Convict me once. Convict me twice. Convict me once again. And I still might not get locked up. That's the key finding in an Arkansas Democrat-Gazette story looking at the state's criminal justice system and repeat offenders. We reported: Some repeat offenders get second, third and fourth chances before going to prison. They're out there, writing bad checks or stealing cars or breaking into houses. Some are doing worse. Such is the case in many states, not just Arkansas. The reasons are complex and overlapping - crowded prisons, overworked courts, law enforcement's emphasis on drug crimes. While the system tries to sort out its problems, a few people take advantage.
Starting point
The primary starting point was a database from the Arkansas Administrative Office of the Courts. The file contains more than 400,000 circuit court records. In Arkansas, circuit court judges preside over felony cases. Data fields include offender names, dates of birth, charges and outcomes of the cases.
Although we set out to write a people story, numbers had a place. We used the courts database to create most of the statistics used in the story.
One field missing: any unique identifier for the defendants. We semi-overcame that when we began our first step, finding out which offenders had the most convictions. We simply grouped by first and last names, plus dates of birth, to identify each unique offender. Using database software Visual FoxPro, we counted each conviction of each unique offender.
We also weeded out records we didn't want. At this point, we included only felony convictions. While circuit courts deal with felony cases, they also deal with misdemeanor appeals, and some felony cases are bargained down to misdemeanors. And we decided to not count, at this point, those charged with violating their probation. We did eventually fold back into the story the misdemeanor plea bargains, cases that didn't result in convictions and probation violations.
Paper files
Next step: We chose a handful of repeat offenders and obtained both court and prosecutor files - a time-consuming process that involved trips from one side of the state to the other. But the case files generated details that the electronic information didn't include, plus a long list of source names: criminals, victims, witnesses, police, prosecutors, lawyers, judges. That turned the story into a story. We went on to profile four repeat offenders, choosing them to represent the most common types of crimes and circumstances. One of our four was a violent criminal, but, typically, most repeat offenders commit property or drug-use crimes. One such offender committed at least 10 felonies before a judge sentenced her to prison. Wrote a prosecutor to a judge, before her prison sentence: "In my seven years as a prosecutor, I have never witnessed a nonviolent offender who has attempted to manipulate the criminal justice system more." The story pointed out that since her release, she'd faced a series of hot-check warrants. That's not a big crime for most, but her history was different. In 1993, during a stay in Milwaukee, she bounced an $8,500 check at a car dealership and drove away with a Cadillac Fleetwood.
A few days after our story ran, her parole officer picked her up. She was later released again.
The place for numbers
Although we set out to write a people story, numbers had a place. We used the courts database to create most of the statistics used in the story.
Almost one of every four people convicted of a felony in Arkansas will be found guilty of a second crime.
For example:
They may not go to prison for a first offense, particularly if it is a nonviolent crime, such as burglary or credit-card fraud. Fewer than half of first-time offenders do in Arkansas.
They may not go to prison the second time, either. Or even the third or fourth. About three in 10 repeat offenders will simply be put on probation.
And if they violate the rules of their probation, as about one of three felons is at least accused of doing, they still may not do time. Arkansas' circuit judges send just six of every 10 violators to prison or jail. The rest get only a longer probation or a bigger fine or, sometimes, only a scolding. We were fairly confident of our numbers, but we did bounce the statistics off several experts, including a set of professors at a local university. None were quoted in the main story, but they confirmed key statistics and made a series of helpful suggestions.
Jeff Porter can be reached by e-mail at jporter@ardemgaz.com