Section 2. Introductory Statistics

FACT: There were 96,131 scoresheets with sentence dates in FY 1995-96 entered into the sentencing guidelines database. Of these, 17.2% indicated a sentence to state prison, with the remaining indicating one of the following: Community Control, a form of house arrest (11.4%); Probation (49.2%); or County Jail/Other (22.4%).

FINDINGS:

• Nearly 70% of the 96,131 scoresheets with sentence dates in FY 1995-96 were sentenced under the 1994 sentencing guidelines. However, by June, 1996, over two-thirds (66.9%) were scored under the 1995 guidelines policy (Table 1).
• Due to varying time lags in the processing of cases, counties and circuits differed substantially in the proportion of FY 1995-96 cases processed under the two guidelines policies (Tables 2 and 3).
• Of all offenders admitted to community supervision (probation, community control, drug offender probation, or administrative probation) in FY 1995-96, the majority of offenders were sentenced under the 1994 guidelines policy (60.6%), with less than 12% sentenced on the basis of pre-1994 (1983 guidelines) policy, and nearly 28% subject to the 1995 guidelines policy (Figure 2).
• Among those admitted to prison in FY 1995-96, nearly a third were sentenced under pre-1994 (1983 guidelines) policy, while only 13% were subject to the 1995 guidelines, and the majority were sentenced under 1994 guidelines policy (56.7%) (Figure 2).
• Eighty-three percent (83%) of all scoresheets were for male offenders (Table 4), and 54% were for white offenders (Table 5). Over half of all offenders were under age 30 (Table 6).

Part II: Impact