Presentencing

Brief History of Presentence Investigation Reports

Presentence investigation reports date back to the late 1800s in the criminal justice system. By 1943, federal courts issued a handbook designed to provide guidance on conducting presentence investigation reports. Over time, presentence investigation reports have evolved to become one of the most important sources of information utilized by sentencing judges. Initially, presentence investigation reports were designed to promote individualized sentencing by utilizing information only specific to the offender. Over time, victims' rights advocates have successfully argued for greater consideration of the impact of crimes on victims or their families, resulting in the creation of victim impact statements. In some jurisdictions, victim impact statements are included as a part of the presentence investigation report. A victim impact statement provides victims with an opportunity to express their feelings through an oral or written personal statement that the judge can take into consideration prior to sentencing.

Role of the Probation Officer

A primary role of the probation officer is to serve as an advisor to the sentencing judge. As changes in sentencing policy have taken place over the past 2 decades, so has the role of probation officers. In addition to preparing presentence investigation reports, probation officers are now often responsible for completing risk assessment instruments and sentencing guidelines. The utilization of these tools varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Nevertheless, where available, the completion of these instruments occurs during the presentencing phase and can have a tremendous impact on the sentencing outcome. Risk assessment instruments are often offense specific and are used to gauge whether an offender will commit future crimes and whether an offender is worthy of diversion from incarceration to a less-restrictive sanction. Sentencing guidelines, on the other hand, paint a picture of how offenders convicted of similar crimes and criminal histories historically have been sentenced. Occasionally, probation officers may be required to testify in court with respect to the accuracy of their presentence investigation report findings and sentencing recommendation.

In addition to the advisory role bestowed upon probation officers, a high level of discretion accompanies the position. Consequently, the level of discretion that probation officers are afforded in preparing presentence investigation reports often goes unnoticed by researchers. For example, in an [Page 643]examination of sentencing patterns, the role of the probation officer is often underestimated due to the fact that presentence investigation reports do not carry the same level of visibility as indictments, plea agreements, or trials. The information contained in presentence investigation reports is confidential and is disclosed only to the defendant, defense counsel, prosecutor, and other authorized criminal justice personnel. Thus, the information contained in the report is not scrutinized to the level of other documents, which are matters of public record.

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