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1997-98 Academy Text Supplement

Chapter 6

Dynamics of the Criminal Justice System and the Current Status of Victims' Rights

• At mid-year 1997, an estimated 1,725,842 persons were incarcerated in the nation's prisons and jails. Federal and state prison authorities held in their custody 645 persons per 100,000 U.S. residents. (Gilliard, D. & Beck, A. (1998, January). "Prison and Jail Inmates at Midyear 1997," NCJ-167247. Bureau of Justice Statistics, Bulletin. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.)
• The total number of prisoners held under federal and state jurisdiction increased 4.7 percent from mid-year 1996 to mid-year 1997. However, this is less than the annual average since 1990 of 7.7 percent. The states and the District of Columbia added 48,760 prisoners and the federal system an additional 6,438 prisoners. (Ibid.)
• Eleven percent of these offenders (70,239) were supervised outside of jail facilities in programs such as community service, work release, weekend reporting, electronic monitoring and other alternative programs. (Ibid.)
• In the year ending June 30, 1997, the capacity of the nation's jails rose by 19,713 beds. Jails were operating at 97 percent of their rated capacity, up from 92 percent at mid-year 1996. (Ibid.)
• Over half of jail inmates in 1996 were already being supervised by the courts or corrections staff at the time of their most recent arrest. Almost one-third were on probation, an eighth were on parole, and an eighth were on bail or bond. (Harlow, C. (1998, April). "Profile of Jail Inmates 1996," NCJ-164620. Bureau of Justice Statistics, Special Report. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.)

• More than 7 of every 10 jail inmates in 1996 had prior sentences to probation or incarceration. Over 4 in 10 had served 3 or more sentences. (Ibid.)
• Over a third of all jail inmates reported some physical or mental disability. (Ibid.)
• Forty-eight percent of jailed women reported having been physically or sexually abused prior to admission; 27 percent had been raped. (Ibid.)
• During 1994, 138 law enforcement officers were killed in the line of duty and 260,341 were assaulted (the highest number of assaults against law enforcement personnel to

date). (Federal Bureau of Investigation. Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted - 1995. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.)

• The incarceration rate in federal and state prisons and local jails almost doubled during the last decade. Between year-end 1985 and mid-year 1996, the incarcerated population grew an average of 7.8 percent a year -- from 744,208 to 1,630,940 inmates. (Bureau of Justice Statistics. Prison and Jail Inmates at Midyear 1996. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.)
• Almost three quarters of the men and women under correctional supervision in 1994 were supervised in the community, on probation or parole. (Billiard, D. & Beck, A. (1995). The Nation's Correctional Population Tops Five Million. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice.)

Results of Recent Federal Legislation Regarding Law Enforcement

The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 authorized funds to promote community policing and to add 100,000 community policing officers over six years. As of 1997, the following initiatives have occurred with respect to enhancing community policing efforts:

• The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), within the U.S. Department of Justice, was established as the federal office responsible for carrying out the new directives under the Act for community policing.

• As of May 1997, COPS has awarded grants for the hiring or redeployment of more than 57,000 police officers and sheriff's deputies.

• The COPS Youth Firearms Violence program supports innovative community policing approaches to fight firearm violence among young people, while COPS More Equipment Grants are increasing law enforcement technologies.

• In addition, the COPS Community Policing to Combat Domestic Violence program provides grants to local communities to fight domestic violence through community policing.

(Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, Public Law No. 103-322, Title IV)

Implementation of Victims' Rights

With support from the National Institute of Justice, the National Victim Center released the results of a study in the spring of 1997 about the implementation of victims' rights laws in four states. The Center selected two states that had strong statutory protections for victims' rights and two states whose statutes provided more limited victims' rights protections. The study determined the following:

• The survey of over 1,300 crime victims found that even in the two states that had enacted strong legal protections for crime victims, many victims were still denied their rights.

• Regardless of the degree of statutory protection of victims' rights, the National Victim Center found that these states failed to implement state statutory and constitutional rights for victims in a significant number of cases.

• Nearly half of all victims did not receive notice of the sentencing hearing -- even in the states that had enacted strong protection statutes.

• While the strong protection states had laws requiring that victims to be notified of plea negotiations, victims were often not informed of such negotiations. The weaker protection states had not passed laws requiring plea notification. Overall, regardless of the level of statutory protection, victims were not being notified in almost half of all violent crime cases.

• The study concluded that state statutory protections alone appear to be insufficient to guarantee the provision of victims' rights.

(National Institute of Justice. (1997). "Crime Victim Responses Regarding Victims' Rights." Research in Brief. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.)

Research Summaries Available from the U.S. Department of Justice

In 1997, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) within the U.S. Department of Justice published two reports summarizing the vast research that has been conducted with support from NIJ within the past few years. These two publications are important resources for those who strive to keep up-to-date on the myriad research being conducted in the justice- and victim-related fields. A brief summary of these publications is provided below.

Criminal Justice Research Under the Violent Crime Control

and Law Enforcement Act -- 1995 to 1996

The 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act (Crime Act) was enacted by Congress in response to concern over the continuing high rates of violent crime. Over the six-year life of the Act, Congress authorized the expenditure of $30.2 billion to support local criminal justice. In the first three years (1994-1997), $11.1 billion was appropriated by Congress. Literally thousands of local and state programs have been funded under the Act. Among others, these include community policing initiatives, domestic violence intervention programs, drug courts, and new prison construction.

As a result, tremendous innovations are occurring at an accelerated rate across the justice system and in local communities across our nation. There are increased opportunities for the assessment and evaluation of programs, policies, and practices to determine what works and to disseminate research on effective interventions.

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) was assigned the responsibility for much of the research and evaluation to be conducted under the Crime Act. The research agenda of NIJ has been developed with significant input from all offices within the Justice Department that administer the program components of the Crime Act, including the Violence Against Women Grants Office and the Office for Victims of Crime. The many research projects that have been initiated with support from NIJ include, for example, studies that are intended to determine:

• Whether juvenile gun violence can be curbed by an intensive focus on truants and curfew violators.

• How effectively gun markets can be tracked with computer technology.

• How effective law enforcement can be in cooperating with social service agencies to stem elder abuse.

• What makes boot camps designed for drug-involved teenaged offenders successful.

• What are the consequences of a state's no-parole policy.

• How changes in sentencing laws affect a probation office.

• In what ways stalking affects its victim.

• Whether provision of drug treatment within the context of judicial supervision can make a difference.

(Reardon, J. (1997, September 13). Criminal Justice Research Under the Crime Act -- 1995-1996, NCJ-166142. Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice.)

Research Portfolio from the National Institute of Justice

In November of 1997, NIJ released its research portfolio for projects supported through June of 1997. Of the many projects currently being funded by NIJ, many aspects of crime victimization are being addressed, including issues relating to homicide, domestic violence, gangs, HIV/AIDS, the impact of legislative initiatives, community policing and many other subjects. (National Institute of Justice. (1997, November). "1997 Research Portfolio [Interim]," NCJ-166374. Research in Brief. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.)

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