U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Trends and Issues in Pennsylvania's Criminal Justice System

NCJ Number
153710
Date Published
1995
Length
68 pages
Annotation
Trend and issue analysis of major components of Pennsylvania's criminal justice system (law enforcement, courts, and corrections) indicates that the total number of crimes reported to the police remained stable over the past decade at about 900,000 per year.
Abstract
From 1980 to 1992, the number of property crimes decreased by 16 percent, the number of violent crimes increased by 16 percent, and drug and DUI (driving under the influence) offenses more than doubled. Violent crimes accounted for about 13 percent of all crimes in 1992. During 1992, 81 percent of arrestees and 58 percent of all crime victims were males; 72 percent of arrestees and 84 percent of victims were white. Conviction rates increased from 37 percent of all criminal cases processed in 1980 to 61 percent of cases processed during 1992. Incarceration rates almost doubled between 1980 and 1992, from 32 percent of convicted cases in 1980 to 61 percent of convicted cases in 1992. Among convicted offenders sentenced to incarceration, about 70 percent were confined in county jails and 30 percent in the State correctional system. Sentenced prisoner admissions to county jails rose by 62 percent between 1986 and 1992. The number of court commitments received in the State correctional system increased by 56 percent between 1986 and 1992. The number of drug offenders committed annually to the State correctional system increased tenfold between 1980 and 1992. The State correctional system population tripled and the county jail population doubled over the 12-year period. At the end of 1992, the State correctional system was at 150 percent capacity with 24,990 inmates. County jails were at 143 percent capacity with 18,852 inmates. Issues of significance in Pennsylvania's criminal justice system are discussed, including violent crime and age, race and crime, guns and crime, and correctional population growth. Supplemental crime and arrest data are are appended. References, footnotes, tables, and figures