Evaluating the Law Enforcement, Prosecutor, and Court Response to Firearm-related Crimes in St. Louis, 2015-2018

This study examines the entire range of case-processing decisions after arrest, from charging to sentencing of firearm-related crimes. This study analyzes the cumulative effects of each decision point, after a charge has been issued, on the subsequent decisions of criminal justice officials. It examines criminal justice decisions regarding a serious category of crime, gun-related offenses. These offenses, most of which are felonious firearm possession or firearm use cases, vary substantially with respect to bail, pretrial detention, and sentencing outcomes (Williams and Rosenfeld, 2016). The focus of this study is St. Louis, where firearm violence is a critical public problem and where neighborhoods range widely in both stability and level of disadvantage. These communities are characterized on the basis of a large number of demographic and socioeconomic indicators. The study aims to enhance understanding of the community context of the criminal justice processing of firearm-related crimes.