NCJ Number
106368
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 49 Issue: 5 Dated: (August 1987) Pages: 192,194-196
Date Published
1987
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Preferred presentence studies are those which have a balanced use of quantitative and qualitative offender data.
Abstract
Quantitative offender data encompass statistics and information on the offender's demography and criminal history. Qualitative data cover clinical observations of the offender's behavior and social adjustment. Probation officers' degree of emphasis on these two data types determines the style of the presentence report. The 'practical' style gives low emphasis to both quantitative and qualitative data and typically results in a perfunctory report. The 'actuarial' style gives high emphasis to quantitative data, basing sentencing recommendations on percentages derived from general offender population data. The 'social work' style strongly emphasizes qualitative data, focusing on clinical analyses of the particular offender's behavior. The 'integrative' style gives balanced emphasis to both quantitative and qualitative data. This style is preferred because it makes the best use of all offender data. In the actual practice of preparing presentence reports, all four styles are used in varying degrees under various circumstances. The preparers of presentence reports should be aware of the tendency to overpredict antisocial behavior from clinical data and the possibility of inaccurate quantitative data. 2 references.