A NYC Cross-Borough Comparison of Prosecution Outcomes

• In Event: How Courtroom Actors Do Their Job: Lived Experience and Key Case Characteristics

Abstract

New York City has five prosecutors representing the five distinct boroughs of the city; this allows identifying city-wide changes, as well as significant changes specific to one or more of the city’s five boroughs. The current study examines changes in each New York City prosecutor’s office between 2021 and 2022. Our analyses indicate that prosecutors in three boroughs are declining to prosecute misdemeanors more often in 2022 compared to 2021. The portion of non-violent felony cases detained at arraignment has increased in all but one borough, while the proportion of violent felony cases have decreased in all but two boroughs. Prison sentences increased in all boroughs for felonies, but especially dramatically for violent felony offenses, while jail sentences increased for all charge severities in three boroughs. Together, these findings suggest progress towards reform, even in jurisdictions with “progressive prosecutors,” is limited.

Author

• Joanna Weill, John Jay College of Criminal Justice