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APRI Highlights - Summer 2002
Local Prosecutors: Numbers Matter
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Chief Administrator, American Prosecutors Research Institute
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Recent statistics indicate that state and local prosecutors are working harder than ever. Findings and data from the Department of Justice, particularly the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), provide valuable insights into crime and the nation’s justice system.
Justice Expenditures are Mostly Local. BJS reports that justice expenditures and employment continue to increase, verifying that justice is primarily a local responsibility. In 1999, America spent a record $147 billion for law enforcement, corrections, and judicial and legal activities. Local governments pay 51 percent ($74.8 billion) of justice system expenses; states pay another 34 percent; and federal government pays 15 percent.
Justice Employees are Mostly Local. The number of justice employees nationally grew by 72 percent between 1982 and 1999—reaching 2.2 million. Local governments employed about 59 percent of the nation’s justice system personnel (1.3 million employees). State and local governments together employed over 91 percent of all justice system workers. In 2001, the total number of personnel in prosecutors’ offices was 79,436, with an average of 10 assistant prosecutors per office and a median staff total of 10.
Justice Work is Mostly Local. BJS and FBI data reveal that the vast majority of criminal arrests and prosecutions are performed at the state and local levels. For example, 99 percent of violent crimes and 98 percent of drug crimes are handled locally. State and local prosecutors annually close more than 2.3 million felony cases and almost seven million misdemeanor cases. Half of all offices closed 250 or more felony cases in 2001.
Prosecution is Changing. The proportion of offices with full-time chief prosecutors increased during the past decade from 53 percent to 77 percent, for a total of 2,341 full-time local prosecutors. In 2001, prosecutors’ offices reported the following practices: two-thirds used DNA evidence in negotiations or felony trials (up from one-half in 1996); 42 percent brought charges for computer-related crimes; 30 percent prosecuted child pornography cases; and 23 percent assigned prosecutors to handle community-related activities. One-third of large prosecutors’ offices reported problems in recruiting and keeping staff attorneys, while 81 percent of these offices experienced work-related threats or assaults against staff members.
In summary, more than 95 percent of the nation’s crime is handled locally, and recent data show substantial increases in the staffing levels, expenses and work demands of prosecutors’ offices. Accordingly, the need for APRI training, assistance and research is also increasing. Please continue to inform us of your priorities and ways that we can assist you in serving your communities. l
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