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

Florida Department of Corrections
Michael D. Crews, Secretary

Sentencing Guidelines
1995-96 Annual Report
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Sentencing Guidelines 1995-96 Annual Report, Part II: Impact

Section 1. Use of Incarcerative Sanctions

GOAL: Use of incarcerative sanctions is prioritized toward offenders convicted of serious offenses and certain offenders who have long prior records, in order to maximize the finite capacities of state and local correctional facilities. F.S. 921.001(4)(a)7.

FACT: Serious offenders and non-violent offenders with long prior records represented a larger proportion of state prison admissions under the 1994 and 1995 versions of the guidelines compared to pre-1994 guidelines.

  Prison Admissions
Offense Group
Pre-1994 Policy
1994/95 Policy
Violent
30.0%
41.2%
Property
34.2%
28.1%
Drug
31.0%
23.4%
Other
4.7%
7.2%

FINDINGS:

  • Overall, the proportion of violent offenses has dramatically increased, from 30.0% of prison admissions in FY 1992-93 to 41.2% in FY 1995-96 (Figure 1).
  • In line with the goals of the sentencing guidelines, the proportion of prison admissions for less serious drug offenses have decreased from 31.0% in FY 1992-93 to 23.4% in FY 1995-96 (Table 1).
  • Murder/Manslaughter offenses represented 4.9% of all state prison admissions in FY 1995-96, up from 3.4% in FY 1992-93 (Table 1).
  • Sexual/Lewd Assault offenses increased by 2.0% among those admitted to state prison, from 2.9% in FY 1992-93 to 4.9% in FY 1995-96 (Table 1).
  • As the proportion of violent offender admissions to prison increased, these offenders represented a smaller proportion of admissions to community supervision. More of the offenders admitted to community supervision committed drug offenses and other less serious offenses (Figure 2 and Table 2).
  • Prison admissions of nonviolent, 3rd degree felony offenders have become more heavily focused on those with long prior prison records. For example, drug offenders with two or more prior prison sentences represented 55.1% of all 3rd degree felony convictions in FY 1995-96, up from 37.7% in FY 1992-93 (Table 3).

NOTE: The admissions from FY 1992-93 utilized for these analyses, include only cases with offense dates on or after 1/1/91. This restriction allows comparability to the 1994 guidelines structure which was in effect for offenses committed on or after January 1, 1994.

List of Tables and Figures for Part II, Section 1

Figure 1 - Distribution of Prison Admissions by Offense Group, Fiscal Year and Guidelines Policy
Table 1 - Changes in Prison Admission Distributions by Offense Type for Sentencing Guidelines Policy in Effect
Figure 2 - Distribution of Supervision Admissions by Offense Group, Fiscal Year, and Guidelines Policy
Table 2 - Changes in Community Supervision Admission Distributions by Offense Type for Sentencing Guidelines Policy in Effect
Table 3 - Current Prison Admissions for Non-Violent Offense Groups by Prior Prison Record and Guidelines Policy, Third Degree Felony Offenses Only

Section 2: Race Neutrality in Sentencing | Part II Menu

Sentencing Guidelines
1995-96 Annual Report
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