WESTFIELD – Analysis of the court cases brought before Westfield District Court during the month of July show that the majority of offenders are male.
Disclaimer: the analysis included here is for court cases that were available and included in the Westfield News during July of 2015. This is not a complete list of all cases that have gone before the judge in the past month. Additionally, this includes arraignments, people who have been charged but not yet tried, along with cases that have reached disposition, meaning the defendants may have received sentences, probation, fines or had charges dismissed.
Of approximately 130 cases examined, 82 percent of the offenders were male.
As far as the ages of defendants in these cases, the majority of charges were for people in their 20s at 32 percent. Offenders below the age of 20 only accounted for 8 percent of the cases examined.
The second highest number of offenses were committed (or allegedly committed) by offenders in their 30s, 26 percent.
The number of offenses decreases as age increases: offenders in their 40s, 23 percent; 50s, 7 percent and 60s or older, 4 percent.
Most offenders are charged with more than one crime. For this analysis the first offense was counted, which may or may not be related to other offenses for which the suspect was charged.
For the sake of analysis here, the charges have been grouped into eight categories, and are listed by frequency:
Motor vehicle (including any offense while operating a motor vehicle): 40 percent when not including operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol.
When including OUIs, then this category increases to 46 percent, meaning out of the 130 offenses the most charges by far were related to the operation of motor vehicles.
Assault and battery (including violations of abuse prevention orders) were the second highest category accounting for 18 percent of offenses.
The next category included disorderly conduct, destruction of property, trespass and related offenses: 14 percent.
Larceny, theft and breaking and entering encompassed 12 percent of July’s offenses.
Drug-related offenses were 5 percent and shoplifting 2 percent.
Two of the more serious offenses, threat to commit a crime (which can include threat to commit murder) and indecent assault and battery (sex crimes) accounted for 1.5 percent each of all of the 130 offenses as reported in the Westfield News in July.
Since females only make up 18 percent of the offenders, here is a closer look at the ages and types of crimes for these offenders.
Ages: 20 or below, 8 percent; 20s, 42 percent; 30s, 25 percent, 40s, 25 percent.
Types of offense, in order of frequency:
motor vehicle (two with OUIs), 54 percent; larceny, 17 percent; destruction of property, 17 percent, assault and battery, 8 percent; drugs 4 percent.
Staff writer Christine Charnosky can be reached at [email protected]
