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Sentencing

Sentencing decisions—from community orders in the UK to mental health courts, mandatory minimum sentences, and "three strikes" laws in the United States—are increasingly under the microscope to lower crime rates and reduce recidivism. RAND has conducted evaluations of specific sentencing and corrections policies since well before the first three-strikes laws passed in 1994, and has reported on the costs and benefits of various sentencing laws, including whether they do in fact reduce crime.

Testimony
Evaluation of the California County Resentencing Pilot Program
The California County Resentencing Pilot Program was established in 2021 and will run through September 1, 2024. In the program's first year, what were some of the implementation challenges participants faced? And what are some early results from the nine pilot counties' case reviews?
Mar 17, 2023
Journal Article
Racial Disparities in Criminal Sentencing Vary Considerably Across Federal Judges
Substantial race-based disparities exist in federal criminal sentencing. We analyze 380,000 recent (2006–2019) sentences in the JUSTFAIR database and show that these disparities are large and vary considerably across judges.
Feb 15, 2023
Report
Evaluation of the California County Resentencing Pilot Program: Year 1 Findings
This evaluation of the California County Resentencing Pilot Program seeks to determine how the program is implemented in nine pilot counties and what the characteristics are of a possible candidate for resentencing.
Oct 3, 2022
Journal Article
Does Mens Rea Matter?
Does mens rea matter to the criminal legal system? Our study addresses this question by performing the first-ever empirical analysis of a culpable mental state's impact on administration of a criminal statute.
Mar 23, 2022
Journal Article
Prior Punishments and Cumulative Disadvantage: How Supervision Status Impacts Prison Sentences
This article explores one way prior punishments may contribute to cumulative disadvantage: through more severe sentencing of those under criminal justice supervision.
Nov 10, 2021
Journal Article
A Better Path Forward for Criminal Justice: A Report by the Brookings-AEI Working Group on Criminal Justice Reform
In this volume, experts offer policymakers with analysis and recommendations to support sustained, bipartisan reforms to move the criminal justice system toward a more humane and effective footing.
Sep 1, 2021
Journal Article
Statistical Analysis of Presidential Pardons
This report is a study of pardon-petition evaluations performed by the Office of the Pardon Attorney, a unit in the Department of Justice.
Jul 6, 2021
Journal Article
What Can DNA Exonerations Tell Us About Racial Differences in Wrongful-Conviction Rates?
We show that data on DNA exonerations can be informative about racial differences in wrongful-conviction rates.
Dec 11, 2020
Journal Article
Sentencing Scorecards: Reducing Racial Disparities in Prison Sentences at Their Source
Scorecards are a common tool for public policy decisionmaking, but none highlight racial disparities in incarceration. We constructed county-level scorecards for racial disparities in incarceration rates for the NY State Permanent Commission on Sentencing.
Oct 21, 2020
Journal Article
Locking Up My Generation: Cohort Differences in Prison Spells Over the Life Course
Our study highlights that the crime-punishment wave in the 1980s and 1990s created cohort differences in incarceration over the life course that changed the level of incarceration even decades after the wave.
Oct 1, 2020
Project
Crime and Justice Research at RAND Europe
Using evidence-based analysis to help inform policymaking both in the UK and internationally, RAND Europe offers insights into a variety of issues from the size of illicit markets to how to tackle serious organised crime and reoffending.
Sep 2, 2020
Journal Article
"Nothing Is More Opaque Than Absolute Transparency": The Use of Prior History to Guide Sentencing
This article reviews prior literature, evaluating an algorithm used to determine prison sentencing for criminals with prior history.
Apr 15, 2020
Journal Article
Drug Offences: Assessment of Guideline
Using data collection exercises in the Crown and magistrates courts, researchers helped identify whether sentencing outcomes for drug and theft offences changed after new guidelines came into force, and examined factors affecting sentencing practice.
Jun 25, 2019
Dissertation
Treatment Not Custody: Process and Impact Evaluation of the Santa Monica Homeless Community Court
This dissertation is a process and impact evaluation of the Santa Monica Homeless Community Court.
Sep 18, 2018
Report
An Alternative Future for the Corrections Sector
Experts agree that the main role of the U.S. corrections sector should be to help improve offenders' behavior. Better staff training, the elimination of operations that generate revenue, and a cultural shift to prioritize rehabilitation over punishment could help.
Oct 26, 2017
Commentary
The Intersection of Algorithms and an Individual's Rights
Data collection, and our reliance on it, have evolved extremely rapidly. The resulting algorithms have proved invaluable for organizing, evaluating and utilizing information. How do individuals' rights come in to play, when data about their lives is compiled to create algorithms, and the resulting tools are applied to judge them?
Sep 29, 2017
Commentary
Should California Drop Criminal Penalties for Drug Possession?
Californians have a lot to consider when it comes to decriminalizing possession. But now is the time for a rigorous discussion about removing criminal penalties for drug possession, rather than rushing to judgment in the heat of a future election season.
Jul 20, 2017
News Release
Too Little Evidence Available to Determine Cost Savings of Crime Reform Initiative for Los Angeles County
While a California ballot initiative reducing penalties for some criminal offenses promised to save local governments money, quantifying such savings will require significant changes in the way local agencies track workloads.
Jun 15, 2017
Report
Too Little Evidence Available to Determine Cost Savings of Crime Reform Initiative for Los Angeles County
While a California ballot initiative reducing penalties for some criminal offenses promised to save local governments money, quantifying such savings will require significant changes in the way local agencies track workloads.
Jun 15, 2017
Commentary
No Company Should Be Able to Keep You from Checking Your Government's Math
Data and computer models are becoming more and more important for making policy decisions on everything from prison sentences to tax bills. But citizens should be able to “check the math” on decisions that affect them.
Jan 18, 2017

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RAND Topic:
Sentencing

Topic Synonyms:
Judgment;
Punishment

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