Accomplishments
Federal firearms prosecutions in
the Southern District of California have
increased 73 percent in the past 5 years
(from FY 2000 to FY 2005). In FY 2005, the U.S. Department of Justice
filed 10,841 federal firearms cases.
In FY 2005, the Southern District
prosecuted a record number of 13,062 defendants for
violations of federal gun crimes, an increase of more than 62 percent
from FY 2000 figures.
Defendants charged with federal
firearms offenses are being sentenced to significant jail
time. In FY 2005, over 93 percent of defendants charged with federal
firearms offenses were sentenced to time in prison for convictions on
firearms charges or other offenses. Approximately 68 percent of these
offenders were sentenced to prison terms greater than 3 years for
convictions on firearms charges or other offenses.
The violent crime
rate is at its lowest level since 1973, when the Justice Department's
Bureau of Justice Statistics started collecting criminal victimization
data. The violent crime rate has steadily declined during the Bush
Administration, and from 2001-2004, it was on average nearly 33% lower
than in the preceding four years.
Non-fatal gun crimes are at their
lowest level ever recorded and are down 42 percent since
2000. The per capita number of non-fatal violent crimes involving
firearms has steadily decreased during the Bush Administration, and
from 2001-2004, it was on average about 36% lower than in the preceding
four years. In 2004, there were 117,520 fewer victims of non-fatal
violent crimes than there were in 2003, and 201,840 fewer than there
were in 2000.
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