Two categories of criminal cases increased more than 100 percent over the past 20 years. Felony assault or attempted\murder cases increased 138 percent (from 12,452 to 29,669 cases). Felony and misdemeanor drug offense cases increased 116 percent (from 62,872 to 135,787 cases); however, the number of cases filed each year generally declined from 2007 to 2011.It's hard to say whether the increase in "felony assault or attempted murder" charges stemmed from greater violence - which runs against other reported trends including DPS data and crime victim surveys - or harsher charging decisions by Texas prosecutors than in years past, which could also explain the data. But the 116% increase in drug cases speaks for itself, as does the 85% increase in "other" crimes, which is code for the hundreds of specialty "enhancements" that have been added to the criminal code over the years, but don't really seem to fit into traditional crime categories. In any event, I thought I'd share those interesting snippets.
“Other felonies” increased by 85 percent over the same period (from 26,472 to 48,849 cases).
Friday, October 26, 2012
Texas drug prosecutions increased 116% over past 20 years
In an era of generally declining crime, this data-driven perspective on the sources of increasing incarceration was offered in the Office of Court Administration's latest annual statistical report for FY 2011 (pdf, p. 37):
What's the over/under for bills proposing new crimes/enhancements once the newly elected members of the Lege get going? I'm going with 112.
ReplyDeleteThe number of new crimes and enhancements filed, or passed, 3:31? This far out, just as a guesstimate, I'd put the tentative over-under at 250 for the former and 60 for the latter.
ReplyDeleteI was arrested for drugs and then passed the drug test. My dealer has a lot of explaining to do.
ReplyDeleteTexas's population increased 48% between 1990 and 2010, which would account for a significant portion of the trend.
ReplyDeleteConcerning the population increase being the cause of the rise in drug arrests,,possibly some increase because of population fluctuation but those dates also signal about the time the ONDCP started giving Law Enforcement federal grants(bounty) for drug law enforcement,,if I recall correctly.
ReplyDelete4:11: If population growth was 48% during that period and drug arrests rose 116%, then arrests grew at more than twice the rate of population.
ReplyDeleteI would suspect that harsher prosecution is a big contributor. However, no one will ever be able to ascertain this based on data. For some reason the lege just doesn't have the huevos rancheros to force prosecutors to report significant data.
ReplyDeleteTo: Anonymous 04:05:00 PM
ReplyDelete"I was arrested for drugs and then passed the drug test. My dealer has a lot of explaining to do."
Your "dealer" may have been an undercover cop !!
How about the explosion of Meth availability and its highly addictive nature?
ReplyDeleteGrits said........ as does the 85% increase in "other" crimes, which is code for the hundreds of specialty "enhancements"
ReplyDeleteDo you know that for certainty?
Never mind, the report defined "other felonies" as a felony offense clearly identifiable as belonging in one of the preceding categories, including cases previously categorized as forgery.
ReplyDeleteHas nothing to do with "enhancements." Enhancements are not a crime but rather used for range of punishment purposes.
What that tells me is these cases meet the same definition that are reported on the UCR as Part II crimes with the exception of drug abuse, drug posession violations and felony DWI which are Part II crimes as well but were singled out by the OCA in this report on their own and not listed as other felonies.
A greater percentage of these drug charges are probably less than 1 gram possession (state jail felony).
7:17, I can't tell what in the world you're talking about and don't believe you know, either. The OCA, TDCJ, etc. in statistical reports divide felonies up as drug, property, violent, and "other," with "other" as the catch all. That's where felonies like misrepresenting the size of a fish get categorized, which was my reference to the hundreds of specialty enhancements and boutique criminal penalty bills passed by the Lege over the years. I can't tell what you're talking about or what you think is wrong with what was written here.
ReplyDelete