Effects of Sentences on Subsequent Criminal Behavior in New Jersey, 1976-1977 (ICPSR 8986)

Version Date: May 8, 1993

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Principal Investigator(s):
Jack McCarthy; D. Randall Smith; William R. Smith

https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR08986.v2

Version V2

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Summary

This data collection examines the effects of sentencing on offenders' subsequent criminal behaviors. The data address the following questions: (1) At what point in the criminal career is the criminal career interrupted or halted by the criminal justice system because the offender is "taken off the streets?" (2) How long is the criminal career interrupted as a result of intervention from the criminal justice system? (3) How significant are the effects of past criminal behavior, as opposed to offender characteristics, such as education, employment history, or drug use, on criminal behavior subsequent to sentencing? (4) How do the effects of sentencing differ among offenders according to background, criminal history, and offense? Special characteristics of the collection include detailed information on the demographic and psychological background of defendants, a description of the offenses and the victims, and criminal recidivism information for adult defendants. More specifically, the sentence file contains data on the defendant's family, educational background, psychological condition, social activities, financial status, employment history, substance abuse, prior and follow-up criminal records, sentence and correctional histories, and other disposition information. The event file provides data on arrest and court appearances as well as data on incarcerations, escapes, transfers, releases, paroles, and furloughs.

Citation

McCarthy, Jack, Smith, D. Randall, and Smith, William R. Effects of Sentences on Subsequent Criminal Behavior in New Jersey, 1976-1977. [distributor], 1993-05-08. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR08986.v2

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Funding

United States Department of Justice. Office of Justice Programs. National Institute of Justice (85-IJ-CX-0005)

Subject Terms

Geographic Coverage

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Time Period(s)

1976-10 -- 1977-09

Date of Collection

1985 -- 1987
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Sample

Court cases involving robbery, burglary, or drug offenses were selected for the sample.

Universe

All court cases heard in the New Jersey State Court from October 1976 to September 1977.

Data Source

(1) New Jersey Administrative Office of the Courts official records, (2) computerized criminal history files maintained by the New Jersey Department of Systems and Communication, and (3) Offender-Based Correctional Information maintained by the Department of Corrections.

Data Type(s)

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Original Release Date

1989-03-03

Version History

2018-02-15 The citation of this study may have changed due to the new version control system that has been implemented. The previous citation was:
  • McCarthy, Jack, D. Randall Smith, and William R. Smith. EFFECTS OF SENTENCES ON SUBSEQUENT CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR IN NEW JERSEY, 1976-1977. 2nd ICPSR release. Los Altos, CA: Sociometrics Corporation [producer], 1992. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 1993. http://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR08986.v2
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Notes

  • The public-use data files in this collection are available for access by the general public. Access does not require affiliation with an ICPSR member institution.

NACJD logo

This dataset is maintained and distributed by the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD), the criminal justice archive within ICPSR. NACJD is primarily sponsored by three agencies within the U.S. Department of Justice: the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.