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Pretrial Release and Detention Statistics

Summary findings | BJS publications | Related sites

Summary findings

Of the defendants who had state felony charges filed against them in the nation's 75 most populous counties during May 2004 --

• An estimated 57% were released by the court prior to the disposition of their case. Forty-three percent were detained until case disposition, including 6% who were denied bail.
  
  
• Released defendants were most likely to be released on commercial surety bond (25%) or their own recognizance (14%).
  
  
• Murder defendants (12%) were the least likely to be released prior to case disposition, followed by defendants whose most serious arrest charge was motor vehicle theft (39%), robbery (42%), burglary (45%), or rape (52%).
  
  
• Less than half of defendants with an active criminal justice status, such as parole (17%) or probation (37%), were released, compared to 67% of these with no active status.
  
  
• About a third of released defendants were either rearrested for a new offense, failed to appear in court as scheduled, or committed some other violation that resulted in the revocation of their pretrial release.
  
  
• Of the 21% of released defendants who had a bench warrant issued for their arrest because they did not appear in court as scheduled, about a fourth, representing 5% of all released defendants, were still fugitives after 1 year.
  
  
• An estimated 21% of all released defendants were rearrested while awaiting disposition of their case. About two-thirds of these new arrests were for a felony.

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BJS publications

This list is in order of the most recent publication first. Additional titles are listed on other topical pages and a comprehensive list is contained on the BJS publications page. To see a full abstract of a publication with links to electronic versions of the publication, click on the title below.

Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties, 2004, 4/08. Presents data collected from a representative sample of felony cases filed in the nation's 75 largest counties during May 2004. NCJ 221152

Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties, 2002, 2/06. NCJ 210818

Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties, 2000, 12/03. NCJ 202021

Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties, 1998, 11/01. NCJ 187232

Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties, 1996, 10/99. NCJ 176981

Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties, 1994, 1/98. NCJ 164616

Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties, 1992, 7/95. NCJ 148826

Pretrial Release of Felony Defendants in State Courts, 11/07. Presents findings on the pretrial release phase of the criminal justice process using data collected from a representative sample of felony cases filed in the 75 largest U.S. counties in May during even-numbered years from 1990 to 2004. NCJ 214994

Violent Felons in Large Urban Counties, 8/06. Presents data collected from a representative sample of felony cases that resulted in a felony conviction for a violent offense in 40 of the Nation's 75 largest counties. NCJ 205289

Defense Counsel in Criminal Cases, 11/00. Examines issues of legal representation for defendants in Federal district court and large local jurisdictions, and inmates in local jails and Federal and State prison. NCJ 179023

Federal Pretrial Release and Detention, 1996, 2/99. Describes pretrial release and detention practices in the Federal criminal justice system. NCJ 168635

Pretrial Release of Felony Defendants, 1992: National Pretrial Reporting Program, 11/94. Presents data on the pretrial release phase of the criminal justice process using data collected from a representative sample of felony cases filed in the 75 largest U.S. counties in May 1992. NCJ 148818

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Related sites

From BJS

• Federal Justice Statistics

Other relevant sites

• 
• Pretrial Services Resource Center

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