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Offender Based Tracking System Study of Three Judicial Districts in the Commonwealth of Kentucky

NCJ Number
100806
Author(s)
G F Vito; J B Ellis
Date Published
1985
Length
67 pages
Annotation
The offender-based tracking system (OBTS) feasibility study collected and analyzed data from district court arraignment through corrections for 5,056 offenders charged with Part 1 Index crimes (murder, rape, robbery, assault, burglary, larceny-theft, arson) in 3 Kentucky judicial districts in 1982.
Abstract

Analysis of data focused on corrections policy. Results indicate that for the overall system, the dismissal rate was 37 percent, the conviction rate was 57 percent, and the rate of imprisonment was 24 percent. The majority of cases came from Jefferson County. Larceny-theft was the largest category of cases. Most murder, rape, and arson cases were handled in circuit court, and the majority of offenders were incarcerated after conviction. Robbery, assault, burglary, and larceny-theft cases were largely handled in district court, and probation was the predominant sentence. Of district court cases, 50 percent took 21 days to settle (average time, 33 days). The average circuit court case took 7 months for disposition, with 50 percent handled in 6 months or less. Recidivism rates (rearrest, reconviction, reincarceration) were 21.4 percent for shock probationers, 19 percent for felony probationers, and 13 percent for parolees. Most recidivists had committed a property crime. Overall, results indicate that the OBTS provides a capability for uniting data sets existing in various segments of the criminal justice system around a common unit of analysis, the offender.