Criminal Indexing
Kathleen Denson
The United States Army announced today it has begun a process to correct errors concerning the previous submission of names to the national criminal database as part of its investigation of the National Guard Recruiting Assistance Program (G-RAP) and Army Reserve Recruiting Assistance Program (AR-RAP) conducted from 2012 to 2016. Individuals erroneously indexed in the database will have their names removed and receive notification of the action. Additionally, they will be informed of actions they can take should they believe they were harmed by being indexed.
The Army will also conduct a comprehensive review of its procedures, as well as training processes and policies, to ensure that titling and indexing of individuals associated with future investigations are handled consistent with applicable laws and regulations. That effort is expected to be completed within 90 days.
In addition to the cases the Army has already started reviewing, the service established a website where people can get additional information. For those who believe they may have been improperly indexed or titled, they may go to to learn if their case is part of this review, or to request a review. The Army said a response can be expected within 10 business days.
New York State and the FBI use seven Index crime categories as indicators of overall crime trends: murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault, which are classified as violent crimes; and the property crimes of burglary, larceny and motor vehicle theft. The FBI created these categories to allow for uniform crime reporting across all 50 states.
Hate crimes target individuals, groups of individuals or property based on a perception or belief about race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion or other characteristic as defined by state law.
Police agencies determine whether a crime that occurred in their jurisdiction is classified as a hate crime and report those incidents to the state. Hate crime incidents reported to police are presented for the most recent five years.
Police agencies in New York State collect data on the number of individuals victimized during domestic incidents involving members of the same family, including but not limited to parents, children and siblings, and intimate partners. These individuals may or may not live together at the time of the incident.
Police agencies in counties outside New York City report these data for the following offense categories: aggravated assault, simple assault, sex offenses, and violation of protective orders. The New York City Police Department reports these data for the following offense categories: felony assault, third-degree assault and related offenses, and violation of protective orders.
New York State provides funding, training and technical support to 28 police agencies and their law enforcement partners in 21 counties through the Gun Involved Violence Elimination (GIVE) initiative, which aims to reduce shootings, shooting deaths, and firearm-related violent crimes.
GIVE agencies are required to report shooting incidents involving injuries, the number of individuals shot, and the number of individuals killed by gun violence to DCJS. Those agencies are divided into two tiers:
- Tier I agencies focus on reducing the number of shootings and shooting fatalities: Albany, Buffalo, Hempstead, Mount Vernon, Nassau County, Newburgh, Niagara Falls, Poughkeepsie, Rochester, Schenectady, Suffolk County, Syracuse, Troy, Utica, and Yonkers.
- Tier II agencies focus on reducing firearm-related violent crimes (murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault): Amherst, Auburn, Binghamton, Cheektowaga, Elmira, Greece, Ithaca, Jamestown, Kingston, Lackawanna, Middletown, Spring Valley, and Watertown.
Ten years of data detailing misdemeanor and felony arrests involving adults, who are individuals 18 and older. Felony arrests are categorized as follows: drug, violent, DWI, and other. Misdemeanor arrests are categorized as follows: drug, property, DWI, and other.
State law requires the Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) and the Office of Court Administration (OCA) to provide information to the public that details pretrial release decisions made by judges upon arraignment, including release on recognizance, bail, or non-monetary conditions, as well as remand to custody.
DCJS and OCA coordinated and compiled one comprehensive data file to meet the statutory reporting obligations because neither agency maintains all the data necessary to fulfill the requirements under the bail reform law. Data within the file include the sex, race, and ethnicity of the individual arrested; the most serious arrest charge; the number and type of charges the individual has faced previously; and if the individual failed to appear in court or was re-arrested while the case was pending, among other data. The information provided does not identify the individuals charged.
OCA publishes a Discovery Reform: Court Activity Dashboard to satisfy Discovery Law reporting requirements in State Judiciary Law Section 216(5). DCJS Discovery Reform Reports for 2021 and 2022 are posted on the Annual Reports and Publications page.
Five years of data detailing the court dispositions (outcomes) of misdemeanor and felony arrests of individuals 18 and older. Arrests are reported by the police agency that made the arrest and disposition information is provided by the state Office of Court Administration.
Data comparing arrests and sentences to prison by race/ethnicity as compared to the race/ethnicity of the total population in New York State, New York City, Non-New York City, and each county. These data are presented to provide context to the race/ethnicity of adults involved in the criminal justice system.
State law allows individuals who have remained crime-free for 10 years to request that certain New York State convictions be sealed. These data show the number of individuals who successfully petitioned the courts to seal a case(s), by the county in which the seal was granted.
State law sets three risk levels, which are determined by a judge after a court hearing: Level 1 (low risk of repeat offense), Level 2 (moderate risk of repeat offense) and Level 3 (high risk of repeat offense). A designation of P (pending) means that a judge has not yet determined risk level. Any questions about these data should be directed to pres...@dcjs.ny.gov.
A sentence to probation allows individuals convicted of crimes to remain in the community under conditions mandated by the court and monitored by probation departments in 57 counties and New York City. Judges also may impose a split sentence, which is a term of local jail incarceration followed by probation supervision. New York State regulates and funds Probation Departments, however, supervision of individuals is a local responsibility.
This recidivism report details arrest, conviction and incarceration data for adults sentenced to probation supervision for New York State, New York City, Non-New York City and each county. Data are shown for the last 10 years. See data notes for methodology used to calculate recidivism.
New York City and each county operate local jails, which house individuals sentenced to no more than one year of incarceration, those awaiting transfer to state prison to serve a sentence and those whose court cases are pending.
This section provides data detailing processing of cases involving individuals who are 7 through 17 years old. This youth justice system flow chart illustrates key points in case processing. The state Office of Children and Family Services updates youth detention data and youth placement data each quarter and also produces an annual Youth in Care Report.
Statewide, regional and county population data by sex and race/ethnicity for youth ranging in age from 7 to 17. These data are presented to provide context to the race/ethnicity, sex and age of youth involved in the youth justice system.
Five years of data detailing police contact with individuals younger than 18, either formal arrests or police contact with youth where there is probable cause that a crime was committed but the agency did not file formal charges.
Index (murder, robbery, forcible rape, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, and motor vehicle theft) and Non-Index (all other offenses, including but not limited to arson, weapons possession, criminal mischief and simple assault).
Youth Part of Criminal Court processes felony arrests involving 16- or 17-year-olds, defined in state law as adolescent offenders, and arrests involving 13-, 14- and 15-year-olds facing certain serious felony crimes, defined in state law as juvenile offenders.
Probation departments are responsible for screening juvenile delinquent (JD) cases for Family Courts to determine whether JD petitions should be filed, or cases can be adjusted (also known as diverted). This process is referred to as probation intake. The JD classification is assigned at arrest to cases involving youth who are 12 through 15 years old and charged with committing misdemeanor offenses and nearly all felony offenses. JD cases also include 16- and 17-year-olds who are charged with misdemeanors, and 16- and 17-year-olds who are charged with felonies (adolescent offenders) and whose cases are removed from the Youth Part of Criminal Court.
Probation supervision may be imposed by the Family Court after a delinquency finding or by the Youth Part of Criminal Court after a criminal conviction or youthful offender adjudication. Probation supervision allows these youth to remain in the community under conditions specified by the court and supervised by the local probation department.
This dashboard contains data on juvenile delinquency (JD) cases in New York State by race and ethnicity and county. The number and racial/ethnic breakdown of cases are shown for the following case processing points in the juvenile justice system: probation intakes opened, probation intakes referred to the presentment agency, probation intakes adjusted, petitions filed in Family Court, petitions resulting in a JD finding, petitions resulting in no JD finding, and probation supervision cases opened. The JD classification in the youth justice system refers to the following types of cases:
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