Continued Rise in the Rate of Offenders Sentenced to Federal Prisons

CC Pro — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 21:06:00 GMT

In a new report that captures how federal sentencing caseloads have changed over the last 17 years, the U.S. Sentencing Commission found the rate of offenders sentenced to federal prison time has increased while alternative sentencing (probation, probation with confinement) has declined. A partial reason for the drop in alternative sentences is that a significant number of offenders (37.4 percent) are non-citizens and mostly illegal foreign nationals. These individuals must be confined until they can be deported.

Other Findings:

In fiscal year 2007, 81.1 percent of sentences imposed on citizens involved prison time, probation (8.4 percent), probation with confinement (5.8 percent), prison split with community confinement (4.7 percent);
For citizens, the average prison sentence was 76 months, offenders sentenced to a prison/community split received an average of 9 months, the average probation only sentence was 33 months, and offenders sentenced to probation with confinement was 39 months;
Offenders with higher levels of education are more likely than less educated offenders to receive an alternative sentence.

10 Steps for Corrections Directors, Plus Assessing Consistency and Fairness in Sentencing

Eileen Conway — Thu, 22 May 2008 20:44:00 GMT

As a result of "hundreds of hours of interviews with a wide cross section of officials from 45 state corrections departments in an effort to spotlight the most effective management practices," the Pew Center on the States brings us Ten Steps Corrections Directors Can Take to Strengthen Performance, which "showcases innovative strategies to improve correctional systems’ performance, transparency and accountability." Also new on the Pew site is Assessing Consistency and Fairness in Sentencing: A Comparative Study in Three States," which it calls a "first-ever comprehensive, comparative evaluation of states that use sentencing guidelines," looking at Minnesota, Michigan, and Virginia.

Thinking About Corrections : Sentencing guidelines

Continued Rise in the Rate of Offenders Sentenced to Federal Prisons

10 Steps for Corrections Directors, Plus Assessing Consistency and Fairness in Sentencing