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

Florida Department of Corrections
Michael D. Crews, Secretary

Florida's Criminal Punishment Code:
A Comparative Assessment (FY 2010-2011)
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Part II: Offense to Sentence Date Lag Time Comparison

FACT: Scoresheets that have been received by the Department of Corrections for offenders sentenced under the Florida Criminal Punishment Code are not representative of the true impact of sentencing events under the Code.

FINDINGS:

  • There were 75,018 scoresheets submitted to the Department of Corrections with sentence dates in FY2010-2011 and offense dates on or after October 1, 2009. The number of scoresheets submitted to the Department of Corrections with sentence dates in FY2009-2010 and offense dates on or after October 1, 2008 was 81,466.

  • Lag Time - The average length of time that passes from the date an offender commits a crime to the date the offender is sentenced for that crime is 6.2 months for sentencing events in FY2010-2011 (Table 1).

  • More serious and violent crimes typically have much longer lag time than the less serious property or drug crimes. A data file that is constrained by the date of offense must allow for enough time for the serious and violent crimes to be processed and convicted in order to represent a true distribution of sentencing events. The Florida Criminal Punishment Code went into effect for offenses committed on or after October 1, 1998. As of September 1, 2011, the Department of Corrections had received 1,963,456 Code scoresheets. However, because of the long lag time for serious offenses, the information to date is skewed more heavily by the less serious offenses.

  • The average lag time for FY2009-2010 sentencing events is 6.0 months. When the lag times are examined by offense severity level and type of primary offense, the average lag time for level 10 offenses (most serious) was 10.4 months for sentencing events during FY2009-2010. In FY2010-2011, the average lag time for level 10 offenses was 9.5 months. Also, for murder/manslaughter, the average lag time from offense to sentence is 10.9 months for sentencing dates in FY2009-2010 and 10.5 months for FY2010-2011 (Table 2).

  • Drug offenses comprised the largest group of scoresheets received in both FY2009-2010 (35.0%) and FY2010-2011 (34.9%) (Table 3).

  • The more violent, serious offenses represented 17.3% of the scoresheets in FY2009-2010 and 16.8% in FY2010-2011 (Table 3).

Table 1 Comparison of Average Time from Offense Date to Sentence Date by Offense Severity Level of Primary Offense, in Months

Offense Severity Level FY2009-2010 Sentence Dates1 FY2010-2011 Sentence Dates2
1 5.1 5.2
2 6.1 6.3
3 5.3 5.7
4 5.8 6.0
5 6.3 6.6
6 6.6 6.8
7 7.3 7.5
8 8.5 8.5
9 9.3 9.3
10 10.4 9.5
Overall Average 6.0 6.2
1 Offense dates on or after October 1, 2008.
2 Offense dates on or after October 1, 2009.

Table 2 Comparison of Average "Lag" Time from Offense Date to Sentence Date by Primary Offense, in Months

Primary Offense FY2009-2010 Sentence Dates1 FY2010-2011 Sentence Dates2
Murder/Manslaughter 10.9 10.5
Sexual/Lewd Behavior 9.3 9.0
Robbery 7.6 7.4
Violent, Other 6.4 6.4
Burglary 6.3 6.4
Property Theft/Fraud/Damage 6.2 6.3
Drugs 5.6 6.1
Weapons 6.0 6.4
Other 5.2 5.5
Overall Average 6.0 6.2
1 Offense dates on or after October 1, 2008.
2 Offense dates on or after October 1, 2009.

Figure 1 Distribution of Offense Group Sentence Dates in FY2009-2010 vs. FY2010-2011

Distribution of Offense Group, Sentence Dates FY 2009-2010 vs. Sentence Dates FY 2010-2011

Table 3 Distribution of Offense Sentence Dates FY 2009-2010 vs. Sentence Dates FY 2010-2011

Primary Offense FY2009-2010 Sentence Dates1 FY2010-2011 Sentence Dates2
Murder/Manslaughter 245 222
0.3% 0.3%
Sexual Offenses 618 551
0.8% 0.7%
Robbery 2,475 2,153
3.0% 2.9%
Violent Personal Offenses 10,402 9,341
12.8% 12.5%
Burglary 10,080 9,694
12.4% 12.9%
Theft/Forgery/Fraud 17,152 16,200
21.1% 21.6%
Drugs 28,531 26,205
35.0% 34.9%
Weapons 2,518 2,341
3.1% 3.1%
Other 9,445 8,311
11.6% 11.1%
Total 81,466 75,018
100.0% 100.0%
1 Offense dates on or after October 1, 2008.
2 Offense dates on or after October 1, 2009.

Table 4 Distribution of Offense

Primary Offense FY2009-2010 Sentence Dates1 FY2010-2011 Sentence Dates2
Murder/Manslaughter 245 0.3% 222 0.3%
1st Degree Murder 59 0.1% 49 0.1%
2nd Degree Murder 91 0.1% 95 0.1%
3rd Degree Murder 8 0.0% 3 0.0%
Homicide, Other 2 0.0% 4 0.0%
Manslaughter 41 0.1% 40 0.1%
DUI Manslaughter 44 0.1% 31 0.0%
Sexual Offenses 618 0.8% 551 0.7%
Capital Sexual Battery 32 0.0% 16 0.0%
Life Sexual Battery 31 0.0% 22 0.0%
1st Degree Sexual Battery 32 0.0% 26 0.0%
2nd Degree Sexual Battery 83 0.1% 62 0.1%
Sexual Assault, Other 7 0.0% 1 0.0%
Lewd/Lascivious Behavior 433 0.5% 424 0.6%
Robbery 2,475 3.0% 2,153 2.9%
Robbery with Weapon 959 1.2% 758 1.0%
Robbery without Weapon 1,383 1.7% 1,306 1.7%
Home Invasion, Robbery 133 0.2% 89 0.1%
Violent Personal Offenses 10,402 12.8% 9,341 12.5%
Home Invasion, Other 98 0.1% 53 0.1%
Carjacking 1,561 1.9% 1,361 1.8%
Aggravated Assault 1,090 1.3% 1,084 1.4%
Aggravated Battery 1,258 1.5% 1,096 1.5%
Assault/Battery on L.E.O. 960 1.2% 926 1.2%
Assault/Battery, Other 198 0.2% 166 0.2%
Aggravated Stalking 1,477 1.8% 1,251 1.7%
Resisting Arrest with Violence 305 0.4% 280 0.4%
Kidnapping 162 0.2% 114 0.2%
Arson 789 1.0% 733 1.0%
Abuse of Children 2,043 2.5% 1,900 2.5%
Violent, Other 361 0.4% 289 0.4%
Leaving Accident, Injury/Death 73 0.1% 73 0.1%
DUI, Injury 27 0.0% 15 0.0%
Burglary 10,080 12.4% 9,694 12.9%
Burglary, Structure 5,413 6.6% 5,142 6.9%
Burglary, Dwelling 3,601 4.4% 3,516 4.7%
Burglary, Armed 270 0.3% 256 0.3%
Burglary with Assault 236 0.3% 250 0.3%
Burglary/Trespass, Other 560 0.7% 530 0.7%
Theft/Forgery/Fraud 17,152 21.1% 16,200 21.6%
Grand Theft, Other 6,479 8.0% 6,108 8.1%
Grand Theft, Automobile 1,470 1.8% 1,231 1.6%
Stolen Property 2,669 3.3% 2,991 4.0%
Forgery/Counterfeiting 2,396 2.9% 2,013 2.7%
Worthless Checks 202 0.2% 133 0.2%
Fraudulent Practices 2,000 2.5% 1,919 2.6%
Theft/Property Damage, Other 1,936 2.4% 1,805 2.4%
Drugs 28,531 35.0% 26,205 34.9%
Drugs, Manufacture/Sale/Purchase 9,263 11.4% 8,139 10.8%
Drugs, Trafficking 1,391 1.7% 1,435 1.9%
Drugs, Possession/Other 17,877 21.9% 16,631 22.2%
Weapons 2,518 3.1% 2,341 3.1%
Weapons, Discharging 229 0.3% 179 0.2%
Weapons, Possession 2,289 2.8% 2,159 2.9%
Weapons, Other 0 0.0% 3 0.0%
Other 9,445 11.6% 8,311 11.1%
Escape 2,144 2.6% 1,802 2.4%
DUI, No Injury 784 1.0% 665 0.9%
Traffic, Other 3,708 4.6% 3,278 4.4%
Racketeering 9 0.0% 13 0.0%
Pollution/Hazardous Materials 54 0.1% 31 0.0%
Criminal Justice System 2,186 2.7% 2,053 2.7%
Other 560 0.7% 469 0.6%
Total 81,466 100.0% 75,018 100.0%
1 Offense dates on or after October 1, 2008.
2 Offense dates on or after October 1, 2009.
Florida's Criminal Punishment Code:
A Comparative Assessment (FY 2010-2011)
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