Justice Statistics Bias

NCJ 153256 Spouse Murder Forthcoming, 35 tables Approximately 1 in 3 spouse murder cases disposed in 1988 in the Nation's 75 largest urban counties were sampled _ 185 cases altogether. More than half of the Nation's murders occurred in these 75 largest counties. Of the spouse murders sampled, 59% were husbands killing wives, and 41% were wives killing husbands. This report discusses how State prosecutors, judges, and juries handled these two types of murder cases and gives specific case histories, describing each case and its outcome in court.

[Editor's Note] Is it true that 59% of spousal murders were men murdering women, and 41% were women murdering men? Is this the real message from the the following Department Justice reports, which were so highly touted in the media?

BUREAU OF JUSTICE STATISTICS FACT SHEET - ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 5 P.M. EDT WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 1995

Thirty percent of the wives and 13 percent of the husbands either were not prosecuted or were found not guilty after being tried.

A little reverse engineering on the tidbits of data presented in these reports tells an interesting story.

	% Wives	Wives	Husbands	Total
Total spousal murders	46.4%	325	376	701
Not charged or not found guilty	67.1%	98	49	146
Confirmed murders	41%	228	327	555

Note that it is true that 30% of wives and 13% of husbands were either not charged or not found guilty. And it is true that of the confirmed murders 41% were by wives and 59% were by husbands.

But why were 30 percent of wives who killed husbands "not prosecuted or were found not guilty", while only 13 percent of husbands were not? If you are not prosecuted or found guilty, then you don't qualify to be in the first report above, because you are not considered as "spouse killing spouse".

Is this the way it works? Is the "Justice System" misrepresenting the facts with a little number juggling? AND by discriminating against men?

What would happen to media reports if men filed a discrimination suit against the justice department to assure that, just to make up for past discrimination, 30% of men suspected of spouse killing were not prosecuted or found guilty, and only 13% of women were?

Women: Estimates from the Redesigned Survey" (NCJ-154348), written by Ronet Bachman, Ph.D., a BJS statistician, and Linda E. Saltzman, Ph.D., a senior scientist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, may be obtained from the BJS Clearinghouse, Box 179, Annapolis Junction, Maryland 20701-1079. The telephone number is 1-800/732-3277.

NCJ 151657 Criminal Victimization in the United States, 1993 150pp, forthcoming, 130 tables, graphs This annual final report gives detailed 1993 NCVS findings, presenting the major variables measured in the survey in detailed data tables. Crimes covered by the survey include rape, robbery, assault, personal and household larceny, household burglary, and motor vehicle theft. Tables cover victim characteristics (sex, age, race, ethnicity, marital status, education, income, and residence); crime character-istics (time and place of occurrence, distance from home, weapon use, self-protection, injury, medical care, economic loss, and time lost from work); victim-offender relationship; substance use by offenders; offender characteristics (age, race, and sex); whether crimes were reported to police; reasons for reporting or not; and police response time for reported crime.

NCJ 143286 Police Response to Crime: Victims' Perceptions Forthcoming This report, the first NCVS study to examine victims' perceptions of how fast police come and what services they provide, includes the likelihood of reporting to police according to type of crime and victim characteristics. It examines how fast the police arrive in different situations, including domestic violence, stranger crime, and crimes committed against different races. It describes police actions in various situations: taking a report, searching for evidence, promising investigation, making an arrest at the scene, or recovering stolen property. The report also discusses the extent to which these police responses differ for urban, suburban, and rural residents.

NCJ 145324 The Effects of Offender Weapon Use and Victim Self- Defense on Robbery Outcomes: BJS Discussion Paper 22pp, forthcoming, 11 tables, 2 figures This report uses National Crime Victimization Survey data from 1987-92 on robberies committed by strangers to explore the relationships between offender weapon use, victim self-defense, crime completion, and victim injury. the study found that there are great differences in these relationships between muggings (robberies in which the offender attacked without warning) and confrontational robberies (those in which the offender threatened the victim prior to any actual attack). In confrontational robberies, the study found that offender possession of a gun is associated with decreased victim resistance and higher completion rates than such robberies committed with other weapons or without weapons. Gun robbery victims are less likely to be injured, but if injured, are more likely to suffer serious injury than other robbery victims.

NCJ 154348 Violence Against Women: Estimates from the Redesigned National Crime Victimization Survey 9pp, forthcoming, 11 tables; by Ronet Bachman, BJS, and Linda E. Saltzman, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention This BJS Special Report is the first release of the 1992-93 estimates of violence against women after an extended effort to improve the victimization survey's ability to measure violence against women. The survey now asks more explicit and direct questions about sexual assaults and other victimizations perpetrated by known offenders. Data include annual number of violent victimizations, rapes, and sexual assaults against women; number perpetrated by intimates (including husbands, ex-husbands, boyfriends, and ex-boyfriends); rates for violence by intimates for women versus rates for men; rates for violence and sexual assaults by strangers; age and family income of female victims of violence; and rates of injury. .

NCJ 151658 Criminal Victimization 1993: National Crime Victimization Survey--BJS Bulletin 6pp, 5/95, 5 tables This annual BJS Bulletin summarizes 1993 findings from the redesigned NCVS and presents also the first tabulations of 1992 data based on the redesigned survey, an ongoing survey of households, each year interviewing about 100,000 persons in 50,000 households. In 1993, U.S. residents age 12 or older experienced a total of 43.6 million crimes--nearly 11 million violent victimizations and over 32 million property crimes. There were 52 violent victimizations per 1,000 persons and 322 property crimes per 1,000 households. Violent crimes (a quarter of the total that victims described) include rape and sexual assault, robbery, and both aggravated and simple assault (from the victimization survey), and homicide (from crimes reported to police). Property crimes are comprised of burglaries, motor vehicle thefts, and thefts of other property. Improved NCVS survey procedures and a revised questionnaire now enable BJS to count crimes that were excluded or unreported in previous years. Of the 43.6 million criminal victimizations that victims described in 1993, 10.9 million were rapes, robberies, or assaults:

NCJ 147004 Young Black Male Victims--BJS Crime Data Brief 2pp, 12/94, 2 tables, 1 figure This report, part of the new BJS Crime Data Brief series designed to present information about topics of current interest in condensed form, discusses black male crime victims ages 12 to 24. It reports the extent and characteristics of their victimization, such as weapon use, injury, and offender characteristics, and summarizes data about the reporting of crimes to police by this age group.

NCJ 149259 Violence between Intimates: Domestic Violence 8pp, 11/94, 5 tables, 2 figures This report of selected findings examines murders, rapes, robberies, and assaults committed by spouses, ex-spouses, boyfriends, or girfriends. It uses data from the BJS National Crime Victimization Survey, the BJS survey of murder cases disposed in large urban counties in 1988, and the FBI Supplemental Homicide Report from the Uniform Crime Reports program. Data on violent offenders were collected in the 1991 Survey of State Prison Inmates and the 1989 Survey of Jail Inmates. The findings show that females experienced more than 10 times as many incidents of violence committed by an intimate than did males--572,000 versus 49,000.

NCJ 151169 National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) Redesign, 1993 Data: Press release 5pp, 10/94, 1 table On October 30, 1994, the first data for 1993 from the NCVS were published in a press release. The press release provides basic findings, comparing levels and rates of crime in 1993 versus 1992. In general, rates were unchanged.

NCJ 151170 NCVS Redesign: BJS Fact Sheet 2pp, 10/94 This fact sheet summarizes the redesign program. The NCVS, which counts incidents both reported and not reported to the police, relies on victims' accounts to provide a detailed picture of crime incidents and trends. Data are collected throughout the year from a sample of about 50,000 households with more than 100,000 persons age 12 or over. The redesign includes new questions and improves the technology and survey methods used in the questionnaire. Survey changes substantially increase the number of rapes and aggravated and simple assaults reported to interviewers. For the first time, NCVS measures non-rape sexual assault and unwanted or coerced sexual contact involving a threat or attempt to harm.

NCJ 151171 Questions and Answers about the Redesign: NCVS 7pp, 10/94 This report presents questions and answers about the redesign of the NCVS, explains the major changes to the questionnaire, and gives background information about the NCVS. The report answers such questions as: Whom does the NCVS interview? How are the survey participants selected? How does the questionnaire work? How are NCVS data made available to the public?

NCJ 151172 Technical Background on the Redesigned NCVS 12pp, 10/94, 4 tables This report, prepared by the U.S. Bureau of the Census unit that collects data for the NCVS, explains the technical aspects of the redesign program. Comparing the old and new questionnaire, the report discusses wording of questions and changes in methodology, procedures, definitions, and offense classifications. It explains reasons for differences in crime rates and explains the overlap between the old and new methods.

NCJ 147006 Criminal Victimization in the United States: 1973--92 Trends 136pp, 8/94, 49 tables, 9 figures This report, published every other year, shows trends from 1973 to 1992 in victimization rates for selected major crimes based on demographic characteristics of the victims and trends in victimizations that were reported to the police. It focuses on certain personal and household crimes, whether completed or attempted. The personal crimes consist of rape (female cases only), robbery, assault, and larceny; the household crimes include burglary, larceny, and motor vehicle theft. A series of charts indicate significant trends by major crime categories. This report shows comparisons between a victimization rate for a particular crime in one year and the following rate in another year.

NCJ 148199 Violence and Theft in the Workplace-- BJS Crime Data Brief 2pp, 7/94, 4 tables, 1 figure This report is the first NCVS report to profile crime victims at work. It provides data on the extent to which workplace violence occurs, whether offenders are armed and whether they are strangers or nonstrangers, and the extent of injury and time lost from work resulting from these crimes.

NCJ 147001 Child Rape Victims, 1992--BJS Crime Data Brief 2pp, 6/94, 2 tables This data brief provides information on the ages of female rape victims. BJS obtained the data from States that currently compile such detailed victim information. The data pertain to rapes reported to police in 1992.

NCJ 147005 Crime and Neighborhoods--BJS Crime Data Brief 2pp, 6/94, 4 tables, 3 figures This brief uses data from a variety of sources to compare victimization levels and perceptions of neighborhood crime for the Nation's households. It also compares racial and residential subgroups in the population over a number of years.

NCJ 147003 Guns and Crime: Handgun Victimization, Firearm Self-Defense, and Firearm Theft--BJS Crime Data Brief 2pp, 4/94, 5 tables, 1 figure This report provides new estimates of the extent of handgun crime in the United States, as well as the first estimates from the National Crime Victimization Survey of thefts of firearms and the extent of firearm use for self-defense. Using data from 1987 through 1992, the report compares the handgun victimization experience of the various age, race, and sex subgroups of the Nation's population and examines the consequences of such victimization. The report also discusses the consequences and outcomes of crimes in which victims used firearms for self-defense.

NCJ 147186 Elderly Crime Victims--Selected Findings 4pp, 3/94, 6 tables, 6 figures This report uses data from the National Crime Victimization Survey to summarize levels and rates of violent and non-violent crimes against persons 65 or older. These crimes are rape, robbery, assault, larceny, household burglary, household larceny, and motor vehicle theft. It also includes 1973--92 trends and data on offender weapon use; self-protective measures by victims; victim injury and treatment; stranger versus nonstranger crime; place of occur-rence; and victims' income, marital status, and urban, rural, or suburban residence. Crime rates for the elderly are compared with those of other age groups by race and sex.

NCJ 147486 Violent Crime--Selected Findings 4pp, 4/94, 2 tables, 4 figures This report summarizes 1973--92 trends in rape, robbery, and assault from the BJS National Crime Victimization Survey; homicide data from Vital Statistics of the United States, National Center for Health Statistics; and 1992 murder data from the FBI Uniform Crime Reports. It points out the increasing victimization rates for ages 12 to 24 and summarizes patterns of weapon use, injury, hospitaliza-tion, self-protection by victims, economic costs, offender characteristics, reporting to police, and differing rates of victimization by sex and race.

NCJ 147002 Carjacking--BJS Crime Data Brief 2pp, 3/94, 1 table, 2 figures This report presents the first NCVS estimates of the extent and characteristics of the recently identified crime of carjacking. The report uses NCVS data aggregated for 1987-92 to examine the number of completed and attempted carjackings that occurred, the extent of injury and financial loss, use of weapons in committing crimes, time and place of occurrence, and the age, race, and sex of victims and offenders.

NCJ 145125 Criminal Victimization in the United States, 1992 156pp, 3/94, 131 tables, 7 figures This annual final report gives detailed 1992 NCVS findings, presenting the major variables measured in the survey in detailed data tables. Crimes covered by the survey include rape, robbery, assault, personal and household larceny, household burglary, and motor vehicle theft. Tables cover victim characteristics (sex, age, race, ethnicity, marital status, education, income, residence); crime characteristics (time and place of occurrence, distance from home, weapon use, self-protection, injury, medical care, economic loss, time lost from work); victim-offender relationship; substance use by offenders; offender characteristics (age, race, and sex); whether crimes were reported to police; reasons for reporting or not; and police response time for reported crime.

NCJ 145865 The Costs of Crime to Victims--BJS Crime Data Brief 2pp, 2/94, 6 tables, 1 figure This data brief provides information on both the overall and the average cost of crime to victims. It also provides selected data on crime costs for different demographic groups in the U.S. population, by such variables as age, sex, and race.

NCJ 145325 Violence against Women 14pp, 1/94, 24 tables, 2 figures This report updates the 1991 report on female victims of violence. NCVS data from 1987-91 are used to examine how female victimization differs from that affecting males. It includes information about violence against women by relatives and other intimates and examines the crimes of rape and homicide against women. Findings are based on the questionnaire used in 1987-91.

NCJ 144776 Criminal Victimization 1992 8pp, 10/93, 8 tables,4 figures This annual BJS Bulletin provides a summary of 1992 findings from the National Crime Victimization Survey. It includes a comparison of 1991 and 1992 data, overall trends since 1973, and data on reporting of crimes to police.

NCJ 144525 Highlights from 20 Years of Surveying Crime Victims: The National Crime Victimization Survey, 1973-92 47pp, 10/93, 18 tables, 30 figures This document reports 20 years of highlights from the NCVS, the second largest Federal household survey. The 1967 President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice found: "one of the most neglected subjects in the study of crime is its victims..." As a result of the commission's work, the Department of Justice began the survey in 1973. Since then more than 4.4 million interviews have been conducted. This report contains many findings that the 1967 commission called for, including those on unreported crime, crime trends, crime victim characteristics, relationship between victim and offender, and interracial crime. Presented in a nontechnical format, the report also includes a description of NCVS its history and recent redesign, an NCVS publication bibliography, and a selected bibliography.

NCJ 148140 Color Slides from Highlights from 20 Years of Surveying Crime Victims: The National Crime Victimization Survey, 1973-92 U.S. $25.00, Canada $50.00, other $50.00 (call 800-732-3277 to order) Includes 39 slides of figures from the Highlights report, 5 bonus slides of homicide graphs from Vital Statistics of the United States, paper copies of the figures for making over-heads, the data tables on which the graphics are based, the Highlights report, and a list of slides keyed to report page numbers, all in a three-ring binder. The slides answer these questions: * How much crime occurs? * What are the trends in crime? * Who are the victims of crime? * How much crime occurs in schools? * To what extent are weap-ons involved in crime? * Are most crimes reported to the police?

NCJ 143288 Crime and the Nation's Households, 1992 7pp, 8/93, 6 tables, 3 figures In 1992, 23% of U.S. households were victimized by a theft or a violent crime, the lowest percentage since 1975 when the National Crime Victimization Survey first estimated the dispersion of crime among households. In addition to presenting the percentages of households touched by the crimes of rape, robbery, assault, burglary, theft, and motor vehicle theft, this annual BJS Bulletin also considers victims' race, ethnicity, income, region, and place of residence.

NCJ 148824 Drug Enforcement by Police and Sheriffs' Departments, 1993 10pp, forthcoming Using data from the 1993 LEMAS survey, this BJS Special Report presents findings related to the drug enforcement activities of the Nation's State and local law enforcement agencies. The tables describe the types of drugs seized, special drug unit operations, multiagency task force participation, and asset forfeiture receipts. .

NCJ 151176 Police Departments in Large Cities, 1987-93: BJS Special Report 14pp, forthcoming Based on the Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS) survey, this report focuses on police departments serving a population of 250,000 or more. Data from the 1987, 1990, and 1993 LEMAS surveys are examined to assess change during the 6-year period. Topics include sworn and nonsworn staffing levels, race and sex of officers, expenditures, salaries and special pay, types of weapons authorized, types of special units operated, types and functions of computers, and educational requirements for officers.

NCJ 148822 State and Local Police Departments, 1993 14pp, forthcoming Based on the 1993 LEMAS survey, this BJS Bulletin presents data collected from a representative sample of the more than 12,000 general-purpose local police departments nationwide as well as each of the 49 primary State police agencies. Tables describe the number and size of agencies, job classification of personnel, race and sex of sworn personnel, agency functions, 911 system, lockup facilities, operating expenditures, starting salaries, special pay, education and training requirements, sidearms, nonlethal weapons, body armor policies, vehicle use policies, computers, special units, written policy directives, and complaint review processes.

NCJ 148823 Sheriffs' Departments, 1993 11pp, forthcoming Based on the 1993 LEMAS survey, this BJS Bulletin presents data collected from a representative sample of the nearly 3,100 sheriffs' departments operating nationwide. Tables describe the number and size of agencies, job classification of personnel, race and sex of sworn personnel, agency functions, 911 system, lockup facilities, operating expenditures, starting salaries, special pay, education and training requirements, sidearms, nonlethal weapons, body armor policies, vehicle use policies, computers, special units, written policy directives, and complaint review processes.

NCJ 148825 Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics, 1993: Data for Individual State and Local Agencies with 100 or More Officers 260pp, forthcoming, 24 tables Compiled from the 1993 LEMAS survey, this report presents agency-specific data collected from approximately 800 State and local agencies that employed 100 or more sworn officers and responded to the 1993 LEMAS survey. The tables present data reported by each agency on the number and function of sworn and civilian personnel, race and sex of sworn personnel, agency functions, type of 911 system, lockup facilities, operating expenditures, starting salaries, types of special pay, number and types of vehicles, vehicle use policies, educational and training requirements, types of sidearms and nonlethal weapons authorized, automated fingerprint identification system (AFIS) facilities, types of computers and their functions, types of special units, subject areas covered by written policy directives, complaint review processes, drug enforcement activities, and employee drug testing policies.

NCJ 151166 Federal Law Enforcement Officers, 1993 8pp, 12/94, 4 tables, 1 figure Based on a census of Federal agencies, this BJS Bulletin provides national data on Federal officers with arrest and firearms authority for December 1993. Using agency classifications, the report presents the number of officers working in the areas of criminal investigation and enforcement, police patrol and response, security and protection, court operations, and corrections, by agency and State.

NCJ 145860 Demonstrating the Operational Utility of Incident-Based Data for Local Crime Analysis: Reporting Systems in Tacoma, Wash., and New Bedford, Mass. 36pp, 6/94, 18 tables, 9 figures This report points out the advantages of the IBRS (Incident-Based Reporting System) program for practical crime analysis by local law enforcement units. It includes results of a nationwide survey of a representative sample of police departments on the existence, activities, training needs, products, and data sources of their crime analysis units. It also describes how two cities, under a demonstration project funded by BJS, used incident-based data to address specific crime problems in their jurisdictions.

NCJ 144785 Using NIBRS Data to Analyze Violent Crime 17pp, 10/93, 20 tables Based on 1991 data provided by three States for the initial reporting year of the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), this BJS Technical Report compares NIBRS with the traditional FBI Uniform Crime Reports, discusses ways to make the NIBRS data file more suitable for analysis, and describes various NIBRS data elements and their reporting levels. The report includes tables based on analyses of rape and personal robbery incidents that illustrate the types of findings NIBRS data may provide as participation in the system grows. Data presented include the victim-offender relationship, type of location of the incident, type of weapon used, type of injury sustained by the victim, and sex, age, and race of offender and victim.

NCJ 142972 Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies, 1992 10pp, 7/93, 9 tables This BJS Bulletin reports on a census conducted for the Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics program that provides the number of employees of the Nation's State and local law enforcement agencies. In 1992 more than 17,000 agencies employed about 604,000 full-time sworn officers with general arrest powers and 237,000 nonsworn civilians.

NCJ 151656 Prosecutors in State Courts, 1994 _ Bulletin 8pp, forthcoming, 30 tables, by Brian A. Reaves and Pheny Z. Smith, BJS This bulletin presents findings from the 1994 National Survey of Prosecutors, the most recent in a series of biennial sample surveys of State court prosecutors. Data from the survey include the number of employees, annual office budget for prosecutorial functions, size of total office staff, number of felony cases closed, and number of felony convictions. New topic areas covered in this report include juvenile cases waived to criminal court, the cross designa-tion of prosecutors to litigate in federal court, procedures for handling civil actions against prosecutors and other profes-sional staff, and types of community involvement by prosecutors.

NCJ 153257 Felony Sentences in State and Federal Courts, 1992: BJS Bulletin 12pp, forthcoming, 7 tables, 1 figure The latest available figures covering both State and Federal sentencing reveal that in 1992, the Nation's courts convicted about 168,000 adults of a violent felony: an estimated 165,000 in State courts and less than 3,000 in Federal courts. Federal courts accounted for about 2% of all violent felony convictions in the Nation. In 1992, convictions for violent, property, drug and other felonies totaled 41,673 in Federal courts and 893,630 in State courts, or 1,103,161 altogether. Federal courts accounted for 3.8% of the national total.

NCJ 151696 National Judicial Reporting Program, 1992 51pp, forthcoming, 37 tables, 8 figures This report presents detailed findings from the 1992 nationally representative sample survey of felons convicted in State courts in 300 counties. It includes tables on the number of felony offenders in State courts, the sentences they received, demographic characteristics of convicted felons, the number of felons sentenced to probation, the number of felons convicted by trial and guilty plea, and the time required to process felony conviction cases.

NCJ 155504 Federal Habeas Corpus Review: Challenging State Court Criminal Convictions--Discussion Paper 33pp, forthcoming, 12 tables, 1 figure, by Roger A. Hanson and Henry W.K. Daley, National Center for State Courts, BJS cooperative agreement

#92-BJ-CX-K026 This paper examines a sample of disposed habeas corpus cases (through which State prisoners make petitions to challenge the validity of their convictions or sentences) in 18 Federal district courts in 9 selected States (Alabama, California, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas). The covered States made up about half of the Nation's 10,000 petitions filed each year in Federal courts. The study presents case characteristics, issues litigated, processing time, and outcomes.

NCJ 148826 Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties, 1992: National Pretrial Reporting Program 28pp, 7/95, 30 tables Using data collected from a representative sample of felony cases filed in the Nation's 75 largest counties during May 1992, this minitome presents a complete description of the processing of felony defendants, including demographic characteristics, prior arrests and convictions, current arrest charges, criminal justice status at the time of the offense, type of pretrial release or detention, bail amount, court appearance record, adjudication outcome, and sentence received if convicted.

NCJ 154346 Civil Jury Cases and Verdicts in Large Counties: Civil Justice Survey of State Courts, 1992--Special Report 14pp, 7/95, 13 tables, 1 figure; by Carol J. DeFrances, Steven K. Smith, Patrick A. Langan, BJS, and Brian J. Ostrom, David B. Rottman, and John A. Goerdt, National Center for State Courts. Juries in the 75 largest counties disposed of 12,000 tort, contract, and real property rights cases during a 12-month period ending June 30, 1992. Jury cases were 2% of the 762,000 tort, contract and real property cases disposed by State courts of general jurisdiction in the Nation's most popu-lous counties. Thirty-three percent of cases decided by juries were automobile accident suits, 11% were medical malpractice, and 5% were product liability and toxic sub-stance cases. In half of all jury cases, the jury found in favor of the plaintiff and in the 12- month period awarded an esti-mated $2.7 billion in compensatory and punitive damages. The median total award for a plaintiff was $52,000. Punitive damages were awarded in 6% of the jury cases with a plain-tiff winner. The median punitive award was $50,000; average time from complaint filing to jury verdict was 2.5 years.

NCJ 153177 Tort Cases in Large Counties: Civil Justice Survey of State Courts, 1992 _ BJS Special Report 9pp, 4/95, 9 tables, 1 figure, by Steven K. Smith, Carol J. DeFrances, Patrick A. Langan, BJS, and John Goerdt, National Center for State Courts Three out of four tort cases filed in the Nation's 75 most populous counties never reached the courtroom because they were settled out of court. Only 3% went to trial, with the plaintiff winning about half the time. The study of an estimated 378,000 State tort cases (about half of all tort suits completed from July 1, 1991, through June 30, 1992) found that more than 75% involved automobile accidents or property liability claims. Medical malpractice, product liability, and toxic substance cases accounted for 10%. Half the tort cases were disposed within 14 months, and auto tort cases were settled in a shorter period than all other cases. Half of all tort cases involved three or more litigants. Torts are wrongful acts _ not including contract disputes _ that result in injury to another's person, property, or reputation and for which the injured party is entitled to compensation. This study is based on a representative sample of the 75 courts where nearly half of all tort cases nationwide are handled, making this the closest that exists to a national tort study.

NCJ 151167 Felony Sentences in State Courts, 1992 11pp, 1/95, 12 tables This nationally representative survey of 300 counties found that in 1992 about 171,000 men and women were convicted in State felony courts of trafficking in illegal drugs, over twice as many as in 1986, accounting for 30% of the increase in felony convictions nationwide from 1986 to 1992. About 48% of the 1992 convicted traffickers were sent to a State prison versus 37% in 1986. The total number of State felony convictions increased 53% from 1986 to 1992. Urban counties with populations over 600,000 had felony convictions up 71% and drug trafficking convictions up 116%. This BJS Bulletin presents convictions for 10 other offense categories as well as the sex, race, and age of convicted felons.

NCJ 148818 Pretrial Release of Felony Defendants, 1992: National Pretrial Reporting Program 16pp, 11/94 Using data collected from a representative sample of felony cases filed in the 75 largest U.S. counties in May 1992, this BJS Bulletin focuses on the pretrial release phase of the criminal justice process. It includes tables on type of pretrial release or detention, bail amount, release rate by prior criminal record and criminal justice status, time from arrest to pretrial release, characteristics of released versus detained defendants, court appearance record, rearrest rate while on pretrial release, and adjudication and sentencing outcomes for detained versus released defendants.

NCJ 149077 Felony Sentences in the United States, 1990 12pp, 10/94, 7 tables, 1 figure The latest available figures covering both State and Federal sentencing reveal that, in 1990, the Nation's courts convicted about 150,000 adults of a violent felony. An estimated 148,000 of the 150,000 occurred in State courts. The remaining approximately 2,000 were in Federal courts. Federal courts accounted for about 1% of all violent felony convictions in the Nation. In 1990, convictions for violent, property, drug and other felonies totaled 36,684 in Federal courts and 829,344 in State courts, or 866,028 altogether. Federal courts accounted for 4.2% of the national total.

NCJ 143498 Murder in Families 12pp, 7/94, 14 tables This BJS Special Report, a survey of murder cases disposed in 1988 in the courts of large urban counties, found that 16% of murder victims were members of the defend-ant's family: 6.5% were killed by their spouses, 3.5% by their parents, 1.9% by their own children, 1.5% by their siblings, and 2.6% by other relatives. Women were 45% of the victims in murders involving family members but 18% of victims in other murders. Among family murder defendants, 35% were female versus 7% among nonfamily defendants. Women were over half of the defendants (55%) in only one category of family murder: parents killing their offspring. Firearms were used in 42% of family murders, compared to 63% of nonfamily murders.

NCJ 145323 National Judicial Reporting Program, 1990 51pp, 12/93, 37 tables, 8 figures This report presents detailed findings from the 1990 nationally representative sample survey of felons convicted in State courts in 300 counties. It includes 37 tables on the number of felony offenders in State courts, the sentences they received, demographic characteristics of convicted felons, the number of felons sentenced to probation, the number of felons convicted by trial and guilty plea, and the time required to process felony conviction cases.

NCJ 145319 Prosecutors in State Courts, 1992 8pp, 12/93, 11 tables This BJS Bulletin presents findings from the 1992 National Prosecutor Survey Program, the most recent in a series of biennial sample surveys of State court prosecutors. Data from the survey include the number of employees, median annual office budget for prosecution, median size of total office staff, median number of felony cases closed, average cost to taxpayers per felony case, and median number of felony convictions. The report also includes data on use of innovative prosecution techniques, intermediate sanctions, plea bargaining, and work-related assaults and threats. Personal protective efforts are also addressed; for example, in 27% of prosecutors' offices, at least one prosecuting attorney carried a firearm for protection.

NCJ 143502 Local Prosecution of Organized Crime: The Use of State RICO Statutes 30pp, 10/93, 1 table, 3 figures This BJS Discussion Paper combines the quantitative results of a mail survey sent to local prosecutors with the qualitative results of a followup telephone survey. After giving a brief history of Federal and State Racketeer-Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) legislation, the paper discusses how widely local prosecutors use RICO, why some prosecutors do not use the statute, and what can be done to improve the State RICO laws. Although other studies have been done on Federal and State civil RICO prosecutions, this is the first study of RICO use in criminal cases at the local level.

NCJ 141872 Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties, 1990: National Pretrial Reporting Program 28pp, 5/93, 30 tables Describing those charged with felonies in the Nation's 75 largest counties, this report tracks prospectively for a year a sample of cases from arrest through sentencing. It presents defendants' age, sex, race, criminal history, pretrial release or detention, bail amount, court appearance record, adjudication outcome, conviction offense, and type and length of sentence.

NCJ 140614 Murder in Large Urban Counties, 1988 13pp, 5/93, 25 tables, 3 figures This BJS Special Report represents almost 10,000 prosecuted murder defendants and more than 8,000 murder victims in the Nation's 75 most populous counties in 1988--about half of the Nation's murder arrestees for that year and just under half of the murder victims. The study, which summarizes the circumstances of the murders, found that 80% of the murder victims knew their killers, 16% were related to their killers, and 52% had a romantic or social relationship with their murderers. About a third of the female victims and a tenth of the male victims were killed by a spouse or romantic partner. About 75% of the victims were male, just over half were black, and nearly half were ages 15 to 29.

NCJ 140186 Felony Sentences in State Courts, 1990 16pp, 3/93, 26 tables This nationally representative survey of 300 counties found that about 168,000 men and women were convicted in State felony courts in 1990 of trafficking in illegal drugs, more than twice the number convicted in 1986. The traffickers accounted for 37% of the increase in felony convictions nationwide. About 49% of the convicted traffickers were sent to a State prison versus 37% in 1986. The number of State felony convictions increased 42% from 1986 to 1990. During the same period, urban counties with populations over 600,000 had felony convictions up 61% and drug trafficking convictions up 128%. This BJS Bulletin presents convictions for 10 other offense categories as well as the sex, race, and age of convicted felons.

NCJ 153258 Child Victimizers and Their Victims: BJS Special Report Forthcoming Addressing the mandate of the National Child Protection Act of 1993, which called for a study of offenders who committed crimes against children, this study found that-- * 1 in 5 violent State prisoners (about 65,000 offenders) reported a victim under age 18 * older violent inmates were substantially more likely than younger inmates to have victimized a child * inmates reported that when a child was the victim of violence, in 8 out of 10 cases the victim had been raped or sexually assaulted. The study uses data from the 1991 BJS Survey of State Prison Inmates and the FBI's 1992 Supplementary Homicide Report, which includes data on child murder victims (nearly 3,000 in 1992) and offenders who murdered children. The 1991 inmate survey is based on personal hour-long interviews with a nationally representative sample of 14,000 prisoners in about 300 State prisons. The report describes the sociodemographic data on these offenders, the physical or sexual abuse they may have experienced, their current offense, their criminal history backgrounds (including prior offenses against children), and their use of drugs or alcohol at the time of the offense. For child victims of adult offenders, the study includes their sociodemographic backgrounds, the victim-offender relationship, and the consequences to the victim, such as injuries and weapon use by the offender.

NCJ 152765 HIV in U.S. Prisons and Jails, 1992 and 1993: BJS Bulletin 8pp, forthcoming, 10 tables, 1 figure This BJS report describes prison and jail policies for testing inmates for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), numbers of prison and jail inmates infected with HIV, and numbers of inmate deaths from auto-immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in prisons and jails. Special analyses will show data from the 50 largest jail jurisdictions. Data sources include the 1992 and 1993 National Prisoner Statistics and the 1993 Census of Jails.

NCJ 149076 Probation and Parole Violators in State Prison 8pp, forthcoming, 17 tables, 2 figures Using data from the 1991 survey of State Prison inmates, this BJS Special Report focuses on prisoners whose probation or parole was revoked. About 45% of those in State prison in 1991 were on probation or parole at admission. This report provides details on offenses, types of violations, time served on probation/parole, time expected to serve, guns, alcohol and drug use, and personal characteristics.

NCJ 146412 Comparing Community and Institutional Corrections: BJS Special Report 12pp, forthcoming Drawing on the most recent censuses and surveys, this report presents comprehensive information on adults under correctional supervision and on the agencies and facilities that provide this supervision. The report describes characteristics such as offender composition, staff size, demographics of staff members, offender-to-staff ratios, agency policies, and relative costs of supervision. This report integrates data from the 1991 Census of Probation and Parole Agencies, the 1993 Census of Jails, the 1991 Census of State and Federal Prisons, and other BJS data sets.

NCJ 154632 Violent Offenders in State Prison: Sentences and Time Served _ State Inmates, 1992-94 10pp, 7/95 For the first time BJS reports jurisdiction-level data on sentence length and time served for violent prison inmates who were admitted or released in 1992, 1993, and 1994. Using guidelines developed in the BJS National Corrections Reporting Program, 49 States and the District of Columbia provided data on new court commitments and first releases of violent offenders, including the number, the average sentence length, the projected minimum time to be served before release for admissions, and the time served in prison and jail for releases. (Violent offenders are those convicted of homicide, kidnaping, forcible rape, sexual assault, robbery, assault, or other crimes involving the threat or imposition of harm upon the victim, including extortion, intimidation, reckless endangerment, hit-and-run driving with injury, or child abuse.) Jurisdictional variations and trends are highlighted.

NCJ 151654 Prisoners in 1994: BJS Bulletin 12pp, forthcoming This annual Bulletin reports the number of persons in State and Federal prisons at yearend. It compares the increase in the prison population during 1994 with that of the previous year and gives the 5- and 10-year growth rates. The Bulletin reports the number of male and female prisoners, the incarceration rates for States, and data on prison capacities and use of local jails because of prison crowding. Data on sentencing and time served describe trends since 1980. Factors underlying the growth of State and Federal prison populations are examined.

NCJ 153858 Prison Sentences and Time Served for Violence: BJS Selected Findings 3pp, 4/95, 7 tables; by Lawrence A. Greenfeld, BJS Violent offenders released from State prisons in 1992 served 48% of the sentence they had received _ an average of 43 months in confinement, both jail and prison, on an average sentence of 89 months. The finding that just under half the sentence will be served in confinement was confirmed through analysis of self-reports of expected discharge dates from the 1991 BJS National Survey of State Prison Inmates. Prison release practices for violent offenders in 31 States reveal wide disparity across the States in sentence length but substantially less disparity and greater consensus on the duration of time spent in confinement. The findings are from BJS data collection programs, including the annual National Corrections Reporting Program (NCRP) and the 1991 sample survey of State prisoners. The report also estimates the hypothetical impact on time served of changing the percentage of sentence served and discusses how the States differ in percentage of sentence served.

NCJ 151651 Jails and Jail Inmates, 1993-94: BJS Bulletin 12pp, 4/95, 16 tables Drawing on results from the Census of Jails, 1993, this Bulletin presents for each State and the District of Columbia the number of inmates, the incarceration rates, rated capacity, and percent of capacity occupied on June 30; it summarizes data on the number of jail employees, demographic characteristics of the staff, inmate-to-staff ratios, and changes since 1983 in these measures. Information from the Annual Survey of Jails, 1994, provides the latest estimates of the Nation's jail population:

* After a decade of record growth, the number of inmates in local jails reached a high of 490,442 on June 30, 1994. * The number of jail inmates per 100,000 U.S. residents increased from 96 in 1983 to 188 in 1994. * In 1993, 8 States had over 200 local jail inmates per 100,000 residents: Louisiana (377), Georgia (328), Texas (307), Tennessee(282), Florida (250), Virginia (225), California (222), and Nevada (215). * Between 1983 and 1993 the number of jail inmates increased 106%; the total jail staff increased 156%; and the number of correctional officers grew 165%. * At midyear 1994 the capacity of the Nation's local jails was 504,324 inmates, as measured by the number of beds allotted by State or local rating officials. * The jail population was 97% of rated capacity. Jail space increased 93% between 1983 and 1994. * White non-Hispanics made up 39% of the jail population; black non-Hispanics, 44%; Hispanics, 15%; and non-Hispanics of other races, 2%.

NCJ 153849 Correctional Populations in the United States: BJS Executive Summary 2pp, 4/95, 1 table, 2 figures U.S. correctional populations grew more than 2 1/2 times from 1980 to 1993. In 1993 about 2.6% of the U.S. population _ 4.9 million adults _ were on parole, on probation, or in jails or prisons, an increase of 3 million since 1980. In 1993 nearly 1.4 million offenders were incarcerated (over 909,000 in the custody of State and Federal prisons and 455,500 in local jails), 671,000 were on parole, and 2.8 million were on probation. More than two-thirds of the 4.9 million persons under correctional supervision were on probation or parole. The U.S. parole population had the fastest rate of growth, 205% from 1980 to 1993. In the 13 years from 1980 to 1993, the probation population grew by over 1.7 million, larger than the increase in any other correctional population.

NCJ 146413 Correctional Populations in the United States, 1992 182pp, 1/95, 95 tables This annual report presents data that describe persons under some form of correctional supervision in 1992: probationers, parolees, jail and prison inmates, and persons under sentence of death. The data summarize characteristics of each correctional population--sex, race, Hispanic origin, admission type, release type, sentence length, escapes, probation and parole violations, facility crowding, and deaths in prison. Extensive sections present individual-level data on inmates entering prison under sentence of death and those whose death sentences were removed. The report also includes data on inmates who were executed and on inmates' criminal history, sex, race, age, marital status, and educational level.

NCJ 150042 Capital Punishment 1993 13pp, 12/94, 16 tables, 3 figures This annual BJS Bulletin describes major legal decisions affecting death penalty issues during 1993 and statutory provisions. The report presents characteristics of the 2,716 persons under sentence of death on December 31, 1993, and of the 37 persons who were executed in 10 States. The report summarizes the movement of prisoners into and out of death sentence status during the year. Numerical tables present data on offenders' sex, race, Hispanic origin, education, marital status, age at time of capital sentencing, legal status at time of capital offense, methods of execution, trends, and time between imposition of death sentence and execution. Two historical tables account for executions since 1930 and sentencing since 1974.

NCJ 151168 Prisoners at Midyear 1994: Press release 6pp, 10/94, 3 tables, 3 figures This BJS press release reports that the number of persons in State and Federal prisons exceeded 1 million for the first time on June 30, 1994. In a State-level table, the report provides 6- and 12-month growth rates and the current incarceration rate per 100,000 resident population. Graphs present 10-year growth and incarceration rates by sex and race.

NCJ 145864 Comparing Federal and State Prison Inmates, 1991 35pp, 10/94, 30 tables Findings from the survey of Federal inmates, sponsored for the first time by the Bureau of Prisons, are compared with those from the 1991 BJS survey of State prisoners. The report presents demographic, familial, and criminal justice characteristics of the two incarcerated populations: employment and income before prison, physical or sexual abuse during childhood, weapon use during the current crime, and recidivism. Numerical tables summarize the inmates' reported drug and alcohol use before their offense and the drug or alcohol therapy they had received. A special section from the Federal survey describes prison programs and conditions.

NCJ 145863 Profile of Inmates in the United States and in England and Wales, 1991 24pp, 10/94 This report compares findings from the 1991 prison inmate survey in England and Wales with data from the BJS surveys of inmates in local jails and in State prisons and the U.S. Bureau of Prisons survey of Federal prisoners. The report presents comparative tables on the demographic characteristics of offenders, their offenses, and their sentence lengths.

NCJ 145862 National Corrections Reporting Program, 1992 101pp, 10/94, 84 tables The eighth in an annual series, this report describes the demographic characteristics, offenses, sentence lengths, and time served of persons admitted to and released from the Nation's prison and parole systems in 1992. For the first time in the series, 5-year trends from 1988 through 1992 are discussed for prison admissions, sentence lengths, time served, percentage of time served in prison, and time on parole. Data in the report were gathered from 35 States and the District of Columbia.

NCJ 149730 Probation and Parole 1993: Press Release 4pp, 9/94 At yearend 1993, 2.8 million adults were serving a sentence of probation, and 671,469 adults on parole from prison were supervised in the communities where they lived. Adults under community supervision accounted for 72% of the U.S. correctional population. An estimated 3.2% of all men age 18 or older were on probation or parole, and 1 in 22 men were under the care, custody, or control of a corrections agency. The press release provides two tables by State, a table summarizing total corrections populations since 1980, and a table with estimates of men and women supervised in the community.

NCJ 147036 Prisoners in 1993 2pp, 6/94, 17 tables, 2 figures This BJS Bulletin contains the number of persons in State and Federal prisons at yearend. In jurisdiction-level tables, it compares the increase in the prison population during 1993 with that of the previous year and gives 5- and 10-year growth rates. The Bulletin reports the number of male and female prisoners, their incarceration rates, and data on prison capacities and use of local jails to reduce prison crowding. A set of tables and graphs on admissions to prison describe whether inmates were entering directly from a new sentence or were entering following a violation of probation or parole. The number of admissions relative to the number of arrests for selected offenses is also reported.

NCJ 145321 Women in Prison 11pp, 3/94, 18 tables This BJS Special Report examines demographic characteristics, current offenses, criminal histories, and the victims of violent female inmates from the 1991 BJS survey of State prison inmates. In 1991, 38,796 women were incarcerated, nearly twice the 19,812 from the 1986 survey. Presented in addition are the women's family background, children, drug and alcohol use, prior physical and sexual abuse, and health issues.

NCJ 145861 National Corrections Reporting Program, 1991 97pp, 2/94, 80 tables, 8 figures The seventh in an annual series, this report describes the demographic characteristics, offenses, sentence length, and time served of persons admitted to and released from the Nation's prison and parole systems. The data in the report were gathered from 35 States, the District of Columbia, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

NCJ 145031 Capital Punishment 1992 13pp, 12/93, 16 tables, 3 figures This annual BJS Bulletin describes capital punishment court cases throughout the Nation during 1992, State statutory provisions relating to the death penalty, and demographic and criminal-justice-related characteristics of the 2,575 persons under sentence of death on December 31, 1992. The report examines the movement of prisoners into and out of death sentence status during the year, including 31 persons who were executed in 13 States. Also covered are offenders' sex, race, Hispanic origin, education, marital status, age at time of capital sentencing, legal status at time of capital offense, methods of execution, trends, and time between imposition of death sentence and execution.

NCJ 143292 HIV in U.S. Prisons and Jails 8pp, 9/93, 10 tables In 1991, State and Federal prison authorities reported that 2.2% of 792,176 inmates were infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS. This BJS Special Report describes prison and jail policies for testing inmates for HIV, the numbers of prison inmates infected with HIV, and the numbers of deaths of inmates from AIDS in prisons and jails. Of the total inmate population, 0.6% exhibited symptoms of HIV infection, including 0.2% with confirmed AIDS. All prison jurisdictions reported testing some inmates for HIV; 17 tested all prisoners. Among tested inmates reporting results to interviewers, 0.8% who had never used drugs were positive, compared to 2.5% of drug users, 4.9% of injectable drug users, and 7.1% who had shared needles. In 1991 over a fourth of all inmate deaths were attributed to AIDS. Data sources included the 1991 National Prisoner Statistics, the 1992 annual survey of jails, and the 1991 survey of inmates in State correctional facilities. This report will be updated with 1992 and 1993 numbers in late 1994 or early 1995.

NCJ 142729 Correctional Populations in the United States, 1991 144pp, 8/93, 86 tables, 2 figures This annual volume assembles all the available annual BJS series about the jail and prison populations and about persons under sentence of death. The large-format tables are extensively footnoted. The series questionnaires are included. Special tables from the survey of State prison inmates report on the victims of violent offenders.

NCJ 143284 Jail Inmates 1992 10pp, 8/93, 19 tables, 2 figures This annual BJS Bulletin reported that at mid-1992, local jails held nearly 445,000 inmates, or about 1 in every 428 adult U.S. residents. The largest jail jurisdictions held 81% of the total inmate population. From these jurisdictions, the Annual Survey of Jails for the first time in its history collected information about drug testing, about programs that treat or educate inmates, and about boot camps, work release, and alternatives to incarceration such as electronic monitoring, house arrest, community service, and weekend or day reporting.

NCJ 136949 Survey of State Prison Inmates, 1991 34pp, 5/93, 64 tables and figures This study presents new data about State prison inmates: their background and families, recidivism, gang membership, drug and alcohol use, HIV/AIDS infection, gun use and possession, sentence, time served, victims of violent inmates, and participation in prison programs. Compiled from indepth interviews with a nationally representative sample of almost 14,000 State prisoners in 277 facilities in 45 States, this is the most comprehensive study to date of State prison inmate characteristics.

NCJ 148949 Compendium of Federal Justice Statistics, 1992 120pp, forthcoming; Abt Associates Inc., BJS cooperative agreement #91-BJ-CX-K025 Seventh in the annual series, this report describes all aspects of processing in the Federal justice system, including numbers of persons prosecuted, convicted, incarcerated, sentenced to probation, released pretrial, and under parole or other supervision. Data are presented both nationally and by Federal judicial district and describe events completed in the given year.

NCJ 148950 Federal Firearms-Related Offenses: Federal Offenses and Offenders--Crime Data Brief 2pp, 7/95, 2 tables, 1 figure; Abt Associates Inc., BJS cooperative agreement #91-BJ-CX-K025 The data brief notes the association between firearms involvement and an increased severity of sentence as well as a more extensive criminal history for Federal prisoners. The number of offenders sentenced to Federal prison grew 175% from 1982 to 1992. In the 12 months before September 30, 1993, firearms were involved in sentences of almost 7,000 offenders, about a sixth of those sentenced under Federal guidelines.

NCJ 151652 Challenging the Conditions of Prisons and Jails: A Report on Section 1983 Litigation _ BJS Discussion Paper 44pp, 2/95, 10 tables, 2 figures, National Center for State Courts, Hanson, Roger A., and Henry W.K. Daley, BJS cooperative agreement #92--BJ--CX--K026 This discussion paper seeks to furnish systematic data on litigation under Section 1983 of the U.S. Code, which the U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted to permit prisoners to sue correctional officials in Federal court when the conditions of confinement fail to meet constitutional standards. Section 1983 litigation represents 1 in 10 of the civil cases filed in U.S. district courts. This profile of such lawsuits examining more than 2,700 cases disposed of in 1992 in 9 States (Alabama, California, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas) shows that 95% of cases result in dismissals, 4% result in stipulated dismissals or settlements, and 2% result in trial verdicts (of these, less than 1/2 of 1% result in a favorable verdict for the prisoner). Half the cases last 6 months or less because they fail to meet Section 1983 requirements. In cases lasting 6 to 12 months, the percent of issues the court dismissed decreases, with a corresponding increase in stipu-lated dismissals and successful defendants' motions to dismiss, a relative decrease in cases challenging convictions and sentences, and an increase in the relative number of cases concerning inadequate medical treatment, lack of due process, and denial of access to the courts. In cases surviving up to 2 years, issues of physical security become more frequent; the cases are more likely to have appointed counsel and evidentiary hearings; and successful prisoner litigation becomes more likely, with both settlements and verdicts resulting in financial awards to prisoners. The authors, Hanson and Daley, state that to relieve the strain on U.S. courts, the U.S. Attorney General, and the leadership of the U.S. Court of Appeals should promote and facilitate implementation of the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act of 1980, intended to resolve prisoners' grievances through State administrative procedures instead of through litigation in Federal courts

NCJ 144392 Federal Drug Case Processing, 1985-91, with Preliminary Data for 1992 19pp, 3/94, 30 tables; Abt Associates Inc., BJS cooperative agreement #91-BJ-CX-K025 This report describes the processing of Federal drug cases: prosecution, adjudication, and sentencing. Data are also presented on trial rates and time served. The report is part of the series issued under the BJS Federal Justice Statistics Program and will be updated annually.

NCJ 145322 Pretrial Release of Federal Felony Defendants: Federal Justice Statistics Program, 1990 11pp, 2/94, 11 tables This BJS Special Report provides a comprehensive overview of the pretrial phase of the Federal criminal justice system. Data for more than 44,000 Federal felony defendants interviewed by Federal pretrial services agencies during 1990 are presented. Tables present the rates and types of pretrial release by offense, criminal justice status, court appearance record, conviction history, and demographic factors are included. Tables also describe time from arrest to pretrial release, defendant characteristics by detention-release outcome, and frequency of failure-to-appear, re-arrest, and technical violations among defendants on pretrial release. Comparisons are drawn between Federal felony defendants and those in the State courts.

NCJ 145332 Sentencing in the Federal Courts: Does Race Matter? The Transition to Sentencing Guidelines, 1986-90: Summary 24pp, 12/93; Abt Associates Inc., BJS cooperative agreement #91-BJ-CX-K025 This 24-page summary of a 229-page Discussion Paper from the BJS Federal Justice Statistics Program analzes the factors that affect sentencing determinations under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. The impact of race on sentencing is evaluated for a variety of Federal offenses, including drug trafficking, bank robbery, weapons offenses, fraud, larceny, and embezzlement. The effect of mandatory sentencing statutes is also considered.

NCJ 145328 Sentencing in the Federal Courts: Does Race Matter? The Transition to Sentencing Guidelines, 1986-90 U.S. $5.00 postage and handling, Canada $6.00, other $10.00 (call 800-732-3277 to order) 229pp, 12/93, 69 tables, 28 figures This is the full text of the summary abstracted above.

NCJ 144526 Federal Criminal Case Processing, 1982-91, with Preliminary Data for 1992 30pp, 11/93, 18 tables, Abt Associates Inc., BJS cooperative agreement #91-BJ-CX-K025 This annual report, the fifth in the BJS series, presents data describing Federal criminal case prosecution, adjudication, and sentencing as well as time served by Federal offenders. Data are presented for 1982 and for 1986 through 1992. The report is of interest to researchers and policymakers concerned with the processing of defendants throughout the Federal system.

NCJ 142524 Prosecuting Criminal Enterprises: Federal Offenses and Offenders 7pp, 11/93, 11 tables; Abt Associates Inc., BJS cooperative agreement #91-BJ-CX-K025 One in the series of BJS Special Reports describing activity in the Federal criminal justice system, this report focuses on prosecutions under the Federal racketeering and continuing criminal enterprise statutes. Data describe the number of persons prosecuted and compare rates of prosecution, conviction, and incarceration for offenders tried under these statutes with rates for offenders who committed similar offenses but were tried under other Federal criminal statutes.

NCJ 143499 Compendium of Federal Justice Statistics, 1990 109pp, 9/93, 48 tables, 2 figures; Abt Associates Inc., BJS cooperative agreement #91-BJ-CX-K025 Sixth in the annual series, this report describes all aspects of processing in the Federal justice system, including numbers of persons prosecuted, convicted, incarcerated, sentenced to probation, released pretrial, and under parole or other supervision. Both national and Federal judicial district data are presented for events completed in the given year.

NCJ 151174 Federal Drug Data for National Policy 11pp, forthcoming This report gives an overview of drug data available from the Federal Government and identifies more than 40 sources of drug data produced or sponsored by 17 Federal agencies. The report specifies the data available from each source, the purpose of the source, the sponsoring agency, the population covered, the periodicity, key publications, and data availability. Each data source is described in both tabular and narrative form. This updates a report first published in 1990 (BJS, 4/90, NCJ-122715).

NCJ 154043 Drugs and Crime Facts, 1994 35pp, 6/95, 11 tables, ONDCP Drugs and Crime Clearinghouse This booklet summarizes drug data published by BJS in 1994, supplemented with other data of interest to the criminal justice community. Topics covered include drug-related crime; drug use by offenders at the time of offense; drug law enforcement; pretrial release of drug defendants; prosecution and sentencing of drug offenders in both Federal and State courts; recidivism of drug law violators; public opinion about drugs; drugs and juveniles; drugs and gangs; and drug use in the general population. Information about the Office of National Drug Control Policy's Drugs and Crime Clearinghouse (800-666-3332) is also included.

NCJ 151622 Street Terms: Drugs and Crime Fact Sheet 35pp, 12/94 This fact sheet defines more than 1,500 street terms that refer to drug types or drug activities. Organized alphabetically by drug type and topic, the list is a useful tool for law enforcement officials, other criminal justice practitioners, and public health professionals.

NCJ 147709 State Drug Resources: 1994 National Directory 140pp, 10/94 This biennial directory is a comprehensive guide to State agencies that address drug abuse concerns. Organized by State, the directory gives agency names, addresses, and telephone numbers. Also included are listings of Federal agencies that people frequently contact for information as well as references for State agencies listed by area of specialty.

NCJ 146246 Drugs and Crime Facts, 1993 35pp, 9/94, 11 tables This booklet summarizes drug data published by BJS in 1993, supplemented with other data of interest to the criminal justice community. Topics covered include drug-related crime; drug use by offenders; drug law enforcement; pretrial release; prosecution and sentencing of drug offenders; public opinion about drugs; juveniles and gangs; and drug use in the general population.

NCJ 149286 Drug-Related Crime 6pp, 8/94, 3 tables, 1 figure This Fact Sheet describes the various ways in which drugs and crime can be related and presents available statistics on drugs and crime from BJS and non-BJS sources. It discusses the methodological difficulties of estimating comprehensively the amount of crime that is related to drugs.

NCJ 148213 Drug Data Summary 6pp, 8/94 This Fact Sheet summarizes current statistics on drug-related law enforcement, court processing of drug offenders, drug use, drug production, and drug control spending.

NCJ 148212 Drug Use Trends 6pp, 2/94, 6 tables This Fact Sheet summarizes trends in drug use by criminal offenders, the general population, students, and active military personnel, as surveyed by the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the U.S. Department of Defense.

NCJ 133652 Drugs, Crime, and the Justice System 224pp, 5/93 Discusses the link between drugs and crime, the extent of drug use, illicit drug trafficking, the history of domestic drug control, public opinion, drug testing, drug policy, and other aspects of the Nation's drug problems. Contains many statistics and research findings from Federal, State, and private sources, including Federal agencies such as the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, State, and Treasury; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the FBI; the U.S. Marshals Service; and the Bureau of Prisons. Looks beyond enforcement and corrections, examining the justice system's role as an integral part of education, prevention, and treatment. Uses a nontechnical news-magazine format, with color graphics and maps designed to inform the general public as well as policymakers, the news media, criminal justice practitioners, drug treatment providers, educators, and students.

NCJ 139578 Technical Appendix: Drugs, Crime, and the Justice System 86pp, 6/93 Provides documentation for Drugs, Crime, and the Justice System. Includes source notes and data for all the statistical graphics contained in the full report.

NCJ 137754 Justice Expenditure and Employment in the U.S., 1990 158pp, forthcoming, 72 tables Provides comprehensive data on 1990 spending and personnel levels for Federal, State, and local governments in six sectors: police protection, judicial, legal services and prosecution, public defense, corrections, and "other criminal justice." Expenditure data are provided for fiscal year 1990; employment and payroll data are for the month of October 1990. In addition, the report presents expenditure on capital outlay, intergovernmental expenditure, and employment and payroll data by sector for individual State governments and the aggregate of local governments by type (counties and municipalities) within each State. Expenditure, employment, and payroll data by sector are also given for 78 county governments with populations of 500,000 or more and for 52 large municipalities with populations of 300,000 or more. Table 1 of this report presents the variable passthrough data used by the Bureau of Justice Assistance in the Edward Byrne Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance Formula Grant Program. Survey methodology is presented in an introductory text. Appendix 1 presents definitions used; Appendix 2 presents the questionnaire used in the mail portion of the survey. The data in the report are comparable to those published for 1971-79, 1985, and 1988. Updates are not anticipated.

NCJ 148821 Justice Expenditure and Employment Extracts: 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, and 1991 412pp, forthcoming, 112 tables Provides annual data on spending and personnel levels for individual years from 1987 to 1991 for Federal, State, and local governments for three sectors: police protection, all judicial and legal services (courts, legal services and prosecution, and public defense), and corrections. Expenditure data are provided for fiscal years 1987 to 1991; employment and payroll data are for the month of October in those yers. In addition, the report presents data on capital outlay, intergovernmental expenditure, and employment and payroll data by sector for individual State and large local governments. The data are from the Census Bureau's annual sample surveys of governmental finance and employment. The data from these general governmental statistics programs are modified somewhat to conform more closely to definitions and classification schemes developed by BJS for its periodic Justice Expenditure and Employment Survey. Data from the two series are not comparable; definitional and other differences between the two series are discussed in depth. An appendix presents definitions of terms used in the report.

NCJ 135777 Justice Expenditure and Employment, 1990 13pp, 9/92, 14 tables This BJS Bulletin provides selected data on 1990 spending and personnel levels for Federal, State, and local governments in six sectors: police protection, judicial, legal services and prosecution, public defense, corrections, and "other criminal justice." Expenditure data are provided for fiscal year 1990; employment and payroll data are for the month of October 1990. In addition, the report compares justice expenditure to spending for other governmental services, adjusts the data for inflation, and analyzes trends in justice spending and employment, especially trends in corrections spending. It presents expenditure data per capita by State and the number of employees per 10,000 population by State. The percentage of government spending that goes for justice activities is presented for the United States as a whole as well as by State. Two tables present the detailed expenditure and employment data collected for the aggregate of State and local governments for each State. Survey methodology and definitions used are briefly discussed. The data in the report are comparable to those published for 1971-79, 1985, and 1988. Updates are not anticipated.

NCJ 148951 Survey of Criminal History Information Systems, 1993 74pp, 1/95; SEARCH Group, Inc., BJS cooperative agreement #92-BJ-CX-K012 This report updates the data presented in the BJS report, "Survey of Criminal History Information Systems, 1992" (NCJ 143500), released in 1993, which described the status of State criminal record systems as of 1992. The updated survey describes as of yearend 1993 the number of records maintained by each State, the percentage of automated records in the system and in the master name index, levels of fingerprint-supported data, the number of dispositions received, the percentage of records with disposition data included, State membership in the FBI's Interstate Identification Index, and procedures followed in connection with presale firearm checks.

NCJ 151263 National Conference on Criminal History Records: Brady and Beyond _ Proceedings of a BJS/SEARCH Conference 230pp, 1/95, SEARCH Group, Inc., BJS cooperative agreement #92- BJ-CX-K012 This report includes presentations made by the speakers at the National Conference on Criminal History Records in Washington, D.C., in February 1994. Speakers included Attorney General Janet Reno, Assistant Attorney General Laurie Robinson, BJS Acting Director Lawrence A. Green-feld, and representatives of the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and State governments. The report includes an appendix with copies of forms and regulations for implementing the Brady Act. The conference was the seventh in the series on criminal history records sponsored by BJS and SEARCH Group.

153pp, 1/95, SEARCH Group, Inc., BJS cooperative agreement #92-BJ-CX-K012 This report, ninth in a series, updates the compendium released in 1992 and presents an overview of State legislation governing the privacy, security, maintenance, and dissemination of criminal history records. Legislation is summarized by subject matter and is presented by individual State. The full text of the identified statutes for 1994 is available on microfiche from the BJS Clearinghouse at 1-800-732-3277.

NCJ 151173 National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP): Program Announcement 14pp, 12/94 This announcement describes the National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP), which implements the grant requirements of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act and the National Child Protection Act of 1993. The program is administered by BJS. The announcement describes the goals of the program and the procedures for applying for funds. The announcement governs the award of funds in FY 1995.

NCJ 143500 Survey of Criminal History Information Systems, 1992 60pp, 11/93, 24 tables; SEARCH Group, Inc., BJS cooperative agreement #92-BJ-CX-K012 This report updates the data presented in the BJS report, "Survey of Criminal History Information Systems" (NCJ 125620), released in 1991, which described the status of State criminal record systems as of 1989. The updated survey describes as of yearend 1992 the number of records maintained by each State, the percentage of automated records in the system and in the master name index, levels of fingerprint-supported data, number of dispositions received, the percentage of records with disposition data included, State membership in the FBI's Interstate Identification Index, and procedures followed in connection with presale firearm checks.

NCJ 143501 Use and Management of Criminal History Record Information: A Comprehensive Report 148pp, 11/93; SEARCH Group, Inc., BJS cooperative agreement #92-BJ-CX-K012 This report contains a comprehensive description of all aspects of the Federal and State criminal history record information (CHRI) systems. Included are discussions of the structure of State systems, the uses of criminal history information for both criminal and noncriminal justice purposes, the current system for the exchange of criminal records among the States and the Federal Government, the technologies and policies associated with the FBI's Interstate Identification Index and the Interstate Compact for the Exchange of CHRI, the developing systems for presale firearm purchaser checks, and new technologies relating to positive identification. The report uses nontechnical terms.

NCJ 154349 Firearms, Crime, and Criminal Justice 50pp, forthcoming, 30 tables, 20 figures This report presents data about firearms, crime, and the response by the criminal justice system. It includes the number of guns available, gun ownership, self-protection with guns, types and trends in gun crime, and special sanctions for offenders who use guns. Presented in a nontechnical format, the report uses a variety of sources from BJS and other agencies to provide a comprehensive portrait of the issue.

NCJ 153572 BJS Data Highlights and Catalog, 1994-95 26pp, forthcoming This booklet has three sections: ï¿½ highlights of new data releases in the last year ï¿½ abstracts of other recent reports, grouped by subject area, listed in order from newest to oldest ï¿½ an order form and a mailing list signup sheet.

NCJ 154591 Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics, 1994 U.S. $6.00 postage and handling, Canada $11.00, other $30.00 (call 800-732-3277 to order) 750+pp, forthcoming, 600+ tables, 10+ figures; Hindelang Criminal Justice Research Center, BJS interagency agreement #92-BJ-R-02 Presents a broad spectrum of criminal justice data (20+ appendixes, 150+ sources) in 6 sections: ï¿½ characteristics of the criminal justice system ï¿½ public attitudes toward crime and criminal justice topics ï¿½ the nature and distribution of known offenses ï¿½ characteristics and distribution of persons arrested ï¿½ judicial processing of defendants ï¿½ persons under correctional supervision. Includes subject index, annotated bibliography, technical appendixes, and source publishers and their addresses.

NCJ 155284 Weapons Offenses and Offenders: Firearms, Crime, and Criminal Justice--Selected Findings 6pp, forthcoming, 10 tables, 4 figures, by Marianne Zawitz, BJS This report presents data on how the criminal and juvenile justice systems deal with weapons offenses (violations of statutes or regulations that control deadly weapons) and offenders from arrest through incarceration. The report uses data from many sources, including the FBI Uniform Crime Reports, the National Center for Juvenile Justice Juvenile Court Statistics, the BJS Pretrial Reporting Prog-ram, the BJS Judicial Reporting Program, the BJS Survey of Inmates of State Correctional Facilities, and the BJS Federal Case Processing Data. The data presented cover the Federal and State and local responses to weapons offenses. This report is the second on Firearms, Crime, and Criminal Justice; the first was "Guns Used in Crime."

NCJ 154875 Future Directions for the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data: Report of the Task Force, 1995 15 pp, 8/95 The Bureau of Justice Statistics is developing a comprehen-sive strategy to address its data dissemination needs for the immediate future. Part of this planning focuses on the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD), which distributes public-use data files for BJS. New capabilities that enhance data access, retrieval, and dissemination capabilities are becoming available, and BJS wishes to investigate how these technologies might be utilized to improve the services it provides to users of criminal justice. To this end, BJS empaneled a Task Force to provide an independent view of its efforts to disseminate criminal justice data. The Task Force provided comments on how NACJD maintains and disseminates data, processes public use files, selects its holdings, and provides user services. In addition to these findings, this report provides background on the formation of the Task Force, meeting summaries, and a list of participants.

NCJ 153504 BJS Telephone Contacts, 1995 7pp, 7/95 This BJS Bulletin lists-- * the subjects on which BJS produces data, along with the names and telephone numbers of the staff experts in each subject * referral numbers for subjects such as bombs and homicide on which BJS does not collect data * the 800 numbers for ordering reports * the name of each State Statistical Analysis Center with its director, address, telephone number, and Internet address, where applicable.

NCJ 148201 Guns Used In Crime: Firearms, Crime, and Criminal Justice--BJS Selected Findings 7pp, 7/95, 7 tables, 1 figure, by Marianne W. Zawitz, BJS Since there is no national collection of data about the guns used by criminals, this report provides information from several sources, including the FBI National Crime Information Center's stolen gun file, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms National Tracing Center, the BJS National Crime Victimization Survey, the FBI Uniform Crime Reports, the BJS Survey of Inmates in State Correctional Facilities, other inmate surveys, and special studies of homicides involving guns. The report covers how often guns are used in crime, what categories of firearms are most often used, and what type of guns are preferred by criminals. This is the first of a series of reports on firearms and crime that will be part of a comprehensive report entitled Firearms, Crime, and Criminal Justice. Includes bibliography.

NCJ 148211 Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics, 1993 U.S. $6.00 postage and handling, Canada $11.00, other $30.00 (call 800-732-3277 to order) 785pp, 9/94, 681 tables, 13 figures; Hindelang Criminal Justice Research Center, BJS interagency agreement #92-BJ-R-02 Presents a broad spectrum of criminal justice data (20 appendixes, 160 sources) in 6 sections: * characteristics of the criminal justice system * public attitudes toward crime and criminal justice topics * the nature and distribution of known offenses * characteristics and distribution of persons arrested * judicial processing of defendants * persons under correctional supervision. Includes subject index, annotated bibliography, technical appendixes, and source publishers and their addresses.

NCJ 145318 Enhancing Capacities and Confronting Controversies in Criminal Justice

169pp, 9/94 These proceedings of the annual BJS/Justice Research and Statistics Association conference in October 1993 offer valuable insights into some of the controversies facing the criminal justice system. Major sessions of the conference included emerging drug policy, prison crowding, gun control, race and sex bias, incarceration, sexual assault, domestic violence, a multistate examination of police behavior and ethics, and discussions of recent technology and research methodology.

NCJ 148819 Bureau of Justice Statistics Publications Catalog, 1993-94 14pp, 8/94 This catalog abstracts 78 reports forthcoming in 1994 or published in 1993-94, grouped in these categories: crime victimization, law enforcement, State felony courts, corrections, Federal justice statistics, drugs and crime, expenditure and employment, criminal history, and general. An order form with a signup sheet for the BJS mailing lists is included. This catalog is also available online on the BJS section of the NCJRS electronic bulletin board (301-738-8895) and on Internet under the U.S. Department of Justice gopher (gopher.usdoj.gov), along with the text of many recent BJS press releases and reports.

NCJ 148200 Tracking Offenders, 1990 10pp, 7/94, 13 tables This BJS Bulletin, based on data from 11 States participating in the BJS Offender-Based Transaction Statistics (OBTS) program, summarizes the processing of felony arrests disposed during 1990. State repositories of criminal records provided data describing demographic characteristics of arrestees, case processing time, and adjudication and sentencing outcomes of prosecuted cases.

NCJ 148138 Bureau of Justice Statistics Fiscal Year 1994 Program Plan 39pp, 6/94, 3 tables, 8 figures This booklet describes BJS activities in fiscal 1994, presents pivotal findings of major BJS statistical series, and lists categories of data collected and forthcoming publications. It summarizes projects initiated during the year, including implementation of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, a proposed statistical system for firearm point-of-purchase checks, the Leading Indicators Crime Information System (LICINS), and the first national survey of adults on probation. It describes both the State Statistical Analysis Center program and BJS publications and dissemination.

NCJ 146844 Firearms and Crimes of Violence--Selected Findings 13pp, 2/94, 5 tables, 12 figures This report summarizes selected findings on trends in firearm use in serious violent crime, based on FBI data on homicide, BJS data on victimization and inmate firearm use, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data on firearm ownership by high school students.

NCJ 145327 National Conference on Criminal Justice Bulletin Board Systems 77pp, 2/94, SEARCH Group, Inc., BJS grant #89-BJ-CX-K009 These proceedings of a BJS-SEARCH Group conference include presentations by experts on bulletin board systems (BBS's) as a platform for information exchange and technical assistance, uses for regional intelligence sharing, technical issues of operating and maintaining a BBS, legal and policy implications of operating a BBS, and establishing national networks to communicate and coordinate among the numerous criminal justice BBS's now operating.

NCJ 143505 Performance Measures for the Criminal Justice System 167pp, 10/93, 3 figures, references, biographies of authors; Princeton University, BJS grant #92-BJ-CX-0002 This compendium of Discussion Papers represents the work of the BJS-Princeton University Study Group on Criminal Justice Performance Measures. Papers were prepared for study group review by John J. DiIulio, Jr. (project director) and James Q. Wilson (project adviser), who wrote overview papers. Papers on performance measures of selected components of the criminal justice system were written by Mark H. Moore and Geoffrey P. Alpert, policing; Joan Petersilia, community corrections; George F. Cole, trial courts, prosecution, and public defense; and Charles H. Logan, prisons.

Directory of Automated Criminal Justice Information Systems, 1993: Vol. I, Law Enforcement U.S. $5.00 postage and handling, Canada $6.00, other $15.00 (call 800-732-3277 to order) NCJ 142645, 847pp, 9/93 Vol. II, Corrections, Courts, Probation/Parole, Prosecution U.S. $4.00 postage and handling, Canada $6.00, other $13.00 (call 800-732-3277 to order) NCJ 142646, 631pp, 9/93 This directory is a resource guide for criminal justice agencies selecting an automated information management system. It provides data describing each agency and each system as well as agency indexes and system indexes. Agencies can match their identified needs for an information system with the needs met at agencies that responded to the survey. A contact person and telephone number for each responding agency are provided. Also in the directory are responses from computer software and hardware developers and vendors. Indexes provide easy access to the data.

24pp, 6/93, 6 tables, 2 figures This paper explores the possible impact of jail conditions on the likelihood that a convicted felon will be sentenced to a county jail rather than a State prison. For this study, the BJS data collection on felony sentencing in 1988 was merged with the data from the 1988 jail census. The data suggest that certain programs such as work release may influence judges to sentence nonviolent felons to jail rather than to prison or probation.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Wives are the most frequent victims of fatal family violence, according to a study of family murder made public today by the Justice Department.

In a study of more than 8,000 homicides in large urban counties, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) said 16 percent involved murder inside the family, in four out of ten of them a spouse killed a spouse. Offspring were killed by their parents at twice the rate that offspring killed their parents.

A male was the assailant in about two-thirds of family murders. However, among black marital partners, wives killed their husbands at about the same rate as husbands killed their wives--47 percent of the black spouse victims were husbands and 53 percent were wives. Among white victims murdered by their spouses, 38 percent of the victims were husbands and 62 percent were wives.

Most murders inside the family happened at night--62 percent. Alcohol was often part of the fatal scenario. Nearly half of the killers and a third of their victims had been drinking at the time of the family homicide.

Among spouse murderers, 2 percent committed multiple murders and among persons who murdered their own mother or father (or both parents), it was 13 percent.

--Fourteen percent of family murderers had a history of mental illness. Among spouse murderers, 12 percent had such a history, and 25 percent of persons who murdered their mother or father had a history of mental illness.

Among those who killed a spouse, 51 percent had a prior criminal record (not necessarily for spouse abuse), and among defendants who killed one or both of their parents, 67 percent had been previously arrested or convicted.

--Seventy-six percent of the family murderers were convicted of murder or some other crime, 6 percent were acquitted, 9 percent were not prosecuted, 4 percent were dismissed by the court, 3 percent were found not guilty by reason of insanity and the remainder were still pending.

--Eighty percent of the spouse murderers were convicted of murder or some other crime, 6 percent were acquitted, 7 percent were not prosecuted, 4 percent were dismissed by the court, 1 percent were found not guilty by reason of insanity, and the remainder were pending.

--Seventy percent of defendants charged with killing their parents were convicted of murder or some other crime, 6 percent were acquitted, 6 percent were not prosecuted, 5 percent were dismissed by the court, 9 percent were found not guilty by reason of insanity, and the remainder were pending.

--Eighty-eight percent of convicted family murderers were sentenced to prison with an average sentence of 13 years. Corresponding figures for convicted spouse murderers were 89 percent prison and an average sentence of 13 years, for convicted parent murderers, 95 percent prison and a sentence average of 13 years.

--Thirteen percent of convicted family murderers received a sentence to life imprisonment. For convicted spouse murderers, it was 13 percent and for convicted parent murderers, 18 percent.

--Seventy-nine percent of those younger than 12 years old who had been killed by a parent had been previously abused by their assailant.

--Eleven percent of all victims who were 60 years old or older were killed by a son or a daughter.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Women were attacked about six times more often by offenders with whom they had an intimate relationship than were male violence victims during 1992 and 1993, the Department of Justice announced today.

During each year women were the victims of more than 4.5 million violent crimes, including approximately 500,000 rapes or other sexual assaults. In 29 percent of the violent crimes against women by lone offenders the perpetrators were intimates--husbands, former husbands, boyfriends or former boyfriends.

The victims' friends or acquaintances committed more than half of the rapes and sexual assaults, intimates committed 26 percent, and strangers were responsible for about one in five.

Forty-five percent of all violent attacks against female victims 12 years old and older by multiple offenders also involved offenders they knew.

During 1992 approximately 28 percent of female homicide victims (1,414 women) were known to have been killed by their husbands, former husbands or boyfriends. In contrast, just over 3 percent of male homicide victims (637) were known to have been killed by their wives, former wives or girlfriends.

About a fifth of the lone-offender attacks against women involved a weapon. Strangers used weapons 30 percent of the time, compared to 18 percent for intimates. However, women were injured by intimates in 52 percent of the attacks, compared to 20 percent of the attacks by strangers.

Women from 19 to 29 years old were more likely than women of other ages to be victimized by an intimate. Also, the rate of intimate-offender attacks on women separated from their husbands was about three times higher than that of divorced women and about 25 times higher than that of married women. However, because the survey records a respondent's marital status only at the time of the interview, it is possible in some instances that separation or divorce followed the violence.

Women of all races, as well as Hispanic and non-Hispanic women, were about equally vulnerable to attacks by intimates. However, women in families with incomes below $10,000 per year were more likely than other women to be violently attacked by an intimate.

The data are from the Bureau of Justice Statistics' (BJS) National Crime Victimization Survey, which was redesigned two years ago to improve estimates of difficult to measure crimes, such as rape, sexual assault and domestic violence. The success of the redesign means that the numbers in this report are not directly comparable to earlier estimates.

Annually approximately 50,000 U.S. households and more than 100,000 individuals participate in the survey. The redesigned format gives additional information on rapes and sexual assaults and on domestic violence that was not previously available. Unlike the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reports, which are based solely on crimes reported to the police, the BJS survey measures crime from the victim's perspective.

Estimating rates of violence against women, especially sexual assault and other incidents committed by intimate offenders, continues to be a difficult task, the report noted.

Many factors inhibit women from reporting these crimes either to police or to government interviewers. The private nature of the event, the perceived stigma and the belief that no purpose would be served in reporting the crime keeps an unknown portion of the victims from talking about the event.

Husbands are convicted more frequently than wives for killing their spouses, according to a Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) study released today. Wives more often were acting in self-defense, the report said.

Among the defendants in the study, 59 percent were husbands and 41 percent were wives, including common-law and separated spouses, but not divorced couples.

In 44 percent of wife defendant cases, there was evidence the husband had assaulted the wife at the time of the killing. In 10 percent of husband defendant cases, evidence was present that the wife had assaulted the husband prior to the killing.

Assaulted wives were convicted (by either guilty plea or trial verdict) 56 percent of the time. The comparable conviction rate for unprovoked wives was 86 percent; for unprovoked husbands, 87 percent.

"In many instances in which wives were charged with killing their husbands, the husband had assaulted the wife, and the wife then killed in self-defense," noted one of the report's authors, Patrick A. Langan, Senior Statistician at BJS. "That might explain why wives had a lower conviction rate than did husbands."

Fifty-one percent of the husbands charged with murdering their wives were black, 45 percent were white. Sixty-one percent of the women charged with murdering their spouses were black, 39 percent were white. In 97 percent of the spouse murders, both spouses were the same race.

The likelihood of a conviction and of a prison sentence if convicted were about the same for defendants of different races. Seventy-eight percent of white defendants and 80 percent of black defendants were convicted. Among convicted defendants, 93 percent of whites and 88 percent of blacks were sentenced to prison.

The arrest charge in over two-thirds of the cases was first-degree murder, but in over half the convictions, the offense was negligent or non-negligent manslaughter.

About 66 percent of the husbands who killed their wives had been drinking, compared to 37 percent of the wives. Twenty-two percent of the husband defendants had been using drugs, compared to 3 percent of the wife defendants.

Eleven percent of the husbands who killed their wives had a history of mental illness, compared to 15 percent of the female defendants.

Fifty percent of the husbands used a firearm, compared to 58 percent of the wives. Nineteen percent of the husbands used a knife, compared to 37 percent of the wives.

Three percent of the husbands and 6 percent of the wives were charged with contract killings.

Of all the spouse murders sampled and disposed of for this study, 13 percent were not prosecuted, 43 percent were concluded with guilty pleas, 37 ended in trial convictions and 7 percent resulted in acquittals.

The study, "Spouse Murder Defendants in Large Urban Counties" (NCJ-153256), was based upon a systematic sample of cases disposed of during 1988 in the 75 most populous counties, which account for a little more than half of murders in the nation's 3,100 counties. Consequently, survey results summarized in this report are from the courts where the majority of the nation's murder trials are held. This case processing study is the most geographically comprehensive study on the topic.

"Although the survey covers murder cases processed seven years ago," Langan noted, "BJS knows from long experience with surveying courts that changes in case processing are quite gradual. The report's results are, therefore, likely to be applicable today."