“Extremely Creepy, but Nothing he did was Illegal”: Charging Patterns During Prearrest Screening

We examine an approach to case screening where prosecutors screen requests for charges before a felony arrest is made. In 2016, Franklin County prosecutors declined to authorize arrests in 17.5% of felony cases. Declination rates, however, varied widely between offense types. Prosecutors most common...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Lowrey-Kinberg, Belén (Author)
Contributors: Bowman, Rachel ; Gould, Jon
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: 2022
In: Criminal justice policy review
Year: 2022, Volume: 33, Issue: 9, Pages: 918-942
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
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Keywords:
Prosecution
charging decision
felony screening
Description
Summary:We examine an approach to case screening where prosecutors screen requests for charges before a felony arrest is made. In 2016, Franklin County prosecutors declined to authorize arrests in 17.5% of felony cases. Declination rates, however, varied widely between offense types. Prosecutors most commonly did not authorize an arrest due to insufficient evidence, no crime having occurred, or follow-up needed. Among other findings, the cases of Black defendants, as compared to White defendants, were more likely to be declined due to insufficient evidence and additional follow-up needed. We conclude that prearrest screening by prosecutors can filter out weak cases early, increasing efficiency for the prosecutor’s office, saving the government money, and minimizing the impact of a “bad” arrest on a defendant.
ISSN:1552-3586
DOI:10.1177/08874034221099604