Case Attrition
Definition
The cumulative reduction in the number of criminal matters as they pass from offence committed through reporting, recording, charging, and trial to conviction. High attrition means that the conviction count is much smaller than the true crime volume.
- Stages tracked
- Offence, reporting, recording, charging, trial, conviction
- Effect
- Conviction count understates true crime volume
- Driver
- Cumulative loss of cases at each stage
- Field
- Criminal justice statistics, prosecution studies
Common questions
Why does high case attrition matter for how crime statistics are interpreted?+
Because so many cases drop out before conviction, conviction figures alone understate offending and can mislead policy decisions, so analysts also track earlier-stage figures like reports and charges to get a fuller picture of case flow.
At which stage does attrition typically cause the largest single drop?+
This varies by crime type and jurisdiction, but under-reporting to police and the decision not to charge after investigation are commonly cited as major attrition points, well before a case ever reaches trial.
Related terms
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- Nolle Prosequi
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- Prosecutorial Discretion
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