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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 2007-2008)
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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 96,773 scoresheets submitted to the Department of Corrections with sentence dates in FY2007-2008 and offense dates on or after October 1, 2006. The number of scoresheets submitted to the Department of Corrections with sentence dates in FY2006-2007 and offense dates on or after October 1, 2005 was 100,945.

  • 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 5.9 months for sentencing events in FY2007-2008. (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, 2008, the Department of Corrections had received 1,188,564 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 FY2006-2007 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 9.8 months for sentencing events during FY2006-2007. In FY2007-2008, the average lag time for level 10 offenses was 10.3 months. Also, for murder/manslaughter, the average lag time from offense to sentence is 10.5 months for sentencing dates in FY2006-2007 and 10.7 months for FY2007-2008. (Table 2).

  • Drug offenses comprised the largest group of scoresheets received in both FY2006-2007 (39.4%) and FY2007-2008 (36.3%). (Table 3).

  • The more violent, serious offenses represented 14.3% of the scoresheets in FY2006-2007 and 14.9% in FY2007-2008 (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 FY2006-2007 Sentence Dates1 FY2007-2008 Sentence Dates2
1 5.2 5.1
2 6.1 6.2
3 5.1 5.3
4 5.7 5.8
5 6.2 6.3
6 6.8 6.8
7 7.5 7.6
8 8.9 8.8
9 9.3 9.3
10 9.8 10.3
Overall Average 5.8 5.9
1 Offense dates on or after October 1, 2005.
2 Offense dates on or after October 1, 2006.

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

Primary Offense FY2006-2007 Sentence Dates1 FY2007-2008 Sentence Dates2
Murder/Manslaughter 10.5 10.7
Sexual/Lewd Behavior 9.6 9.5
Robbery 7.3 7.3
Violent, Other 6.6 6.6
Burglary 6.1 6.2
Property Theft/Fraud/Damage 6.3 6.2
Drugs 5.3 5.6
Weapons 6.1 6.1
Other 5.3 5.2
Overall Average 5.8 5.9
1 Offense dates on or after October 1, 2005.
2 Offense dates on or after October 1, 2006.

Figure 1 Distribution of Offense Group Sentence Dates in FY2006-2007 vs. FY2007-2008

Distribution of Offense Group, Sentence Dates FY 2005-2006 vs. Sentence Dates FY 2006-2007

Table 3 Distribution of Offense Sentence Dates FY 2006-2007 vs. Sentence Dates FY 2007-2008

Primary Offense FY2006-2007
Sentence Date1		 FY2007-2008
Sentence Date2
Murder/Manslaughter 273 281
0.3% 0.3%
Sexual Offenses 640 620
0.6% 0.6%
Robbery 2,015 2,473
2.0% 2.6%
Violent Personal Offenses 10,984 10,607
10.9% 11.0%
Burglary 8,525 9,306
8.4% 9.6%
Theft/Forgery/Fraud 18,494 18,902
18.3% 19.5%
Drugs 39,761 35,097
39.4% 36.3%
Weapons 2,555 2,544
2.5% 2.6%
Other 17,698 16,943
17.5% 17.5%
Total 100,945 96,773
100.0% 100.0%
1 Offense dates on or after October 1, 2005.
2 Offense dates on or after October 1, 2006.

Table 4 Distribution of Offense

Primary Offense FY2006-2007
Sentence Date1		 FY2007-2008
Sentence Date2
Murder/Manslaughter 273 0.3% 281 0.3%
 1st Degree Murder 70 0.1% 77 0.1%
 2nd Degree Murder 114 0.1% 111 0.1%
 3rd Degree Murder 1 0.0% 3 0.0%
 Homicide, Other 2 0.0% 2 0.0%
 Manslaughter 38 0.0% 37 0.0%
 DUI Manslaughter 48 0.0% 51 0.1%
Sexual Offenses 640 0.6% 620 0.6%
 Capital Sexual Battery 29 0.0% 25 0.0%
 Life Sexual Battery 20 0.0% 24 0.0%
 1st Degree Sexual Battery 39 0.0% 30 0.0%
 2nd Degree Sexual Battery 108 0.1% 98 0.1%
 Sexual Assault, Other 7 0.0% 2 0.0%
 Lewd/Lascivious Behavior 437 0.4% 441 0.5%
Robbery 2,015 2.0% 2,473 2.6%
 Robbery with Weapon 689 0.7% 925 1.0%
 Robbery without Weapon 1,248 1.2% 1,470 1.5%
 Home Invasion, Robbery 78 0.1% 78 0.1%
Violent Personal Offenses 10,984 10.9% 10,607 11.0%
 Home Invasion, Other 1 0.0% 0 0.0%
 Carjacking 128 0.1% 114 0.1%
 Aggravated Assault 1,692 1.7% 1,590 1.6%
 Aggravated Battery 1,183 1.2% 1,202 1.2%
 Assault/Battery on L.E.O. 1,375 1.4% 1,415 1.5%
 Assault/Battery, Other 623 0.6% 541 0.6%
 Aggravated Stalking 200 0.2% 218 0.2%
 Resisting Arrest with Violence 1,738 1.7% 1,608 1.7%
 Kidnapping 364 0.4% 346 0.4%
 Arson 167 0.2% 193 0.2%
 Abuse of Children 1,060 1.1% 1,018 1.1%
 Violent, Other 1,910 1.9% 1,847 1.9%
 Leaving Accident, Injury/Death 445 0.4% 425 0.4%
 DUI,  Injury 98 0.1% 90 0.1%
Burglary 8,525 8.4% 9,306 9.6%
 Burglary, Structure 5,159 5.1% 5,601 5.8%
 Burglary, Dwelling 2,293 2.3% 2,521 2.6%
 Burglary, Armed 188 0.2% 245 0.3%
 Burglary with Assault 183 0.2% 187 0.2%
 Burglary/Trespass, Other 702 0.7% 752 0.8%
Theft/Forgery/Fraud 18,494 18.3% 18,902 19.5%
 Grand Theft, Other 7,274 7.2% 7,392 7.6%
 Grand Theft, Automobile 2,483 2.5% 2,204 2.3%
 Stolen Property 2,134 2.1% 2,312 2.4%
 Forgery/Counterfeiting 2,986 3.0% 3,060 3.2%
 Worthless Checks 388 0.4% 321 0.3%
 Fraudulent Practices 1,909 1.9% 2,083 2.2%
 Theft/Property Damage, Other 1,320 1.3% 1,530 1.6%
Drugs 39,761 39.4% 35,097 36.3%
 Drugs, Manufacture/Sale/Purchase 11,087 11.0% 9,871 10.2%
 Drugs, Trafficking 927 0.9% 1,107 1.1%
 Drugs, Possession/Other 27,747 27.5% 24,119 24.9%
Weapons 2,555 2.5% 2,544 2.6%
 Weapons, Discharging 309 0.3% 236 0.2%
 Weapons, Possession 2,244 2.2% 2,304 2.4%
 Weapons, Other 2 0.0% 4 0.0%
Other 17,698 17.5% 16,943 17.5%
 Escape 2,951 2.9% 2,750 2.8%
 DUI, No Injury 1,019 1.0% 968 1.0%
 Traffic, Other 10,408 10.3% 9,867 10.2%
 Racketeering 26 0.0% 24 0.0%
 Pollution/Hazardous Materials 117 0.1% 60 0.1%
Criminal Justice System 2,715 2.7% 2,655 2.7%
 Other 462 0.5% 619 0.6%
Total 100,945 100.0% 96,773 100.0%
1 Offense dates on or after October 1, 2005.
2 Offense dates on or after October 1, 2006.
Florida's Criminal Punishment Code:
A Comparative Assessment (FY 2007-2008)
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