This Glossary contains a listing of words and terms that will assist the reader in understanding the criminal justice terms contained in Section I of this audit report.

 

Arrest	Taking a person into custody, in a case and in the manner authorized by law. An arrest may be made by a peace officer or by a private citizen.
Booked	Arrested.
California Crime Index (CCI)	A group of offenses chosen to serve as an index for gauging fluctuations in the overall volume and rate of crime. These offenses, chosen because of the seriousness and likelihood of being reported to the police by the public, are willful homicide, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and motor vehicle theft.
California Dept. of Corrections	The state agency that has jurisdiction over the California Rehabilitation Center and the California prison system.
Cases Assigned	Cases assigned to an Inspector for follow-up investigation, including rebookings.
Cases Closed	A case is considered closed after it has been "cleared", the investigation is complete, and the file has been reviewed by the section Lieutenant.
Cases Filed Administratively	Cases that are logged, indexed and stored without action, i.e. not assigned to an Inspector for a follow-up investigation.
Cases Received	Workload measure for the SFPD which reflects the total activity of investigative units. Includes rebookings, follow-up investigations and unassigned cases.
Charge	A formal allegation that a specific person has committed a specific offense.
Citation	A written order, issued by the police for a violation, to appear before a magistrate or probation officer at a later date.
Clearance	According to the DOJ"s definition, an offense is cleared or "solved" for crime reporting purposes when at least one person is arrested, charged with the commission of the offense, and turned over to the court for prosecution or cited to juvenile authorities. In certain situations, a clearance may be counted by "exceptional means" when the police definitely know the identity of the offender, have enough information to support the arrest, and know the location of the offender but for some reason cannot take the offender into custody.
	The SFPD"s definition of clearance differs from that of the Department of Justice. According to the SFPD, a case is considered cleared when it meets the criteria for any one of the 16 SFPD clearance codes and an incident report is made categorizing it as such.
Clearance Rate	Method used to determine the percentage of crimes cleared. The rate is based on the number of crimes reported.
Clear and Convincing	That measure or degree of proof which will produce in one"s mind a firm belief or conviction as to the allegations sought to be established; it is intermediate, being more than mere preponderance, but not the extent of such certainty as is required beyond reasonable doubt in criminal cases.
Complaint	A verified written accusation, filed by a prosecuting attorney with a local criminal court, which charges one or more persons with the commission of one or more offenses.
Conviction	A judgment, based either on the verdict of a jury or a judicial officer or on the guilty plea of the defendant, that the defendant is guilty.
Discharge	To release a defendant from confinement. Also, an acquittal or exoneration; the freeing of one held under legal process.
Disposition - Court	An action taken as the result of an appearance in court by a defendant. Examples are: adults - dismissed, acquitted, or convicted and sentenced; juveniles - dismissed, transferred, remanded to adult court, placed on probation, or sentenced to the California Department of the Youth Authority.
Disposition - Law Enforcement	An action taken as the result of an arrest. Examples of police dispositions are: adults - released by law enforcement, referred to another jurisdiction, or a misdemeanor or felony complaint sought; juveniles - handled within the department, referred to another agency, or referred to the probation department or juvenile court.
Disposition - Prosecutor	An action taken as the result of complaints which were requested by the arresting agency. Dispositions include granting a misdemeanor or felony complaint, or denying a complaint for such reasons as lack of corpus, lack of sufficient evidence, interest of justice, complainant refuses to testify, witness unavailable, inadmissible search, deferred parole revocation, prefiling deferral and other.
Diversion	A disposition of a criminal defendant either before adjudication or following adjudication but prior to sentencing, in which the court directs the defendant to participate in a work, educational or rehabilitation program.
FBI Crime Index	The FBI chose seven crimes to serve as an index for gauging fluctuations in the overall volume and rate of crime. These offenses include homicide, forcible, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny-theft and motor vehicle theft. By congressional mandate, arson was added as the eighth index offense in 1979.
Felony	A crime which is punishable with death or by imprisonment in a state prison.
Filing	A document filed with the municipal court clerk or county clerk by a prosecuting attorney alleging that a person committed or attempted to commit a crime.
Inactivated Case	A case which has been assigned but for which no suspect has been identified and in which no further investigation is anticipated. Inactive cases remain unsolved unless new information becomes available. Cases remain inactive until the statute of limitations for the particular offense(s) involved expires.
Indictment	Type of filing used in superior court to indicate if the case reaches superior court as the result of an indictment by a grand jury.
Infraction	An offense punishable by fine or other penalty, but not by incarceration.
Misdemeanor	A crime punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for up to one year.
Municipal Court	The court of original or trial jurisdiction for the prosecution of persons accused of misdemeanor or certain felony offenses. Also, lower courts may sentence certain felony offenders as well as conduct preliminary hearings to determine probable cause in cases where felony offenders are subject to jurisdiction of superior courts.
Penal Code	The California Penal Code contains statutes that define criminal offenses and specify corresponding punishments along with criminal justice system mandates and procedures.
Penal Code Section 849(b)	Penal Code section which authorizes the police to release an arrested person from custody based on insufficient grounds for filing a criminal complaint against that person, or because the person was under the influence of alcohol or drugs and no further action is desirable.
Petition to Revoke Probation	Action taken by a prosecutor to revoke the probation status of an offender to return the subject to county jail or state prison.
Probable Cause	The standard used by the Police Department to make arrests and conduct investigations. Defined as having more evidence for than against. Also, an apparent state of facts found to exist upon reasonable inquiry, which would induce a reasonably intelligent and prudent person to believe, in a criminal case, that the accused person had committed the crime charged, while reserving some possibility for doubt.
Prosecution	The institution and carrying on of legal proceedings against a person.
Reasonable Cause	See probable cause.
Reasonable Doubt	Reasonable doubt which will justify acquittal is doubt based on reason and arising from evidence or lack of evidence, and is doubt which a reasonable person might entertain, and is not fanciful doubt, is not imagined doubt, and is not doubt that a juror might conjure up to avoid performing an unpleasant task or duty. Reasonable doubt is such a doubt as would cause prudent persons to hesitate before acting in matters of importance to themselves.
Rebooking	As defined by the San Francisco Police Department, the process by which an Inspector presents the case against a person who has already been arrested for review by a District Attorney. A rebooking involves corroborating the arresting Police Officer"s incident report through interviews with the suspect, victim, witnesses and arresting Officers. The District Attorney then decides what charges, if any, to file for prosecution against the suspect. A rebooking is required when a person has been arrested without a warrant on a felony charge by the police.
Sufficient Cause	See probable cause.
Subpoena	The usual process for the summoning of witnesses.
Superior Court	The court of original or trial jurisdiction for felony cases and all juvenile hearings. Also, the first court of appeal for municipal or justice court cases.
Suspect Case	Cases in which there is no initial arrest and a rebooking is therefore unnecessary. Suspect cases may be assigned to an Inspector for a follow-up investigation, which involves investigating the crime, identifying and locating potential suspects and obtaining any necessary arrest and/or search warrants from the District Attorney.
Warrant	An instrument, issued by a magistrate, authorizing an officer to make an arrest, seize property, make a search, or carry a judgment into execution.