Details

Subject(s)

• Prosecution—California—Los Angeles County—Decision making [Browse]
• Prosecution—Massachusetts—Middlesex County [Browse]
• Recidivists—California [Browse]
• Recidivists—Massachusetts [Browse]

Related name

• National Institute for Sentencing Alternatives (U.S.) [Browse]
• Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [Browse]

Series

• ICPSR (Series) ; 8980. [More in this series]
• ICPSR ; 8980

Restrictions note

Use of these data is restricted to Princeton University students, faculty, and staff for non-commercial statistical analysis and research purposes only.

Summary note

Collection of these data was undertaken in order to develop offender classification criteria that could be used to identify career criminals for priority prosecution. In addition to the crime records obtained from official sources and defendants' self-reports, information about prosecutors' discretionary judgments on sampled cases was obtained from interviews of prosecutors and case review forms completed by attorneys. Respondent and nonrespondent files, taken from official court records, contain information on current and past records of offenses committed, arrests, dispositions, sentences, parole and probation histories, substance abuse records, juvenile court appearances, criminal justice practitioners' assessments, and demographic characteristics. The prosecutor interview files contain variables relating to prosecutors' opinions on the seriousness of the defendant's case, subjective criteria used to decide suitability for prosecution, and case status at intake stage. Information obtained from prosecutors' case review forms include defendants' prior records and situational variables related to the charged offenses. The self-report files contain data on the defendants' employment histories, substance abuse and criminal records, sentence and confinement histories, and basic socioeconomic characteristics.

Notes

• Codebook available in print and electronic format.
• Title from title screen (viewed on October 5, 2005).

Type of data

Extent of collection: 9 data files + machine-readable documentation (PDF).

Time and place of event

• Date(s) of collection: 1984-1986.
• Time period: 1984-1986.

Geographic coverage

Geographic coverage: California, Massachusetts, United States.

Funding information

• Funding agency: United States Department of Justice. National Institute of Justice.
• Grant number: 84-IJ-CX-0055.

System details

• Mode of access: World Wide Web.
• Data format: card image.

Methodology note

• Data source: official court records, questionnaires, and case review forms.
• Sample: the sample was a random subset of male priority prosecuted defendants not prosecuted as career criminals but originally charged with such crimes as homicide, burglary, and robbery.
• Universe: all males prosecuted in Los Angeles County and Middlesex County for burglary, homicide, and robbery between 1984 and 1986.

Cite as

Chaiken, Marcia R. SELECTING CAREER CRIMINALS FOR PRIORITY PROSECUTION, 1984-1986: LOS ANGELES COUNTY, CALIFORNIA AND MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS [Computer file]. Waltham, MA: Brandeis University, National Institute for Sentencing Alternatives [producer], 1986. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 1988.

OCLC

1340128709

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