DOI: 10.3886/icpsr06374
title: Evaluating the Incapacitative Benefits of Incarcerating Drug Offenders in Los Angeles and Maricopa [Arizona] Counties, 1986 and 1990
title: Archival Version

description: The objective of this study was to examine the observable
 offending patterns of recent and past drug offenders to assess the
 crime control potential associated with recent increases in the
 incarceration of drug offenders. The periods examined were 1986
 (representing the second half of the 1980s, when dramatic shifts
 toward increasing incarceration of drug offenders first became
 evident), and 1990 (after escalating sentences were well under way).
 Convicted offenders were the focus, since these cases are most
 directly affected by changes in imprisonment policies, particularly
 provisions for mandatory prison terms. Offending patterns of convicted
 and imprisoned drug offenders were contrasted to patterns of convicted
 robbers and burglars, both in and out of prison. The researchers used
 data from the National Judicial Reporting Program (NJRP), sponsored by
 the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS),
 for information on the court processing of individual felony
 convictions. The National Association of Criminal Justice Planners
 (NACJP), which maintains data for the approximately 50 counties
 included in the NJRP, was contracted to determine the counties to be
 sampled (Los Angeles County and Maricopa County in Arizona were
 chosen) and to provide individual criminal histories. Variables
 include number of arrests for robbery, violent crimes, property
 crimes, and other felonies, number of drug arrests, number of
 misdemeanor arrests, rate of violent, property, robbery, weapons,
 other felony, drug, and misdemeanor arrests, offense type (drug
 trafficking, drug possession, robbery, and burglary), total number of
 incarcerations, total number of convictions, whether sentenced to
 prison, jail, or probation, incarceration sentence in months, sex,
 race, and age at sampled conviction, and age at first arrest (starting
at age 17).
description: Since the mid-1980s, the number of drug offenders
 handled by local and federal criminal justice systems has grown at
 high rates. The rising numbers of drug offenders have contributed
 substantially to the total increase in incarceration in the United
 States. The objective of this study was to examine the offending
 patterns of recent and past drug offenders to assess the crime control
 potential associated with recent increases in the incarceration of
 drug offenders. Specifically, three comparisons were made: (1)
 differences over time, (2) differences by sanction imposed, and (3)
 differences among offenders convicted of different offense
 types. Assuming an equilibrium in offending rates, the research sought
 to identify observable differences in offending among various
 samples. The periods of interest focused on the second half of the
 1980s, when dramatic shifts toward increasing incarceration of drug
 offenders first became evident, compared to a later time period after
escalating sentences were well under way.
description: Convicted offenders were the focus of the study,
 since these cases are most directly affected by changes in
 imprisonment policies, particularly provisions for mandatory prison
 terms. Offending patterns of convicted and imprisoned drug offenders
 were contrasted with patterns of convicted robbers and burglars, both
 in and out of prison. The researchers used data from the National
 Judicial Reporting Program (NJRP), sponsored by the U.S. Department of
 Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), for information on the
 court processing of individual felony convictions. NJRP permits
 systematic comparisons of changes over time in the prosecution,
 conviction, and sentencing of felony defendants. Data on convicted
 offenders were derived from counties participating in the NJRP in
 1986, before the rise in incarceration of drug offenders, and again in
 1990, the first available year after the sharp rise in drug
 incarceration rates. However, because the Bureau of the Census, which
 collects the NJRP sample for BJS, places restrictions on access to
 individual-level data, the National Association of Criminal Justice
 Planners (NACJP), which maintains data for the approximately 50
 counties included in the NJRP, was contracted to provide individual
criminal histories.
description: Variables include number of arrests for robbery,
 violent crimes, property crimes, and other felonies, number of drug
 arrests, number of misdemeanor arrests, rate of violent, property,
 robbery, weapons, other felony, drug, and misdemeanor arrests, offense
 type (drug trafficking, drug possession, robbery, and burglary), total
 number of incarcerations, total number of convictions, whether
 sentenced to prison, jail, or probation, incarceration sentence in
 months, sex, race, and age at sampled conviction, and age at first
arrest (starting at age 17).
description: Response Rates: Not applicable.
description: Presence of Common Scales: None.
description: Counties from the 1986 NJRP were selected based primarily
 on concerns about sample size and likely access to criminal records
data.
description: Datasets: 
DS0: Study-Level Files
DS1: 1986 Maricopa County Data
DS2: 1990 Maricopa County Data
DS3: 1986 Los Angeles County Data
DS4: 1990 Los Angeles County Data
description: All convicted and imprisoned drug offenders in the United
States.
description: The codebook is provided by ICPSR as a Portable
 Document Format (PDF) file. The PDF file format was developed by Adobe
 Systems Incorporated and can be accessed using PDF reader software,
 such as the Adobe Acrobat Reader. Information on how to obtain a copy
of the Acrobat Reader is provided on the ICPSR Web site.