The section on the characteristics of the criminal justice systems presents such data as the number and types of criminal justice agencies and employees, criminal justice expenditures, and workload of agency personnel. It also includes tables that summarize, State-by-State, the statutory, regulatory, or administrative characteristics and practices of criminal justice agencies. The section on public attitudes toward crime and criminal justice-related topics presents the results of nationwide public opinion polls on such matters as fear of victimization, the death penalty, prison reform, and gun control. The section on the nature and distribution of known offenses presents data on several indicators of the extent of illegal activities. The section on the characteristics and distribution of persons arrested includes counts of arrestees by age, sex, race, and area; proportions of known crimes cleared by arrests; and counts of illegal goods seized. The section on the judicial processing of defendants contains data on the number of juveniles and adults processed through the courts and on the characteristics, dispositions, and sentences of defendants. Data on persons under correctional supervision cover persons on probation and parole, the population and movement of inmates in State and Federal prisons, and characteristics of State prison inmates.