Washington State County Criminal Justice Databook: 1985 to 1995

February 1996

Data Sources and Descriptions

County population estimates are produced by the State Office of Financial Management. County populations include the sum of all inhabitants within a county. Individual county age and sex populations are based on the 1980 and 1990 censuses. The statewide population estimates are calculated by a cohort component model that uses vital statistics and migration estimates. The county specific populations, by age and sex, are developed from the state's age and sex structure and individual county trends. County populations, by age category, may not sum to the reported total due to rounding.

Reported crime statistics are collected monthly from participating law enforcement agencies by the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC). Agencies participate, on a voluntary basis, as part of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program. County annual totals include the sum of all reported UCR Crime Index offenses known to participating agencies within the county and reported to WASPC. UCR index crimes are recorded in a hierarchical fashion where only the most serious crime is counted whenever multiple offenses are committed in a single incident. Given this "hierarchy rule," and the fact that many crimes, especially less serious ones, go unreported, the crime index necessarily underrepresents the true volume of crimes committed. Nevertheless, the index is a useful indicator of the volume and types of crimes reported to police. The crime index includes the following offenses:

  • Murder - The willful killing of one person by another or the killing of another person through gross negligence.
  • Forcible Rape - The carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will. Also includes attempts to commit forcible rape.
  • Robbery - The taking or attempting to take anything of value from the care, custody, or control of a person or persons by force or the threat of force or violence and/or by putting the victim in fear.
  • Aggravated Assault - An unlawful attack by one person upon another for the purpose of inflicting severe or aggravated bodily injury. This type of assault usually is accompanied by the use of a weapon or by means likely to produce death or great bodily harm.
  • Burglary - The unlawful entry, or attempted entry, of a structure to commit a felony or a theft.
  • Theft - The unlawful taking, carrying, leading, or riding away of property from the possession or constructive possession of another.
  • Motor Vehicle Theft - The theft or attempted theft of a motor vehicle.
  • Arson - The willful or malicious burning, or attempt to burn, with or without intent to defraud, a dwelling house, public building, motor vehicle or aircraft, personal property of another.

Reported adult arrest statistics are collected monthly by the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC) from law enforcement agencies participating as part of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program. County totals include the sum of all arrests made by individual law enforcement agencies within the county. Adult arrests include the total number or persons, 18 and older, arrested, cited, or summoned to appear in a court of law. A separate report is made for each criminal arrest but not for each criminal charge. Arrests, like reported crimes, are recorded in a hierarchical fashion where only the most serious crime is counted. Therefore, while a person arrested more than once is counted each time, each arrest is counted only once regardless of the number of crimes that may have been committed. Arrest statistics include the same categories as reported crimes, in addition to the following:

  • Drug Crimes - The violation of state and local laws relating to the unlawful possession of, sale, use, growing, manufacturing, and making of narcotic drugs, dangerous nonnarcotic drugs or marijuana.
  • Other Crimes - The violation of state or local law that is not specifically defined above.

Jail population statistics are collected from county operated jails, adult holding and detention facilities by the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC). County correctional facilities report jail statistics, on a voluntary basis, as part of WASPC's Jail Information Program on a monthly basis. Jail population statistics are recorded as the Average Daily Population (ADP) and include only those jail inmates held by the reporting agency and does not include offenders participating in non-custodial programs or held in another facility, but under the jurisdiction of the reporting agency. Participating agencies also report the current capacity of jail facilities. Capacity is defined as the original design capacity plus or minus capacity changes resulting from building additions, reductions, or revisions. Jail ADP is reported by three categories:

  • Pretrial ADP - The average daily population of inmates who are awaiting trial or have not been adjudicated in a court of law.
  • Posttrial ADP - The average daily population of inmates who have been adjudicated in court and are serving a felony or misdemeanant sentence or awaiting transportation to a State correctional facility.
  • Total ADP - Average daily population of all offenders in jail. Pre and Posttrial ADP may not equal Total ADP due to individual jail inmate classification differences and program changes.

Note that a county's average daily population in jail may include offenders being held or serving sentences for crimes committed in other counties.

Superior Court filings are collected from the County Superior Court Clerk by the Office of the Administrator for the Courts. A superior court filing is the initiation of a case in court by formal submission to the court of a document alleging the facts of a matter and requesting relief. A separate case filing occurs for each criminal offender defendant. The majority of felony filings are recorded electronically in the Superior Court Management Information System (SCOMIS). Court filings are recorded based on the month and year in which they are filed. They do not include information on juvenile cases unless the juvenile defendant is transferred to adult court for all subsequent proceedings. Criminal offender filings are categorized by the most serious original charge against the defendant in the following order:

  • Homicide - Cases where the primary charge involves murder, manslaughter, excusable homicide, or justifiable homicide.
  • Sex Crimes - Cases where the primary charge involves sexual exploitation of a minor, incest, rape, statutory rape, or indecent liberties.
  • Robbery - Cases where the primary charge involves theft of property by the use of force, violence, or fear of injury to a person or his or her property.
  • Assault - Cases where the primary charge involves assault or intent to cause another person physical harm, including malicious harassment and coercion.
  • Property Crimes - Cases where the primary charge involves theft of property (other than a motor vehicle), possession of stolen property, extortion, burglary, criminal trespass and taking a motor vehicle without permission.
  • Controlled Substance - Cases where the primary charge involves violation of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act or violation of regulations regarding prescription drugs.
  • Other Felony - Cases where the primary charge involves a felony which is not specifically defined above.

Felony Jail and Prison sentences are reported by County Superior Court Clerks to the Sentencing Guidelines Commission. Sentencing information does not reflect the number of crimes for which offenders have been convicted. Sentences imposed by courts of limited jurisdiction, misdemeanant sentences, and sentencing options for minor or first time felony offenders are not included. A jail sentence is a court ordered incarceration sentence of less than 12 months and a prison sentence is a sentence of more than 12 months. Sentences are recorded on a monthly basis and do not include information on juvenile cases unless the juvenile defendant has been transferred and sentenced in superior court as an adult. The reported categories are used by the Department of Corrections and the Office of Financial Management for forecasting purposes and are not identical to classifications under the Sentencing Reform Act of 1981. For example the Sex Crime categories include pornography and prostitution offenses, which are not classified as sex offenses per se under the Sentencing Reform Act.

Average Felony Jail and Prison Sentence Lengths are calculated by the Sentencing Guidelines Commission based on sentencing information. The average sentences are computed for all felony convictions, excluding life and death sentences. The average sentence length is equal to the average of all sentences, by offense category, ordered by the court and may not reflect actual time served in jail or prison.

Sentences that involve multiple offenses or multiple types of offenses are classified by the most serious crime, as follows:

  • Murder - Sentences for crimes that involve the willful killing of one person by another or the killing of another person.
  • Manslaughter - Sentences for crimes that involve the killing of one person by another through gross negligence. Also includes vehicle homicide.
  • Sex Crimes - Sentences for crimes that involve sexual exploitation of a minor, incest, rape, statutory rape, indecent liberties, prostitution, pornography related crimes.
  • Robbery - Sentences for crimes that involve theft of property by the use of force, violence, fear of injury to a person or his or her property, and extortion.
  • Assault - Sentences for crimes that involve an assault or intent to cause another person physical harm. Also includes malicious harassment and coercion, kidnapping, and vehicular assault.
  • Burglary - Sentences for crimes that involve the unlawful entry or attempt of a structure to commit a felony or a theft including burglary 1 and 2, and residential burglary.
  • Other Property - Sentences for crimes that involve theft of property, arson, forgery, possession of stolen property, criminal trespass, and taking a motor vehicle without permission.
  • Drug Crimes - Sentence for crimes that involve violations of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act or regulations regarding prescription drugs. Includes dealing and possession sentences.
  • Other - Sentences where the primary charge involves a felony which is not specifically defined above.

Prison Admission statistics are collected by the Department of Corrections (DOC) and reported by DOC Planning and Research Section. Prison admissions record the number of convicted offenders admitted to state correctional facilities, and exclude admissions to state community correction programs. Admissions are reported daily in DOC's Offender Based Tracking System and are reported in three categories:

  • New admission - A first time admission to prison.
  • Readmission - An admission to prison of a person previously admitted and released from DOC and then readmitted for a new sentence.
  • Parole/CCI violations - An admission to prison for violating conditions of parole (pre-Sentencing Reform Act) or community placement, but who have not necessarily committed a new offense.

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Last modified: October 9, 2005
E-mail: OFM.Forecasting@ofm.wa.gov