From: [n--l--n] at [r-node.hub.org] (Nigel Allen) Subject: Drug Crimes Are Growing Share of State Felony Convictions Date: Tue, 30 Mar 1993 09:41:06 GMT Here is a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice. Drug Crimes Are Growing Share of State Felony Convictions To: National Desk Contact: Stu Smith of the Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, 202-307-0784 (office) or 301-983-9354 (after hours) WASHINGTON, March 28 -- Approximately 168,000 men and women were convicted of trafficking in illegal drugs in state felony courts during 1990 -- more than twice the number convicted in 1986, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) announced today. The bureau, a Department of Justice agency, said about 49 percent of the convicted drug-trafficking violators were sent to a state prison, compared to an estimated 37 percent in 1986. An additional 106,253 people were convicted of possessing illegal drugs during 1990. "BJS estimates that total state court convictions on all felony charges throughout the U.S. grew 42 percent in the four-year period, reaching 829,000 convictions in 1990," said BJS Acting Director Lawrence A. Greenfeld. "About 92,000 more people were convicted of felony drug trafficking during 1990 than during 1986. This accounted for 37 percent of the total increase in felony convictions nationwide. In 1990 drug trafficking convictions comprised 20 percent of all state felony convictions, compared to 13 percent in 1986." The estimated percentages of 1990 state court felony convictions across the country by various crime types were as follows: Violent crimes . . . . . . . . . 17.8 percent Murder and manslaughter . . 1.3 Rape . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2 Robbery . . . . . . . . . . 5.7 Aggravated assault . . . . . 6.5 Other violent crimes* . . . 2.1 Property crimes . . . . . . . . 33.9 Burglary . . . . . . . . . . 13.2 Larceny . . . . . . . . . . 13.6 Fraud and forgery . . . . . 7.0 Drug offenses . . . . . . . . . 33.1 Possession . . . . . . . . 12.8 Trafficking. . . . . . . . 20.3 Weapons offenses . . . . . . . . 2.5 Other non-violent crimes* . . . 12.7 * Other violent crimes include negligent manslaughter, sexual assault and kidnapping. Other non-violent crimes include receiving stolen property and drunk driving. During 1990 state courts sentenced 46 percent of the convicted felons to a state prison, 25 percent to a local jail (usually for a year or less) and the remaining 29 percent to straight probation without jail or prison time. Of those convicted of murder or non-negligent manslaughter, 91 percent were sent to prison, 4 percent to jail and 5 percent to straight probation. Among those convicted of murder (not including non-negligent manslaughter), 31 percent were sentenced to life in prison, and 2.2 percent were sentenced to death. Of those convicted of rape, 67 percent were sent to prison, 19 percent to jail and 14 percent to straight probation. The survey included a special study of state court activity in large urban counties with populations exceeding 600,000 inhabitants. In such jurisdictions there was a 61 percent increase in felony convictions during the 1986-1990 period, averaging 15 percent a year, BJS noted. Convictions in all offense categories grew, but drug-trafficking convictions increased the most -- by 128 percent, or 32 percent annually. The demographic characteristics of people convicted of felonies during 1990 in state courts by percent were as follows: Male . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 percent Female . . . . . . . . . . . 14 White . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Black . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Other . . . . . . . . . . . 1 By age group in years: 13-19 . . . . . . . . . . . 10 percent 20-29 . . . . . . . . . . . 48 30-39 . . . . . . . . . . . 30 40-49 . . . . . . . . . . . 9 50-59 . . . . . . . . . . . 2 60 and older . . . . . . . 1 About 752,000 people, or 91 percent of those sentenced for a felony offense during 1990, pleaded guilty. The rest were found guilty by a judge or jury. Defendants convicted of murder were the most likely to have had jury trials and the least likely to have pleaded guilty. The 1990 survey was conducted in 300 counties (or about 10 percent of the nation's 3,109 counties) selected to be representative of the whole country. Included were the District of Columbia and at least one county from each state except, by chance, Vermont. The survey excluded federal courts and those state or local courts that do not handle felonies. Federal courts convicted 36,686 people of felonies during 1990, or 4 percent of the combined state and federal case load. Single copies of the BJS report, "Felony Sentences in State Courts, 1990" (NCJ-140186) as well as other BJS statistical information and publications may be obtained from the National Criminal Justice Reference Service, Box 6000, Rockville, Md. 20850. The telephone number is 1-800-732-3277. ------ Editors: Data from the tables and graphs used in many BJS reports can be made available to news organizations in spreadsheet files on 5" and 3+" diskettes by calling 202-307-0784. For additional information and statistics on drugs and crime issues contact BJS's Drugs & Crime Data Center & Clearinghouse on 1-800-666-3332. Data utilized in this report are available from the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data at the University of Michigan, P.O. Box 1248, Ann Arbor, Mich. 48106. The toll-free telephone number is 1-800-999-0960. The data set is archived as the National Judicial Reporting Program, 1990 (ICPSR 6038). -30- -- Nigel Allen, Toronto, Ontario, Canada [n--l--n] at [r-node.hub.org]