This paper examines the influence of social and legal factors on postarrest
decisions to release burglary arrestees prior to trial. The data were derived
from a crime specific burglary program sponsored by the California Council
on Criminal Justice during the period April 1972 to May 1973. Character
istics of apprehended burglary offenders include such demographic informa
tion as age, race, sex, number of crime partners involved in the incident, and
the distance from the offender's residence to place of occurrence. Legal fac
tors focus upon an offender's previous criminal history, including prior bur
glary record, prior drug record, and the like. Applying the technique of pre
dictive attribute analysis, the research focuses upon the importance of the
above characteristics with regard to postarrest dispositions.
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