OBJECTIVE Competence to proceed (CTP) is a constitutional protection intended to facilitate fairness and dignity of court proceedings. Researchers have estimated that between 60,000 and 94,000 defendants are evaluated for CTP each year. Yet no research has systematically identified the number of evaluations conducted each year, despite their critical role and many profound implications. We used large-scale, systematic data collection to address this knowledge gap. HYPOTHESES Given the siloed nature of the judicial and forensic mental health systems, we anticipated incomplete data and that the number of evaluations would far exceed previous estimates. METHOD In September 2019, we used public information requests to solicit CTP evaluation order data from the judiciaries of 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons. We accepted evaluation proxies, such as evaluations ordered or evaluations filed, from the 2018/2019 calendar/fiscal year. We used Uniform Crime Reporting data to estimate a nationwide evaluation-to-arrest ratio and annual evaluation volume. RESULTS Twenty-five states provided data. We deemed data from 18 states acceptable while acknowledging that data likely underrepresented actual evaluation volume. By extrapolating data from these 18 states, we estimated a conservative national evaluation-to-arrest ratio of 0.015 (95% confidence interval [-0.007, 0.037]), which suggested that 15 evaluations are conducted per 1,000 arrests each year. Consequently, it seems likely that at least 140,000 evaluations are ordered each year nationwide, with several hundred people referred for evaluations each day. CONCLUSIONS Annual CTP evaluation volume likely far exceeds previous estimates. Transparent data are difficult, if not impossible, to obtain. As a result, researchers, legal and forensic mental health professionals, and policymakers lack the ability to implement informed, constitutionally protected CTP practices. Key implications, research directions, and detailed data infrastructure recommendations are provided. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

中文翻译：

---

法庭报告的在美国各地处理数据的能力。


目标 诉讼权限（CTP）是一项宪法保护，旨在促进法庭诉讼的公平性和尊严。研究人员估计，每年有 60,000 至 94,000 名被告接受 CTP 评估。然而，尽管评估发挥着关键作用并具有许多深远影响，但还没有研究系统地确定每年进行的评估数量。我们使用大规模、系统的数据收集来解决这一知识差距。假设 鉴于司法和法医精神卫生系统的孤立性质，我们预计数据不完整，并且评估数量将远远超过之前的估计。方法 2019 年 9 月，我们利用公开信息请求向美国 50 个州、哥伦比亚特区和联邦监狱局的司法机构征求 CTP 评估令数据。我们接受 2018/2019 日历/财年的评估代理，例如订购的评估或提交的评估。我们使用统一犯罪报告数据来估计全国范围内的评估与逮捕比率和年度评估量。结果 二十五个州提供了数据。我们认为来自 18 个州的数据是可以接受的，同时承认这些数据可能不足以代表实际的评估量。通过推断这 18 个州的数据，我们估计保守的全国评估与逮捕比率为 0.015（95% 置信区间 [-0.007, 0.037]），这表明每年每 1,000 名逮捕进行 15 次评估。因此，全国范围内每年至少有 14 万次评估，每天有数百人接受评估。结论 年度 CTP 评估量可能远远超出之前的估计。 获得透明数据即使不是不可能，也是很困难的。因此，研究人员、法律和法医心理健康专业人员以及政策制定者缺乏实施知情且受宪法保护的 CTP 实践的能力。提供了关键含义、研究方向和详细的数据基础设施建议。 （PsycInfo 数据库记录 (c) 2024 APA，保留所有权利）。