NCJ Number
229383
Journal
Prison Journal Volume: 89 Issue: 4 Dated: December 2009 Pages: 426-439
Date Published
December 2009
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This article explores the role of intermediate sanctions in probation officers' (POs) sentencing recommendations.
Abstract
Results reveal that in a large majority of the cases, POs used the intermediate sanctions consistently. There was no case in which the intermediate sanctions were seen as less appropriate than both prison and standard probation. The severity of POs' sentencing recommendations was also fairly well correlated with the State sentencing guidelines for both minimum and maximum sentences. Although there was some evidence that diversion was more likely to be used with younger offenders, for the most part the choice of diversion versus net widening seemed to be a matter of the general sentencing preferences of the PO. POs as a group did not have a preference for tougher sentences except for one exception, the POs were more likely to recommend probation rather than prison. Data were collected from recommendations from 10 State POs who were experienced in conducting the writing Pre-Sentence Investigations (PSIs) using 30 actual felony cases. Table and references