Criminal Justice Statistics for Major Cities

August 17, 2001

The Honorable Eleanor Holmes Norton
Ranking Minority Member
Subcommittee on the District of Columbia
Committee on Government Reform
House of Representatives

Subject: Criminal Justice Statistics for Washington, D.C., and Other Major Cities

Dear Ms. Norton:

On July 20, 2001, we testified at an oversight hearing which focused on prisoner releases and reintegration programs held by the Subcommittee on the District of Columbia, House Committee on Government Reform. Among other matters, we testified that the District, a wholly urban jurisdiction, was perhaps facing greater challenges than most jurisdictions. We noted, for instance, that Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) data as of December 31, 1999, indicated that the District of Columbia's incarceration rate was higher than the rate for either Louisiana or Texas, the jurisdictions with the next highest rates. Also, we noted that a National Institute of Justice (NIJ) report on arrests in urban areas indicated that a high percentage of adult males arrested in the District in 1999 tested positive for at least one type of drug.

Regarding incarceration rates, you commented that it was inappropriate to compare the District with states. You requested that we provide you, within 30 days, statistics comparing Washington, D.C., with other major cities. More specifically, you asked us to compare cities based on incarceration rates and any other relevant category of criminal justice statistics that we presented in our July 20th testimony. To respond to your request, we contacted researchers in academia and at BJS and NIJ to discuss incarceration rates, and we further analyzed NIJs report on arrestee drug testing. According to the researchers we contacted, incarceration rates are mainly applicable for comparing states and are not available for comparing cities. Rather, the researchers noted that Crime Index data compiled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in its Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program generally are the most useful criminal justice statistics for comparing major cities, particularly in reference to public safety issues. Thus, we are presenting Crime Index data in this letter. Also, regarding drug testing of arrestees, we are presenting data for all of the applicable urban sites covered in NIJs report.