ABA Report Outlines Trends in Criminal Justice

WASHINGTON, D.C., March 28, 2007 – A new report from the American Bar Association Section of Criminal Justice pulls together data from around the country to reveal trends in the system. How are women’s roles in violent crime changing? What steps are some states taking in efforts to utilize the newest DNA technologies? How do losses from cybercrime compare with losses from physical crime?

The State of Criminal Justice, 2006 addresses these topics and more, including alternative sentencing and prisoner re-entry, parallel proceedings, international anti-cartel enforcement, the death penalty, and minority and juvenile crime.

The report marks the return of an annual review of the criminal justice system compiled by the ABA’s Criminal Justice Section. The views expressed in the report represent the opinions of the authors and editors. They have not been approved by the House of Delegates or the Board of Governors and do not represent association policy.

The report reveals greater utilization of DNA evidence not only to convict the guilty but also to free the innocent. While proposals for a universal DNA database are still being debated, several states have taken the initiative to collect DNA from all arrested individuals, and the Justice Department is preparing rules that would mandate collection of DNA from most people arrested or detained by federal authorities.

The ABA report also notes that some estimates are that losses due to cybercrime now exceed the costs of physical crime. The future will likely bring increased use of undercover online investigations, as well as more prosecution of complex cases involving high technology.

There has been a significant drop in the number of death penalties in recent years, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. The State of Criminal Justice reports that among the likely reasons is “increased awareness that the sentence of life without parole really means without any possibility of parole.” Further, the document states, the international trend away from capital punishment has continued.

The dramatic increase of women within the criminal justice system means that two issues must be addressed. First, women must have access to similar programs to which men are currently entitled, such as community-based programs and educational programs. But programs specific to women must also be in place, such as health services.

Finally, the report includes a synopsis of Supreme Court cases during the 2005-2006 term related to criminal justice.

The report is available online at http://www.abanet.org/abastore/index.cfm?fm=Product.AddToCart&pid=5090106

With more than 413,000 members, the American Bar Association is the largest voluntary professional membership organization in the world. As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law in a democratic society.