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Rick Scott, Governor
Florida Department of Corrections, Secretary Michael D. Crews

Florida Department of Corrections
Michael D. Crews, Secretary

Florida's Criminal Punishment Code:
A Comparative Assessment (FY 2005-2006)
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Part II: Offense to Sentence Date Lag Time Comparison

FACT: Scoresheets that have been received by the Department of Corrections for offenders sentenced under the Florida Criminal Punishment Code are not representative of the true impact of sentencing events under the Code.

FINDINGS:

  • There were 93,946 scoresheets submitted to the Department of Corrections with sentence dates in FY2005-2006 and offense dates on or after October 1, 2004. The number of scoresheets submitted to the Department of Corrections with sentence dates in FY2004-2005 and offense dates on or after October 1, 2003 was 85,934.

  • Lag Time - The average length of time that passes from the date an offender commits a crime to the date the offender is sentenced for that crime is 5.8 months for sentencing events in FY2005-2006 (Table 1).

  • More serious and violent crimes typically have much longer lag time than the less serious property or drug crimes. A data file that is constrained by the date of offense must allow for enough time for the serious and violent crimes to be processed and convicted in order to represent a true distribution of sentencing events. The Florida Criminal Punishment Code went into effect for offenses committed on or after October 1, 1998. As of September 1, 2006, the Department of Corrections had received 921,049 Code scoresheets. However, because of the long lag time for serious offenses, the information to date is skewed more heavily by the less serious offenses.

  • The average lag time for FY2004-2005 sentencing events is 5.8 months. When the lag times are examined by offense severity level and type of primary offense, the average lag time for level 10 offenses (most serious) was 10.2 months for sentencing events during FY2004-2005. In FY2005-2006, the average lag time for level 10 offenses was 10.4 months. Also, for murder/manslaughter, the average lag time from offense to sentence is 10.6 months for sentencing dates in FY2004-2005 and 10.8 months for FY2005- 2006 (Table 2).

  • Drug offenses comprised the largest group of scoresheets received in both FY2004-2005 (39.3%) and FY2005-2006 (39.5%) (Table 3).

  • The more violent, serious offenses represented 15.6% of the scoresheets in FY2004-2005 and 14.9% in FY2005-2006 (Table 3).

Table 1 Comparison of Average Time from Offense Date to Sentence Date by Offense Severity Level of Primary Offense, in Months

Offense Severity Level FY2004-2005 Sentence Dates1 FY2005-2006 Sentence Dates2
1 5.3 5.4
2 6.1 6.2
3 5.0 5.1
4 5.8 5.8
5 6.1 6.1
6 6.7 6.9
7 7.6 7.4
8 8.6 8.7
9 9.4 9.5
10 10.2 10.4
Overall Average 5.8 5.8
1 Offense dates on or after October 1, 2003.
2 Offense dates on or after October 1, 2004.

Table 2 Comparison of Average "Lag" Time from Offense Date to Sentence Date by Primary Offense, in Months

Primary Offense FY2004-2005 Sentence Dates1 FY2005-2006 Sentence Dates2
Murder/Manslaughter 10.6 10.8
Sexual/Lewd Behavior 9.4 9.9
Robbery 7.5 7.1
Violent, Other 6.6 6.6
Burglary 6.3 6.2
Property Theft/Fraud/Damage 6.3 6.4
Drugs 5.2 5.3
Weapons 6.1 6.0
Other 5.2 5.4
Overall Average 5.8 5.8
1 Offense dates on or after October 1, 2003.
2 Offense dates on or after October 1, 2004.

Figure 1 Distribution of Offense Group Sentence Dates in FY2004-2005 vs. FY2005-2006

Distribution of Offense Group, Sentence Dates FY 2003-2004 vs. Sentence Dates FY 2004-2005

Table 3 Distribution of Offense Sentence Dates FY 2003-2004 vs. Sentence Dates FY 2005-2006

Primary Offense FY2004-2005 Sentence Dates1 FY2005-2006 Sentence Dates2
Murder/Manslaughter 204 215
0.20% 0.20%
Sexual Offenses 714 667
0.8% 0.7%
Robbery 1,722 1,754
2.00% 1.90%
Violent Personal Offenses 10,211 10,836
11.9% 11.5%
Burglary 7,564 7,708
8.80% 8.20%
Theft/Forgery/Fraud 15,964 17,687
18.60% 18.80%
Drugs 33,793 37,129
39.30% 39.50%
Weapons 1,691 1,946
2.00% 2.10%
Other 14,071 16,004
16.4% 17.0%
Total 85,934 93,946
100.0% 100.0%
1 Offense dates on or after October 1, 2003.
2 Offense dates on or after October 1, 2004.

Table 4 Distribution of Offense

Primary Offense FY2004-2005 Sentence Dates1 FY2005-2006 Sentence Dates2
Murder/Manslaughter 204 0.2% 215 0.2%
1st Degree Murder 41 0.0% 41 0.0%
2nd Degree Murder 70 0.1% 92 0.1%
3rd Degree Murder 1 0.0% 2 0.0%
Homicide, Other 3 0.0% 4 0.0%
Manslaughter 51 0.1% 38 0.0%
DUI Manslaughter 38 0.0% 38 0.0%
Sexual Offenses 714 0.8% 667 0.7%
Capital Sexual Battery 21 0.0% 34 0.0%
Life Sexual Battery 33 0.0% 18 0.0%
1st Degree Sexual Battery 36 0.0% 35 0.0%
2nd Degree Sexual Battery 104 0.1% 106 0.1%
Sexual Assault, Other 4 0.0% 8 0.0%
Lewd/Lascivious Behavior 516 0.6% 466 0.5%
Robbery 1,722 2.0% 1,754 1.9%
Robbery with Weapon 552 0.6% 536 0.6%
Robbery without Weapon 1,120 1.3% 1,148 1.2%
Home Invasion, Robbery 50 0.1% 70 0.1%
Violent Personal Offenses 10,211 11.9% 10,836 11.5%
Home Invasion, Other 0 0.0% 1 0.0%
Carjacking 83 0.1% 92 0.1%
Aggravated Assault 1,521 1.8% 1,682 1.8%
Aggravated Battery 1,158 1.3% 1,219 1.3%
Assault/Battery on L.E.O. 1,252 1.5% 1,342 1.4%
Assault/Battery, Other 517 0.6% 552 0.6%
Aggravated Stalking 250 0.3% 238 0.3%
Resisting Arrest with Violence 1,632 1.9% 1,711 1.8%
Kidnapping 337 0.4% 366 0.4%
Arson 159 0.2% 166 0.2%
Abuse of Children 997 1.2% 1,037 1.1%
Leaving Accident, Injury/Death 481 0.6% 399 0.4%
DUI, Injury 83 0.1% 73 0.1%
Violent, Other 1,741 2.0% 1,958 2.1%
Burglary 7,564 8.8% 7,708 8.2%
Burglary, Structure 4,501 5.2% 4,598 4.9%
Burglary, Dwelling 2,145 2.5% 2,168 2.3%
Burglary, Armed 167 0.2% 170 0.2%
Burglary with Assault 237 0.3% 222 0.2%
Burglary/Trespass, Other 514 0.6% 550 0.6%
Theft/Forgery/Fraud 15,964 18.6% 17,688 18.8%
Grand Theft, Other 5,856 6.8% 6,563 7.0%
Grand Theft, Automobile 2,353 2.7% 2,505 2.7%
Stolen Property 1,884 2.2% 2,071 2.2%
Forgery/Counterfeiting 2,766 3.2% 3,016 3.2%
Worthless Checks 476 0.6% 434 0.5%
Fraudulent Practices 1,607 1.9% 1,960 2.1%
Theft/Property Damage, Other 1,022 1.2% 1,139 1.2%
Drugs 33,793 39.3% 37,129 39.5%
Drugs, Manufacture/Sale/Purchase 10,527 12.3% 10,663 11.4%
Drugs, Trafficking 788 0.9% 835 0.9%
Drugs, Possession/Other 22,478 26.2% 25,631 27.3%
Weapons 1,691 2.0% 1,946 2.1%
Weapons, Discharging 270 0.3% 236 0.3%
Weapons, Possession 1,418 1.7% 1,706 1.8%
Weapons, Other 3 0.0% 4 0.0%
Other 14,071 14.1% 16,003 14.5%
Escape 2,424 2.8% 2,970 3.2%
DUI, No Injury 910 1.1% 1,066 1.1%
Traffic, Other 8,292 9.6% 9,091 9.7%
Racketeering 16 0.0% 12 0.0%
Pollution/Hazardous Materials 91 0.1% 115 0.1%
Criminal Justice System 1,960   2,355  
Other 378 0.4% 394 0.4%
Total 85,934 97.7% 93,946 97.5%
1 Offense dates on or after October 1, 2003.
2 Offense dates on or after October 1, 2004.
Florida's Criminal Punishment Code:
A Comparative Assessment (FY 2005-2006)
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