Production of Arrests

Abstract

Perhaps the most stringent restrictions on the potential for selective incapacitation are caused by the inability of the police to solve crimes and arrest the perpetrators. Low rates of arrest cause a variety of problems for the rest of the criminal justice system. Only partial information is available as to the criminal activities of most offenders, because they can only be tied to a fraction of the crimes they commit. Even if a group of offenders can definitely be labeled as habitual, criminal justice agencies will be unable to incapacitate them if they cannot find them. And, at least partly because arrest rates are so low, police have been unable to determine whether their activities are more or less likely to lead to arrest of habitual offenders: If the most experienced criminals are consistently able to evade the authorities, even the most selective prosecution policies, bail-setting and sentencing guidelines, and parole regulations are unlikely to reduce crime by much.