January 1, 2005    NCJ 207447

Describes the case processing of defendants in the Federal criminal justice system. The report includes the number and disposition of suspects investigated by U.S. attorneys, the number of arrests for Federal offenses, the number of defendants in cases filed in U.S. district courts, sanctions imposed on criminal defendants, the number of persons under Federal correctional supervision (probation, parole, supervised release, and incarceration), and trends in annual Federal criminal case processing. This annual report is available as a web only document.

Highlights:

• Between 1994 and 2002, investigations initiated by U.S. attorneys have increased 25% — from 99,251 to 124,335. Investigations for immigration violations increased from 5,526 to 16,699; for drug offenses, investigations increased from 29,311 to 38,150.
• During 2002 criminal cases involving 80,424 defendants were concluded in U.S. district court. Of these, 89% were convicted. Almost all (96%) of those convicted pleaded guilty or no contest.
• U.S. attorneys declined to prosecute a smaller proportion of those investigated, as declinations of matters concluded decreased from 36% during 1994 to 27% during 2002.

Part of the Federal Criminal Case Processing, with Reconciled Data Series

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