THIS REPORT IS AN OUTGROWTH OF A 1975 STUDY OF ADULT BURGLARY/ROBBERY ARRESTS AND THEIR PROCESSING IN SIX COUNTIES. SINCE 33.2 PERCENT OF THESE ARRESTS ENDED IN DISMISSAL, IT WAS DECIDED TO ANALYZE THESE DISMISSALS IN SOME DETAIL. TO DO THIS, INDIVIDUAL PROSECUTING ATTORNEYS WERE INTERVIEWED CONCERNING THE PRECISE FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO EACH DISMISSAL. OF THE 455 ADULT ARRESTS FOR BURGLARY/ROBBERY, 151 WERE DISMISSED, AND OF THESE, PROSECUTORS HAD DETAILED MEMORY OF 125 CASES. THE 26 UNRECALLED CASES ARE INCLUDED IN THE STUDY, BUT ARE PLACED IN A SEPARATE CATEGORY. IT WAS FOUND THAT OF THOSE SUSPECTS WHO HAD THEIR CASES DISMISSED, 36.4 PERCENT HAD FELONY REARRESTS, AS COMPARED TO A FELONY REARREST RATE OF 16.5 PERCENT AMONG THOSE CONVICTED DURING THE SAME ARREST PERIOD. OF THOSE INDIVIDUALS WHOSE CASES INVOLVED PLEA BARGAINING, 75 PERCENT WERE REARRESTED SUBSEQUENTLY ON ONE OR MORE FELONY CHARGES. RECIDIVISTS (THOSE WITH FELONY REARRESTS) WERE REARRESTED AT AN AVERAGE RATE OF 1.6 TIMES AND CHARGED WITH AN AVERAGE OF 2.5 FELONY OFFENSES, WITH 41.4 PERCENT OF THESE SUBSEQUENT OFFENSES INVOLVING ROBBERY OR BURGLARY. PROSECUTORS DESCRIBED 36.8 PERCENT OF KNOWN DISMISSAL CAUSES AS INVOLVING INHERENT, EVEN 'HEALTHY' ASPECTS OF A DEMOCRATIC CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM. WITNESS PROBLEMS CONSTITUTED OVER 19 PERCENT OF ALL KNOWN DISMISSAL CAUSES. PROSECUTORS STATED THAT SOME WITNESS PROBLEMS WERE UNAVOIDABLE, SUCH AS WHEN A WITNESS WAS FOUND TO BE UNRELIABLE. OTHER DISMISSALS INVOLVING WITNESS PROBLEMS, HOWEVER, GENERATED A 75 PERCENT RECIDIVISM RATE AND ARE DEEMED TO MERIT CAREFUL ANALYSIS BY THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM. ALL DATA FROM THE STUDY ARE INCLUDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED--RCB)