This report describes the Bureau of Justice Statistics' (BJS) efforts to determine whether it is possible to gather reliable national data on misdemeanor charges filed in state, county, and municipal courts?currently a substantial gap in criminal justice statistics. BJS undertook a feasibility study in this area in response to a report from the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations that expressed concern for the lack of reliable data on the processing of misdemeanor arrests and urged BJS to collect the data. The congressional report urged BJS to collect demographic data of misdemeanor defendants, the type of offense charged, and the sentence imposed from a select number of large metropolitan jurisdictions. BJS will use the findings of this study to help determine whether a more extensive data collection effort would yield national estimates.
Data on Adjudication of Misdemeanor Offenses: Results from a Feasibility Study (NCJ 305157) was written by Tom Rich of Abt Associates and BJS Statistician Kevin M. Scott, PhD. The report, related documents, and additional information about BJS?s statistical publications and programs are available on the BJS website at bjs.ojp.gov.
The Bureau of Justice Statistics of the U.S. Department of Justice is the principal federal agency responsible for collecting, analyzing, and disseminating reliable statistics on crime and criminal justice in the United States. Alexis R. Piquero, PhD, is the director.
For more information on BJS's publications, data collections, data analysis tools, and funding opportunities,?visit?bjs.ojp.gov.
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