Pre-Sentence Investigation Proposal

Purpose: To gather and provide information to the Courts and to other Criminal Justice stakeholders that will aid at key decision points.

Proposal: To expand the use of Pre-Sentence Investigations for persons convicted of felonies.

• Upon conviction for a crime, other than a capitol felony, punishable by more than 1 year of incarceration

PSI (and/or AIP) is required:

PSI (and/or AIP) may be ordered:

• The court, may order a PSI for a defendant convicted of any crime or offense.

Current Law

Current Law (Continued)

The PSI may be waived…

• By a defendant, who is not eligible for sentence review pursuant to General Statutes § 51-195 with the consent of the sentencing judge and the prosecuting authority.

PSI Components

• The Offense

• Offender’s Version

• Victim’s Attitude

• Criminal Record

• Current Personal History

• Evaluation and Recommendation

• Addendum

• Appendix

The Offense

• Taken from police reports or may be provided by the state’s attorney.

• Describes value of items taken or extent of injuries to a victim.

• Excludes victim ID, names of Youthful Offender or Juvenile co-defendants, and specific names of the arresting officers.

• Describes status of co-defendants.

Offender’s Version

• Opportunity granted in all cases.

• May note discrepancies with the police reports.

• May describe genuine sentiment of remorse or its absence.

Victim’s Attitude

• May be the actual victim, a guardian or living relative, or the victim’s advocate.

• Face-to-face for Felony assaults, death, sex offenses, robberies or upon the victim’s request.

• Describes financial loss, physical injuries, safety concerns or emotional trauma reported by the victim.

• May include a sentencing request or suggested probation conditions.

Criminal Record

• Includes all convictions and pending matters in adult criminal court in chronological order ending with the instant offense.

• May describe circumstances of the prior convictions and adjustments to prior periods of community-based supervision when available and deemed pertinent.

Current Personal History

• Describes the offender’s family background,

education, employment, marital status,

military service, physical health, mental

health and substance abuse history.

• Emphasis on most recent five years.

• If information is unverified through collateral

sources, it may not be presented as factual.

Addendum

• The previous PSI is not more than five

years old.

• The previous report was not a Youthful

Offender PSI, an update to another report,

or completed by a probation officer from

another state.

May be done when:

Appendix Includes…

• Youthful Offender dispositions if the

offender is under 21 and has not been

convicted of a felony.

• Description of Juvenile Court judicial

dispositions when the defendant is under

21 years of age.

Appendices will be removed from the

PSI Report before the document is sent

to an institution or agency including the

Department of Correction.

Additional Information

• An LSI-R / ASUS-R is completed in conjunction with the PSI.

• Additional evaluations may be requested.

• If the offense is a registerable sex offense, a sex offender evaluation is completed when there is no sentencing agreement or an agreement for straight probation.

Supplemental Information

• Mental health or substance abuse

evaluations requested by the Court or

received subsequent to the submission of

the report may be attached.

PSI Process

• Court order 6 week continuance

• Court documents gathered / case assigned

• Officer reviews case file

• Reviews current and closed Probation files

• Schedules interview with the defendant

• Defense attorney notified and may accompany the defendant during the interview

• Interview may be held at the DOC or the Probation office

PSI Distributed at least 72 hours prior to sentencing to…

• Sentencing Judge

• Prosecuting Attorney

• Defense Attorney or pro se Defendant

• DOC via the Clerk of the Court (currently

sent by mail as well)

Other PSI Consumers

• Adult Probation

• Correctional / Mental Health Institutions

• Board of Pardons and Paroles

• Other Connecticut Courts

• Defense Counsel / Prosecutor during current or future negotiations

• Counsel for the defendant in a sentence review or habeas corpus proceeding

• Any other person or agency specified by statute

Current Practice

• In a calendar year, over 2,000 PSIs are

completed.

• Of the 5,300 “first-time felons” who

receive probation, 815 have had PSIs

(2005 data).

Proposal A: All persons convicted of a first felony will have a PSI completed without exception.

Proposal B: All first felons whose expected sentence will include a period of incarceration will have a PSI completed.

Proposal C: All first felons whose expected sentence will include a period of incarceration exceeding 2 years will have a PSI completed.

• Chance to gather info/ influence sentence and interventions “early”

• Public safety risk and individual risk factors may be assessed

• Opportunity to provide treatment / interventions

• Information may be useful to other consumers and serve as a foundation for future reports

Pros Cons

• Some “first felons” may never reoffend

• Continuances can create burden to court process

• Accurate estimate of volume is impossible

• May be costly• May duplicate risk

assessment process• May result in greater use of

incarceration (pre/post)• FTAs may increase

Proposal A: All persons convicted of a first felony will have a PSI completed without exception.

• Same as Proposal A

• May include higher % of “riskier” defendants

• Fewer # than A = greater cost effectiveness

Pros Cons

Same as Proposal A

Proposal B: All first felons whose expected sentence will include a period of incarceration will have a PSI completed.

• Same as Proposal A & B

• Mandates PSIs for “parole eligible” inmates

• May include higher % of “riskier” defendants

• Most economical option

• Less burdensome to courts than A or B

Pros Cons

Same as Proposal A and B

Proposal C: Mandatory for all first felons whose expected sentence will include a period of incarceration exceeding 2 years.