Federal criminal prosecution rates remain at near-record high levels, according to a Syracuse University data publisher.

 

Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, a data gathering, research and distribution organization at SU, released the data Wednesday. The group gathers information on immigration, drugs and white-collar crime.

 

The Department of Justice projects 167,181 criminal prosecutions at the end of the 2010 fiscal year — 15,857 of which are from the month of June alone. In fiscal year 2009, there were a record-setting 169,612 prosecutions.

 

The Department of Homeland Security was the most active prosecuting agency, accounting for 56 percent of all federal prosecutions, according to TRAC. The Drug Enforcement Administration followed with 11 percent, and the FBI at 10 percent.

 

Immigration-based prosecutions made up 50.4 percent of prosecutions, followed by drugs and drug trafficking-related crimes at 12.2 percent in prosecutions.

 

New Mexico, Wyoming and California are leaders in state prosecution. All surpass the national average, which is 15,498 prosecutions per 10 million residents.

 

New Mexico prosecuted 28,661 per 10 million residents. Wyoming followed with 21,607 and California with 20,940. Nevada, a state previously outside the radar of severe criminal concerns, recently entered the prosecution discussion with 6,402. North Dakota filed in at ninth with 7,792 prosecutions per 10 million individuals.

 

The findings are relevant in light of nationwide immigration debates, as immigrant prosecutions assume at least 50 percent of the total prosecutions.

 

Crimes withheld by government recorded 8.8 percent of the total. The category of weapons-operation triggerlock major, or use of an assault rifle, tallied 4.6 percent; assimilated crimes drew 3.7 percent; and drug-organized crime task force attributed 3.6 percent to the overall makeup.

 

Crime-related activities outside of the previous categories drew 3.2 percent in prosecutions. Criminal prosecutions have increased by 43.8 percent since 2005 due to increases in the matters filed in U.S. Magistrate Courts, which rule on matters of ‘petty offenses.’ Excluding the magistrate cases, the overall increase in prosecutions is only 0.9 percent, according to TRAC.

 

Elizabeth Brydges, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences, said she was concerned by the data. Crimes reported on college campuses are typically petty offenses.

 

‘It’s troubling to know that I’m more prone to being affected by crime,’ Brydges said. ‘I’m already vigilant with my surroundings as it is.’

 

dbtruong@syr.edu