TY - JOUR
T1 - “Extremely Creepy, but Nothing he did was Illegal”
T2 - Charging Patterns During Prearrest Screening
AU - Lowrey-Kinberg, Belén
AU - Bowman, Rachel
AU - Gould, Jon
N1 - Funding Information:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was funded by the Deason Criminal Justice Reform Center.
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2022.
PY - 2022/12
Y1 - 2022/12
N2 - We examine an approach to case screening where prosecutors screen requests for charges before a felony arrest is made. In 2016, Franklin County prosecutors declined to authorize arrests in 17.5% of felony cases. Declination rates, however, varied widely between offense types. Prosecutors most commonly did not authorize an arrest due to insufficient evidence, no crime having occurred, or follow-up needed. Among other findings, the cases of Black defendants, as compared to White defendants, were more likely to be declined due to insufficient evidence and additional follow-up needed. We conclude that prearrest screening by prosecutors can filter out weak cases early, increasing efficiency for the prosecutor’s office, saving the government money, and minimizing the impact of a “bad” arrest on a defendant.
AB - We examine an approach to case screening where prosecutors screen requests for charges before a felony arrest is made. In 2016, Franklin County prosecutors declined to authorize arrests in 17.5% of felony cases. Declination rates, however, varied widely between offense types. Prosecutors most commonly did not authorize an arrest due to insufficient evidence, no crime having occurred, or follow-up needed. Among other findings, the cases of Black defendants, as compared to White defendants, were more likely to be declined due to insufficient evidence and additional follow-up needed. We conclude that prearrest screening by prosecutors can filter out weak cases early, increasing efficiency for the prosecutor’s office, saving the government money, and minimizing the impact of a “bad” arrest on a defendant.
KW - charging decision
KW - felony screening
KW - prosecution
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85131557346&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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U2 - 10.1177/08874034221099604
DO - 10.1177/08874034221099604
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85131557346
SN - 0887-4034
VL - 33
SP - 918
EP - 942
JO - Criminal Justice Policy Review
JF - Criminal Justice Policy Review
IS - 9
ER -