On a biennial basis, the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission is tasked with preparing for the governor a criminal justice system trends report. Available resources, the size and complexity of the criminal justice system and the availability of relevant data influence the scope of the issues addressed in the report. In support of data-driven decision making, this report uses publicly available data to describe the activity of Arizona’s criminal justice system from law enforcement agencies description of the offenses reported to their agencies to the population of the Arizona Department of Corrections.

Much of Arizona’s criminal justice system is organized and functions at the municipal and county level. Aggregating the data to describe system activity for the state as a whole can mask important differences in crime and criminal justice system activity at the local level. In this report, data available on law enforcement, court, probation, and corrections activity impacting each county are compiled to give county-based criminal justice policymakers and practitioners an overview of crime and criminal justice system activity in their county.

Much of Arizona’s criminal justice system is organized and functions at the municipal and county level. Aggregating the data to describe system activity for the state as a whole can mask important differences in crime and criminal justice system activity at the local level. In this report, data available on law enforcement, court, probation, and corrections activity impacting each county are compiled to give county-based criminal justice policymakers and practitioners an overview of crime and criminal justice system activity in their county.

Much of Arizona’s criminal justice system is organized and functions at the municipal and county level. Aggregating the data to describe system activity for the state as a whole can mask important differences in crime and criminal justice system activity at the local level. In this report, data available on law enforcement, court, probation, and corrections activity impacting each county are compiled to give county-based criminal justice policymakers and practitioners an overview of crime and criminal justice system activity in their county.

Much of Arizona’s criminal justice system is organized and functions at the municipal and county level. Aggregating the data to describe system activity for the state as a whole can mask important differences in crime and criminal justice system activity at the local level. In this report, data available on law enforcement, court, probation, and corrections activity impacting each county are compiled to give county-based criminal justice policymakers and practitioners an overview of crime and criminal justice system activity in their county.

Much of Arizona’s criminal justice system is organized and functions at the municipal and county level. Aggregating the data to describe system activity for the state as a whole can mask important differences in crime and criminal justice system activity at the local level. In this report, data available on law enforcement, court, probation, and corrections activity impacting each county are compiled to give county-based criminal justice policymakers and practitioners an overview of crime and criminal justice system activity in their county.

The "2003 White Paper" attempts to present a comprehensive statewide report on the occurrence of crime in Arizona, as well as the associated workload of the criminal justice system. One of the most comprehensive resources since the publication of the "1995 White Paper" was the "2002 Crime Trends in Arizona" report. The "2003 White Paper" builds upon the "Crime Trends" report and gives the reader the comprehensive comparison to the changes that have taken place in the criminal justice system since the "1995 White Paper." It is the intent of this study to provide information in a factual and objective manner allowing easy access and individual interpretation.