In 2023, the District of Columbia had the highest reported violent crime rate in the United States, with 1,150.9 violent crimes per 100,000 of the population. Maine had the lowest reported violent crime rate, with 102.5 offenses per 100,000 of the population. Life in the District The District of Columbia has seen a fluctuating population over the past few decades. Its population decreased throughout the 1990s, when its crime rate was at its peak, but has been steadily recovering since then. While unemployment in the District has also been falling, it still has had a high poverty rate in recent years. The gentrification of certain areas within Washington, D.C. over the past few years has made the contrast between rich and poor even greater and is also pushing crime out into the Maryland and Virginia suburbs around the District. Law enforcement in the U.S. Crime in the U.S. is trending downwards compared to years past, despite Americans feeling that crime is a problem in their country. In addition, the number of full-time law enforcement officers in the U.S. has increased recently, who, in keeping with the lower rate of crime, have also made fewer arrests than in years past.

These data are part of NACJD's Fast Track Release and are distributed as they there received from the data depositor. The files have been zipped by NACJD for release, but not checked or processed except of the removal of direct identifiers. Users should refer to the accompany readme file for a brief description of the files available with this collections and consult the investigator(s) if further information is needed.The purpose of the study was to: Describe the prosecution and sentencing histories for domestic violence and other offenses;Determine the severity gap in prosecution and sentencing between these domestic violence and non-domestic violence over a six year period; andTo answer whether the variation in prosecution and sentencing severity predicts being subsequently charged for domestic violence in the future.Rhode Island was selected as the study site because it has a high domestic violence arrest rate and specifically distinguishes domestic violence from non-domestic violence offenses based on the relationships of the parties, not by specific type of crime. Further, Rhode Island's judiciary maintains a public web-based database, called CourtConnect, that includes an index of defendants by name and date of birth and lists all arrests followed by prosecution and court actions through final sentence. The criminal history information includes all charges filed in any Rhode Island court for the last 25 years. Two researchers independently coded offender data (Differential Sentencing Data - Persons, n=982) available on CourtConnect. Coders then determined whether the defendants were prosecuted for the charges brought against them (Differential Sentencing Data - Offenses, n=6,649). Offenses that were not prosecuted were differentiated from offenses that were prosecuted. Each charge was classified as domestic violence or non-domestic violence as defined by state statute.

Abstract (en): This data collection investigates the effectiveness of alternative approaches to reducing delays in criminal appeals. Interviews were conducted with court representatives from districts employing differing alternatives. These districts and approaches are (1) case management in the Illinois Appellate Court, Fourth District, in Springfield, (2) staff screening for submission without oral argument in the California Court of Appeals, Third District, in Sacramento, and (3) fast-tracking procedures in the Rhode Island Supreme Court. Parallel interviews were conducted in public defenders' offices in three additional locations: Colorado, the District of Columbia, and Minnesota. Questions focused on the backlogs courts were facing, the reasons for the backlogs, and the consequences. Participants were asked about the fairness and possible consequences of procedures employed by their courts and other courts in this study. Case data were acquired from court records of the Springfield, Sacramento, and Rhode Island courts. Justice Resources conducted this study in response to the growing caseload backlog in state criminal appellate courts. The criminal appeals process is a vital feature of the legal system because it challenges lower court convictions, thereby further ensuring due process. Recently the volume of appeals has been increasing at a much higher rate than crime, arrests, and prosecutions. Criminal appellate courts have been forced to modify their procedures in response to increasing caseloads. Since very little was known about these modified procedures, this study was conducted to examine three alternatives that have become settled policy in the courts that employ them. The purpose of the study was to clarify problems with such procedures and to gauge the prospects for further successful appellate reform. A procedure called "case management," used in the Illinois Appellate Court, Fourth District, in Springfield was chosen as a subject for this study. With this process, every appeal was given an achievable time frame. Deadlines were made clear in a scheduling order which was strictly enforced. Also selected was the California Court of Appeals, Third District, in Sacramento for its procedure of "staff screening for submission without oral argument." This process was meant to reduce the amount of time spent on nonargued appeals. Time prior to briefing was not affected. Each case was reviewed by a three-judge panel which recommended a waiver of argument if it felt argument was not necessary. If argument was waived, the appeal was simply submitted to the same panel for decision. All other cases were tried on a regular argument calendar. The Rhode Island Supreme Court was selected because it employed "fast-tracking procedures," which focused on cases that did not require full briefing. Cases that did not require full briefing were identified by individual justices. After counsel was consulted, these cases were put on a "show-cause" calendar. These cases were submitted for decision with limited written statements and argument on a motions calendar. The other cases proceeded with briefing and argument in a normal fashion. Participants from each court were interviewed, and case data were collected from their court records. Interviews were conducted with judges, attorneys, court clerks, and other court staff from the California Court of Appeals, Third District, in Sacramento, the Illinois Appellate Court, Third District, in Springfield, and the Rhode Island Supreme Court. Letters were sent to each of these courts requesting interviews. Interviews were then conducted in person and lasted 45 minutes to an hour. Twenty individuals were interviewed from the Rhode Island Supreme Court, 69 from the court in Sacramento, and 38 from the Springfield court, yielding a total of 127 individuals. Case data were collected from court records in each of these courts. A total of 1,059 cases were chosen, 138 from Rhode Island, 587 from Sacramento, and 334 from Illinois. Interviews covered opinions concerning the alternative procedures as they affected the quality of justice, the amount of time these procedures saved, and the possible benefits and deficiencies of modified appeals processes. Case data variables include the dates upon which various steps of the appeals process were completed, decisions and outcomes of cases, and length of briefs filed for individual appeals. ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered w...