An Empirical Focus on Low Level Offenses: A Call to Action

• In Event: Roundtable: An Empirical Focus on Low Level Offenses: A Call to Action

Abstract

The vast majority of the criminology literature focuses on felony arrests. However, misdemeanors and criminal summonses or citations, and pedestrian stops, rather than felonies, account for the majority of police contact with the public. In 2013, in New York City, for example, there were 259,600 misdemeanor arrests and 369,058 criminal summonses issued, compared to 89,306 felony arrests. These high volume police activities are the basis for public opinions of the police. Indeed, police-public interactions surrounding enforcement of low level offenses guide opinions regarding legitimacy of the police and the broader criminal justice system as well as public trust and satisfaction with the police. This Roundtable will discuss the importance and the need for the scholarly community to focus on low level offenses. Much of the reform in the criminal justice system has been driven by data analytics. However, basic data on volume, outcome, and impact of low level offenses such as misdemeanors is sorely lacking. This provides little empirical guidance for those who wish to reform policing and court processing policies. The time is ripe for these discussions given the desire by police departments across the country to improve their relationships with the communities they serve, particularly communities of color.

Authors

• Nikki Jones, University of California, Berkeley

• David Weisburd, George Mason University

• Rod Brunson, Rutgers University