IN ACCORDANCE WITH FLORIDA'S SUBSEQUENT OFFENDER STATUTE, A MULTIPLE OFFENDER PROJECT WAS LAUNCHED IN AUGUST 1975 TO IDENTIFY, INVESTIGATE, AND PROSECUTE RECIDIVIST FELONS AND MISDEMEANANTS. THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THIS PROJECT WAS MEASURED USING A 1975 STUDY PROVIDING BASELINE DATA FROM WHICH TO COMPARE THE PROSECUTION OF HABITUAL CRIMINALS BEFORE AND AFTER THE MULTIPLE OFFENDER PROJECT WAS INITIATED. A SAMPLE OF 81 MULTIPLE OFFENDER CASES FROM THE 1975 STUDY WAS COMPARED WITH A RANDOM SAMPLE OF 131 MULTIPLE OFFENDER CONVICTIONS REACHED IN 1977. DATA ON OFFENSE, SENTENCING, LENGTH OF PROSECUTION, PLEA BARGAINING AND SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES WERE GATHERED FOR BOTH SAMPLES. ANNUAL STATISTICS COMPILED BY THE FOUR FELONY DIVISIONS FOR 1977 WERE USED TO COMPARE THE PROSECUTION OF NONMULTIPLE OFFENDERS. TABLES COMPARING MULTIPLE OFFENDERS WITH NONMULTIPLE OFFENDERS IN 1974 AND 1977 COVER THE NUMBER OF COUNTS PLED TO OR CONVICTED OF LESSER CHARGES FOR SPECIFIC OFFENSES BEFORE AND AFTER THE INCEPTION OF THE MULTIPLE OFFENDER PROJECT, THE NUMBER OF DAYS FROM ARREST TO PLEA OR CONVICTION FOR SPECIFIC OFFENSES BEFORE AND AFTER THE INCEPTION OF THE MULTIPLE OFFENDER PROJECT, MULTIPLE OFFENDER SENTENCES AND INCARCERATION FOR THE 1974 AND 1977 SAMPLES, INSTITUTIONAL SENTENCES PER COUNT FOR THREE PREVALENT OFFENSES BEFORE AND AFTER THE INCEPTION OF THE MULTIPLE OFFENDER PROJECT, AND NUMBER OF COUNTS, FOR SPECIFIC OFFENSES BEFORE AND AFTER THE MULTIPLE OFFENDER PROJECT WHICH RESULTED IN PROBATIONARY SENTENCES. THERE IS ALSO A 4-YEAR COMPARISON OF STATISTICS ON BURGLARY AND LARCENY. IT WAS FOUND THAT THE MULTIPLE OFFENDER PROJECT PROSECUTED IDENTIFIED MULTIPLE OFFENDERS TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW, THAT THE AVERAGE INSTITUTIONAL SENTENCE WAS APPROXIMATELY 2 YEARS LONGER THAN BEFORE THE PROJECT, AND THAT 56 PERCENT OF THE 1974 OFFENDERS SERVED INSTITUTIONAL SENTENCES AS CONTRASTED WITH 91 PERCENT OF THE 1977 OFFENDERS. A FOLLOWUP WAS PLANNED AT THE TIME THE STUDY WAS TERMINATED. (FCW)