The Delaware Sentencing Accountability Commission (SENTAC) was created in 1984 to insure certainty and consistency of punishment by incapacitating violent offenders, restituting victims, and rehabilitating offenders while considering taxpayer costs.
The Delaware General Assembly passed bills in 1987 that established a five-level continuum of supervision for offenders, and SENTAC created judicial guidelines to assign offenders to a particular sentence level and length. During 1989, judges sentenced to the presumptive level 84.6 percent of the time and, in most other cases, supplied aggravating or mitigating factors for an overall procedural compliance rate of 94.7 percent. Concerning compliance with length of sentence, there was an overall procedural compliance rate of 97 percent. The use of nonincarcerative sentences increased as crime seriousness decreased. This finding was in keeping with a SENTAC initiative to make better use of available resources, especially prison beds, by diverting nonviolent offenders to lesser sanctions. Numerous drug and alcohol programs have been funded upon recommendation of SENTAC. Recommendations have also been made for programs to serve mentally retarded offenders, sex offenders, child support violators, and individuals in need of job placement and development. SENTAC has further recommended improved rehabilitation programs and a review of the victim's role in sentencing. 10 charts.