Syracuse, N.Y.--June 27--Less than four
percent of all 1997 FBI convictions concerned
consumer, medical, securities and commodities
fraud, according to Justice Department data
obtained by the Transactional Records Access
Clearinghouse (TRAC).
The relatively small number of such FBI cases
should be considered against the general
backdrop of America's booming trillion dollar
economy and special hot spots like the
extensive amounts of fraud thought to infect
federally supported medical programs.
For information about how to obtain detailed
data on FBI enforcement--for the nation as a
whole and in each judicial district--go to
http://trac.syr.edu/media.
Also in the cellar when it came to FBI
convictions, were high-publicity subjects
like internal security and terrorism, civil
rights violations and corrupt government
officials.
A special characteristic of these seven
low-frequency FBI enforcement areas is that
they concern matters where the bureau is
expected to play a prominent role or actually
has exclusive jurisdiction.
In contrast to the extreme rarity of
successful cases listed in the seven
mentioned program categories, fully one half
of all the bureau's 1997 convictions involved
subjects that in most cases could have been
handled by local police--drugs, bank
robberies and fraud against banks, frequently
by credit card.
While the processing of drug cases and bank
robbers often will involve a fraction of the
time required for the investigation of a
fraudulent medical provider or an
international terrorist, the contrast in the
comparative conviction numbers is
nevertheless striking.
Total 1997 FBI convictions in federal
court
Consumer fraud
Medical fraud
Securities fraud
Commodities fraud
Internal security and terrorism
Civil rights
Official corruption
Drugs, bank robbery and fraud against
banks, often by credit card
|
12,324
217
202
63
3
12
99
233
6,251
|
Other new findings:
The FBI employed more
agents per capita in 1997 than at any time
in the last five decades, more than at the
height of World War Two, the depth of the
Cold War or the confused period of anti-war
demonstrations and civil rights protests
during the Vietnam war. In 1997, there were
11,269 FBI agents or 42.1 per million
population. This contrasts with 4,886
agents at the height of World War Two (36.5
per million in 1944), 6,451 agents at the
depth of the Cold War (41.2 per million in
1952), and 8,767 agents (41.5 per million)
in 1973.
Analysis of Justice
Department data shows that the FBI
enforcement record has somewhat improved
during the last seven years. From 1992 to
1998, for example, the proportion of FBI
referrals prosecuted went from 41 to 49
percent. During the same period, the
proportion of those prosecuted who
ultimately were convicted also went up from
67 to 76 percent. While the median
FBI sentence increased, going from 18 to 25
months, the average sentence was
essentially unchanged at 55 months. The
increase in median sentences was primarily
a reflection of the changing composition of
cases, and in particular an increasing
shift towards drug prosecutions from other
types of crimes.
From 1993 to 1997,
Justice Department prosecutors disposed of
222,504 matters referred to them by the
FBI. Surprisingly, only about one quarter
of the disposals were the result of a
conviction. The obvious question is what
happened to the balance. One part of the
answer is that assistant U.S. attorneys
decided that slightly less than one third
of the FBI matters they considered did not
warrant prosecution because they were
legally insufficient. The bottom line here:
more FBI referrals were rejected because
they were legally insufficient than were
successfully prosecuted. While 1997 figures
show an improvement over 1996 in this
regard, when compared with other federal
investigative agencies the FBI "strike
out" record was still not impressive. A
relatively large part of IRS referrals, for
example, involve complex white collar
crimes with defendants who are able to hire
competent defense attorneys. Unlike the
FBI, however, the IRS had nearly two
convictions for each weak evidence
declination.
The median sentences
resulting from an FBI conviction are
extraordinarily varied. The median FBI
sentence in the Southern District of
Illinois--East St. Louis--was 72 months.
The median sentence in Washington West
(Seattle) was one month. Because most cases
are settled by a plea and judges are
subject to sentencing guidelines, these
variation are thought to largely be the
product of the kinds of cases being pursued
in different districts. But even when the
sentences involve a single crime,
considerable differences are found
depending on where the person was
convicted.
TRAC is a non-partisan data
gathering, research and data-distribution
organization associated with Syracuse
University. TRAC has been supported by the
University, the Rockefeller Family Fund, the
New York Times Company Foundation, the John
S. and James L. Knight Foundation and many
other organizations. TRAC's embargo on the
information about the FBI is intended to give
news organizations adequate time to contact
responsible government officials for their
comments. For detailed information go to
http://trac.syr.edu/media
