| BJS home page
Federal Justice Statistics, 2005 - Statistical Tables
Methodolgy
Glossary
|
Federal Justice Statistics, 2005 - Statistical Tables
Additional information about the data
The data presented are compiled from the BJS Federal Justice Statistics Program (FJSP) database. The FJSP database includes data provided by the U.S. Marshals Service, Drug Enforcement Administration, Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Executive Office for the U.S. Attorneys, Federal Bureau of Prisons, and U.S. Sentencing Commission. The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, in addition to providing data describing defendants in criminal cases processed by the Federal judiciary, provides data describing defendants processed by the Federal pretrial services agencies and the Federal probation and supervision service. The data can be downloaded from the Federal Justice Statistics Resource Center.
Each agency reports on cases processed during a given year in an annual statistical report. These reports are often incomparable across agencies due to the varying methods the agencies use to report case processing activities. As reported by an interagency working group, headed by BJS, the differences in the case processing statistics are attributable, in part, to the differing needs and missions of the agencies. The working group found the following differences in reported statistics:
- the universe of cases reported during a given period — some agencies report on those case processing events that occurred during a particular period, whereas others report on those events recorded during a particular period; and
- many of the commonly used case processing statistics — suspect/
defendant processed, offense committed, disposition, and sentence imposed — are defined differently across agencies.
BJS, through its FJSP, has recognized the incomparability of these annual statistical reports and has attempted to reconcile many of the differences identified by the working group. For instance, by combining databases from several years, BJS is able to report on those cases that actually occurred during the reporting period. Commonly used case processing statistics are made comparable across stages by applying uniform definitions to data obtained from each agency. Because definitions in the FJSP are consistent with those categories in BJS programs describing State defendants convicted, sentenced, or imprisoned, the comparison of Federal and State case processing statistics is facilitated.
Federal Justice Statistics 2005 replaces the Compendium of Federal Justice Statistics, published for the years 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004 describes defendants processed at each stage of the Federal justice system — arrest by Federal law enforcement agencies (chapter 1), investigation and prosecution by the U.S. attorneys (chapter 2), pretrial release or detention (chapter 3), adjudication in the U.S. district courts (chapter 4), sentencing (chapter 5), appeal of the conviction and/or sentence imposed (chapter 6), and corrections (chapter 7) — for the 12-month period ending September 30, 2005 (the Federal fiscal year). Prior to 1994, the Compendium was reported on a calendar-year basis.
The tables presented report events that occurred during the Federal fiscal year — October 1, 2004 - September 30, 2005. Generally, the tables include both individual and organizational defendants. Organizational defendants are not included in tables showing defendants sentenced to incarceration, or tables describing offenders under post-conviction community supervision. Juvenile offenders charged as adults are included in the reported statistics. Felony and misdemeanor distinctions are provided where possible (see "Offense classifications" in Methodology).
Organization of the Statistical Tables
Each section describes a major stage in the processing of criminal suspects and defendants:
Section 1: Arrests for Federal Offenses - describes arrests made by Federal law enforcement agencies for violations of Federal law, including the characteristics of arrestees; warrants initiated and cleared by the U.S. Marshals Service are also reported.
Section 2: Suspects Prosecuted by U.S. Attorneys
-
describes decisions made by Federal prosecutors in screening criminal matters and the characteristics of defendants in cases prosecuted or declined for prosecution.
Section 3: Federal Pretrial Release/Detention - describes the pretrial release and detention practices of the Federal judiciary, including the characteristics of defendants detained or released pending trial.
Section 4: Adjudication in U.S. Courts - describes actions by the Federal judiciary in adjudicating defendants in cases filed by the U.S. attorneys.
Section 5: Federal Sentencing - describes the sentences imposed by the Federal judiciary on convicted defendants.
Section 6: Federal Appeals - describes appeals of criminal convictions and sentences imposed in the Federal courts, including the original offense charged.
Section 7: Federal Supervision - describes defendants under Federal correctional supervision — probation, parole, and supervised release— including the outcome of the supervision (successful completion or violations).
The Methodology section describes the procedures followed in analyzing data and developing tables.
The Glossary contains definitions for terms used in the Compendium. Since many terms used in the text and tables have specialized meanings (either because they refer to Federal law or because of reporting procedures by the Federal agencies supplying the data), readers are encouraged to check the glossary for exact definitions of tabulated data.
Does not contain any text or tables describing Federal prisoners in section 7. The reason for this exclusion is that BJS did not receive 2005 data from the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Notes to reader
The tables in the Compendium were constructed to permit valid comparisons within each table and to allow the reader to compare percentages (but not raw totals) across tables. It should be understood, however, that the total number of subjects/defendants shown in a particular table may not equal the number of subjects/defendants involved in a particular stage of processing, since some records could not be linked and some data sources did not include information on particular data elements classified in a particular table. Data notes indicate the exact universe for individual tables.
The Compendium is a statistical presentation of Federal criminal justice information with limited analyses of trends or explanatory factors underlying the statistics. Analyses of Federal justice statistics may be found in special reports and other publications, some of which are cited in the Compendium. Assessment of changing patterns in the Compendium tabulations may depend on detailed examination of sub-categories not shown in the tabulations or may require other sources of information, such as knowledge of legislation or Federal agency procedures.
To the top
|
