activities of the convicted felons currently being sent to State prison.
Abstract
The study analyzed the files of all 1,167 convicted felons sent to State prison from Duval County from January 1, 1988, through June 30, 1988. The study's objective was to determine whether or not the felons that Florida's criminal justice system is sending to prison warrant incarceration. Key indicators analyzed were charges against the defendant and arrest and conviction records. The 1,167 felons sentenced to prison from Duval County during the first 6 months of 1988 were from a total of over 7,050 felony arrests made during that same time period. Clearly, everyone arrested for felony crimes is not being sent to prison, as some apparently believe. Alternatives to prison and a variety of diversionary programs are widely used for the majority of those arrested and convicted for felonies. All means of increasing the adequacy of alternatives to prison must be pursued, but the core of criminal sanctions is the State's ability to take away a person's freedom. If the criminal justice system does not have facilities adequate to implement the threat of incarceration, the entire system breaks down. This is currently happening in Florida.