May 2017 An Examination of Florida's Prison Population Trends

May 2017

An Examination of Florida's Prison Population Trends Prepared for The Florida Legislature by Felicity Rose, Colby Dawley, Yamanda Wright, and Len Engel of The Crime and Justice Institute

~CRJ COMMUNITY RESOURCES FOR JUSTICE

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TableofContentsExecutiveSummary................................................................................................................2

Introduction...........................................................................................................................3NationalOverview:FloridainContext.........................................................................................................3

OverviewofFloridaAdultCriminalJusticeSystem.................................................................6CrimeRateTrends........................................................................................................................................6FelonyFilingTrends.....................................................................................................................................7SentencingTrends........................................................................................................................................8JailPopulationTrends..................................................................................................................................9PrisonPopulationTrends.............................................................................................................................9CommunitySupervisionTrends.................................................................................................................21

PrisonAdmissions.................................................................................................................23SentencingGuidelinesOverview................................................................................................................23AlternativestoIncarceration.....................................................................................................................27ResponsestoViolations.............................................................................................................................32Year-and-a-DaySentences.........................................................................................................................35EnhancementsandMandatoryMinimums................................................................................................38PropertyOffenses......................................................................................................................................42

Burglary.................................................................................................................................................43Theft.......................................................................................................................................................43

DrugOffenses.............................................................................................................................................46

ElderlyPrisoners....................................................................................................................48

ReleaseandReentry..............................................................................................................52TimeServed................................................................................................................................................52PrisonReleaseTypesandReentryPlanning...............................................................................................55Recidivism..................................................................................................................................................59

Conclusion.............................................................................................................................62

Appendix:DataandInterviewSourcesandMethodology......................................................64

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EXECUTIVESUMMARYIn2016,theFloridaLegislatureappropriatedfundingfor“acomprehensivereviewofFlorida'scriminaljusticesystem,includingbutnotlimitedtocriminallawandprocedure,lawenforcement,prosecutionanddefenseofcriminaloffenses,thejudicialandcourtssystem,sentencing,andcorrections.”ThisreportaimstoprovideacomprehensiveoverviewoftrendsinFlorida’scriminaljusticesystemoverthelastdecade,andilluminatethosetrendswithdatafromacrossthesystem.After30yearsofgrowth,thelastdecadehasseenFlorida’sprisonpopulationplateauanditscommunitysupervisionpopulationdecline.Twocompetingtrendshaveledtothestabilizedprisonpopulation:adeclineinprisonadmissions,drivenbymajorreductionsincrimerates,arrests,andcriminalprosecutions,balancedoutbylongersentencesforthosewhoaresenttoprison.ThisreportexploreshowFloridasentencingandreleasepolicieshaveshapedthesecompetingtrends,andlooksbeneaththestatewidenumbersatcasesthatdefythesetrends.Keyfindingsinclude:

• Florida’simprisonmentrateis23percenthigherthanthenationalaverage,and10thoverallinthenation.

• Inthelastdecade,Florida’sviolentandpropertycrimeratesanddrugarrestshavealldroppedapproximately30percent,althoughthetotalcrimerateremains15percenthigherthanthenationalaverage.

• Prisonadmissionsdeclined28percentinthelastdecade,drivenbythedeclinesincrimeaswellasdecliningrevocationsfromsupervisionafterFloridaDepartmentofCorrections(FDC)policyshiftsinhowviolationsareaddressed.

• Inthesameperiod,averagesentencelengthincreased22percent,balancingouttheadmissionsdeclineandleadingtoamostlystableprisonpopulation.

• Trendsinadmissionsandprisonpopulationvarywidelyacrossthestate.Ingeneral,southernandeasternFloridacountiessendpeopletoprisonatalowerratethannorthern,central,andwesterncounties.

• Duetomandatoryminimumsentences,sentenceenhancements,andstatutorytimeservedrequirements,prisonersinFloridaservesignificantlylongerperiodsinprisonthaninotherstates,includingfornonviolentcrimes.

• LongsentencesandfewreleaseoptionsarethemaindrivingforceofthegrowthoftheelderlypopulationinFlorida’sprisons.

• Mostoffendersleaveprisonwithlittleornopost-prisonreleasesupervision.

Duetothetimeconstraintsofthisproject,aswellasunavailabilityofdata,thereisstillagreatdealabouttheFloridacriminaljusticesystemthatisunknown.Developmentoforaccesstofurtherinformationoncourtprocessesandsentences,violationsandrevocations,problem-solvingcourts,andcommunitysupervisionareneededtobetterunderstandthesystem.

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INTRODUCTIONInNovember2016,theFloridaLegislaturereleasedanInvitationtoNegotiateseekinganindependentconsultanttoconductanassessmentofFlorida’scriminaljusticedata.ThisprojectfulfillstherequirementsofprovisolanguageinSpecificAppropriations2654and2655inCh.2016-66,LawsofFlorida,alsoknownastheGeneralAppropriationsAct,passedduringthe2016sessionoftheFloridaLegislaturethatcalledfor“acomprehensivereviewofFlorida'scriminaljusticesystem,includingbutnotlimitedtocriminallawandprocedure,lawenforcement,prosecutionanddefenseofcriminaloffenses,thejudicialandcourtssystem,sentencing,andcorrections.”Afteracompetitivebidprocess,theCrimeandJusticeInstitute(CJI)atCommunityResourcesforJusticewasselectedtoconductthisassessment.CJIbeganworkontheassessmentatthebeginningofFebruary2017withafinalreportdueonMay1,2017.Aspartoftheassessment,CJIidentified,collected,andanalyzedkeydataelementsfromanumberofagencies,includingtheFloridaDepartmentofCorrections(FDC)andtheOfficeoftheStateCourtAdministrator(OSCA).CJIalsoreviewedFloridastatutesandagencypolicies,andinterviewedstakeholdersfromacrossthecriminaljusticesystem.SeetheAppendixforafulllistofdatasourcesusedandinterviewsconducted,aswellasadescriptionofcodingandmethodology.Thisreportcoversabroadrangeoftopicsinadultcorrections,withafocusontheFloridaprisonpopulationanddriversofthatpopulation.First,itreviewsthehistoryofprisonpopulationgrowthinFloridaandtheUnitedStates,followedbyasurveyofhigh-leveldataonthelastdecadeinFloridacriminaljustice,fromcrimeratesthroughsentencing,theprisonpopulation,andfinally,communitysupervision.TheremainderofthereportfocusesonspecifictrendswithintheFloridaprisonsystem,inroughorderofhowanoffendermovesthroughthesystem,beginningwithprisonadmissions,thentakingacloserlookatagrowingportionoftheprisonpopulationmadeupofoffendersage50andolder,andfinallyexaminingtrendsinreleasetypesandlengthofstay.Intheconclusion,thereportreturnstodatagapsandomissionsandmakessuggestionsforfurtherreview.

NationalOverview:FloridainContextAcrossthecountry,stateprisonpopulationsexpandedrapidlystartingintheearly1970s,andstateofficialshavespentanincreasingshareoftaxpayerdollarstokeeppacewithprisoncosts.Fromthemid-1980stothemid-2000s,spendingoncorrectionswasthesecond-fastestgrowingstatebudgetcategory,behindonlyMedicaid.1Nationally,in2015,1in15stategeneralfunddollarswenttocorrections.InFlorida,theequivalentmeasurewas1outof11.2Mostcorrectionsdollarsgotothecapital,security,andhealthcarecostsofprisons.InFiscalYear2015-2016,69percentoftheFDCbudgetof$2.3billionwenttoinstitutionaloperationsand

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securityandanadditional16percenttohealthservices,comparedtojust9percenttocommunitycorrections.Inthelastdecade,theFDCinstitutionalbudgethasrisen14percentwhilethecommunitycorrectionsbudgethasfallen22percent.After38yearsofuninterruptedgrowth,thenationalprisonpopulationdeclined5.5percentbetween2009and2015.3Withinthisoverallpatternstateshavefollowedverydifferenttrajectories,particularlyinthelasttenyears.Since2009,24stateshavedeclinedtheirprisonpopulationswhile26haveexperiencedgrowth,rangingfroma24percentdeclineinCaliforniatoa21percentincreaseinNorthDakota.Florida’sprisonpopulationhastendedtofollowthenationalpath,withasimilartrajectoryofrapidgrowththrough2010followedbystabilityorminordecline.From2010to2015,theFloridaprisonpopulationdeclinedslightly(threepercent),anditnowhoversaroundthelevelofthemid-2000s.ThisleavesFloridawiththethird-largeststateprisonpopulationinthecountry,afterTexasandCalifornia.Figure1:Florida’sPrisonPopulationGrew373PercentSince1978

Source:BureauofJusticeStatistics,NationalPrisonerSeries

Florida’simprisonmentrate(thenumberofpeopleinprisonper100,000residents)hasfollowedasimilarpattern,butstillhovers23percentabovethenationalaverage.Comparedtootherhigh-populationstates,Florida’simprisonmentrateishigherthanmost(seeFigure2),andis10thhighestoverallintheUnitedStates.

21,436

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Figure2:Florida’sImprisonmentRate23PercentHigherThanAverage

Source:BureauofJusticeStatistics,NationalPrisonerSeries

Thenationalcrimeratehasbeenfallingsincetheearly1990sandisnowatitslowestlevelsince1968.4Florida’scrimeratehasalsofallensignificantly,thoughitremains15percenthigherthanthenationalaverage.Currently,Floridahasthe15thhighesttotalcrimerateandthe11thhighestviolentcrimerateinthecountry(althoughtheFBIcautionsagainstrankings).5Since2010,31states(includingFlorida)havereducedboththeirimprisonmentandcrimerates.6

568503 496

449402 387 360 352

0100200300400500600

Imprison

men

tRatepe

r100,000 ImprisonmentRateinHighPopulaWonStates,2015

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OVERVIEWOFFLORIDAADULTCRIMINALJUSTICESYSTEMOverthelasttenyears,Florida’sprisonpopulationsizehasremainedfairlystable,butmanyotheraspectsoftheadultcriminaljusticesystemhavechanged.Thissectionreviewshigh-leveltrendsfromcrimeratesthroughcommunitysupervision.Theoverarchingtrendsdescribedherearecoveredinmoredetailinthesectionsthatfollow.

CrimeRateTrendsLiketherestofthecountry,Florida’scrimeratehasplungedprecipitouslyfromitspeakin1988.Inthelasttenyears,thistrendcontinuedfollowingashortlevelingoffperiodintheearly2000s.Since2006,theFloridaviolentcrimeratefell36percentandthepropertycrimeratefell29percent.Figure3:FloridaViolentandPropertyCrimeRatesatLowestPointSinceMid-to-Late-1960s

Source:UniformCrimeRateReports,FederalBureauofInvestigationInthelastyearofavailabledata(2014to2015)therewasatiny(onepercent)uptickintheviolentcrimerateinFlorida.Itremainstobeseenifthisisaone-yearanomalyorthestartofanewtrend.Drugarrestsalsofelloverthisperiod.From2006to2014,drugarrestsinFloridafell26percent.Totalarrestsalsodeclined22percent,alittlelessthanthedeclineinpropertyandviolentreportedcrimes.Thismaybebecausetherearemorearrestsforcrimeswhicharenotincludedintheserious(“index”)crimecountcollectedandreportedbytheFBI,orbecausetherearemorearrestsperreportedcrime.

462.9 461.9

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1,0001,2001,400

1960

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2015ViolentCrimesper100,000

FloridaViolentCrimeRate,1960-2015

2015:1969:

3068.2 2,813.2

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FelonyFilingTrendsOver315,000criminalchargeswerefiledinFloridacircuitcourtsin2015,relatedtoalmost168,000defendants.Thesenumbersrepresentsignificantdropsfromadecadeago—an18percentdeclineinchargesfiledanda24percentdeclineinthenumberofdefendants.Theratiooffelonychargestototalarrestsinthestateroseonlyslightlyoverthisperiod(shiftingfrom.42felonychargesfiledperarrestin2007to.46in2014i),suggestingthatthemainreasonforthedeclinewasbecauseoffewercrimesandarrests.In2006,drugcrimesrepresentedthesinglelargestcriminalcategoryinthestate.Aftera31percentdeclineindrugcharges,thetheft,fraud,andforgerycrimecategoryhadtakenthetopspotin2015.Thedeclineindrugchargesfiledaccountsforjustunderone-halfoftheoveralldeclineinfelonyfilings.Thenumberofchargesfortheft,fraud,andforgerygrew.Figure4:FelonyFilingsDeclined18Percent,Drivenby31PercentDeclineinDrugChargesFiled

Source:FloridaTrialCourtStatisticsQueryTool

iThisratioseemedtoriseto.51in2015,howeverthereisapossibilitythatthe2015arrestshavebeenunderreportedwhichwouldartificiallydrivethatnumberup.

0 20,000 40,000 60,000 80,000 100,000 120,000

CapitalMurderNonCapitalMurder

SexOffRobbery

OtherViolentBurglary

Thej,Fraud,ForgeryBadChecks

OtherPropertyDrugsOther

NumberofFelonyFilings

CriminalChargesFiledinCircuitCourt,2006vs2015

2006 2015

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SentencingTrendsUndertheFloridasentencingguidelinessystem,knownastheCriminalPunishmentCode(CPC)—explainedingreaterdetailbeginningonpage23ofthisreport—everyfelonyconvictionshouldbeaccompaniedbyasentencingscoresheet.ThesentencingscoresheetsfiledwiththeFloridaDepartmentofCorrections(FDC)wereexaminedtounderstandthesentencingtrendsinthestate.Whilethesedataareimperfect(seetheAppendixforadiscussionofmissingdataandmethodology)theyprovideapictureofhowsentencingdecisionshavechangedaccountingforoffenseseverity,criminalhistory,andotherimportantfactorsthataffectfelonysentences.Becauseofthereductioninfelonyfilingsshownabove,thenumberofoverallfelonycasesresultinginasentencehasdeclinedsignificantlyinthelasttenyears.Inparticular,thisdrophasbeenconcentratedamonglower-levelcrimes:thirddegreecrimeswithlowerseveritylevelsasdefinedintheCPC(Figure5).Figure5:25PercentDeclineinSentencingScoresheetsFiledForThirdDegreeFelonies

Source:CJIAnalysisofScoresheetDataProvidedbytheFloridaDepartmentofCorrections

Aconvictiontodayismorelikelytoresultinaprisonorcountyjailsentencethanitwastenyearsago(Figure6).ThisisprimarilybecausethepooloffeloniesreceivingsentencesismadeupofmorefirstandseconddegreefeloniesafterthedeclineinthirddegreefeloniesshowninFigure5.Comparingsimilarcrimes,thenumberofstateprisonsentenceshasdeclinedandthenumberofcountyjailsentenceshasincreased,asdiscussedfurtherintheprisonadmissionssectionofthisreport.

94,11370,707

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cingScoresheetsFiled

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1stDegree

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Figure6:NewFelonyCasesTodayMoreLikelytoResultinIncarcerationSentence

Source:CJIAnalysisofScoresheetDataProvidedbytheFloridaDepartmentofCorrections

JailPopulationTrendsLikecrimerates,arrests,andfelonyfilings,thecountyjailaveragedailypopulationhasfallenoverthelastdecade.AccordingtoreportscompiledbyFDC,thejailpopulationhasfallen20percentsince2007,orabout10,000beds.Figure7:JailAverageDailyPopulationHasFallen20PercentinLastDecade

Source:FloridaDepartmentofCorrectionsReportonCountyDetentionFacilities

Accordingtothesamereports,justundertwo-thirdsofthoseheldincountydetentionfacilitiesarebeingheldpretrial.Thispercentagedeclinedfrom2007to2011beforereboundingslightlyinmorerecentyears.

PrisonPopulationTrendsAllchangestotheprisonpopulationaredrivenbychangestoeitheradmissions(whocomesinthedoor),lengthofstay(howlongtheystayinprison),orboth.Whenoneofthesefactorsshowssignificantchange,thereisalikelihoodthatthechangeaffectstheoverallprison

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%

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SentenceType,NewSentencesOnly,2006vs2015

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population.Inotherwords,ifadmissionsareconsistentlydecliningoveramulti-yearperiodthistypicallyresultsinadecliningprisonpopulation.However,thisisnotthecaseinFlorida.InFlorida,prisonadmissionsandlengthsofstayaremovinginoppositedirections;examiningeachseparatelyprovidesaclearerunderstandingofwhytheprisonpopulationhasremainedmostlysteadyinthelastdecadedespitethedeclineincrime,felonyfilings,andsentencestoprison.AdmissionsPrisonadmissionsinFloridaaredownsignificantlyinthelastdecade.Thischangeisdrivenbythereductioninfelonyfilingsdescribedabove,aswellaschangesinFDCpolicyregardingresponsestoviolationscommittedbypeopleoncommunitysupervision.Figure8:PrisonAdmissionsDeclined28PercentinLastDecade

Source:CJIAnalysisofPrisonAdmissionsandIntakeDataProvidedbytheFloridaDepartmentofCorrections

Floridaprisonadmissionsaremadeupofthreedistinctgroups:

• Newlysentencedprisoners:peoplesentenceddirectlytoprisonfortheircrimes• Probationrevocations:peopleputonprobationorcommunitycontrolsupervisionand

laterrevokedeitherforanewcrimeoratechnicalviolation,whichincludesanyallegedviolationthatisnotanewfelonyormisdemeanoroffense,orcriminaltraffickingoffense7

• Releaserevocations:peoplereleasedtopost-prisonreleasesupervisionandlaterreturnedtoprisononatechnicalviolation

Becausedataonreleaserevocationsisincomplete,mostoftheanalysisinthisreportfocusesonnewcourtcommitments,whichincludesbothnewlysentencedprisonersandprobationrevocations.

41,989

30,399

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ission

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PrisonAdmissionsbyYear,2007-2016

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Figure9:PrisonAdmissionDeclineDrivenby39PercentReductioninAdmissionsforPeopleAlreadyonSupervision


OfthetotaldeclineinpeopleadmittedtoFlorida’sprisonsoverthelastdecade,about60percentwascausedbyadeclineinprobationrevocations,whichfell39percentinthisperiod.Thenumberofnewlysentencedprisonersalsofellby18percent.

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Figure10:TheRateofPrisonNewCourtCommitmentsperResidentVariesWidelyAcrosstheState

Source:CJIAnalysisofPrisonAdmissionsandIntakeDataProvidedbytheFloridaDepartmentofCorrectionsTheprisonadmissionsratevariessignificantlyacrossthestate.Figure10showsthenewcourtcommitments(prisonadmissionsexcludingreturnsfrompost-prisonreleasesupervision)per100,000residentsbycounty,rangingfrom55toover600.Ingeneral,southernandeasternFloridacountiessendpeopletoprisonatalowerratethannorthern,central,andwesterncounties.Thesepatternsholdwhenlookingatadmissionsperreportedcrimeoradmissionsperarrest,whichmeansthatthedisparityisnotdrivenbyunderlyingcrimerates.

NewCourtCommitmentsper100,000Residents,2016

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Figure11:70PercentofFloridaCountiesShowedDeclineinPrisonAdmissionsinLastDecade

Source:CJIAnalysisofPrisonAdmissionsandIntakeDataProvidedbytheFloridaDepartmentofCorrectionsThedeclineinprisonadmissionsinthelasttenyearswasnotuniversalacrossthestate.Overall,47of67countiesexperiencedadeclineinprisonadmissions,while20countiessawanincrease.Withinthesegroupstherewassignificantvariation,withsomecountiescuttingtheirprisonadmissionsbyhalf,whileotherstripledtheirsoverthesameperiod.Florida’ssentencingsystem,discussedingreaterdetailinthefollowingsection,basespunishmentontheprimaryoffense,generallyconsideredtobethemostserious(seethesentencingguidelinessectionformoredetail)withconsiderationgiventoother,lessseriousoffensesrelatedtothecurrentsentenceofrecord.Thisreportmostlyfocusesontheprimaryoffenseassociatedwithagivensentenceorprisonadmission.

PercentageChangeinNewCourtCommitmentstoPrison,2007-2016

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Whileadmissionsforallprimaryoffensetypesdeclinedinthelastdecade,thelargestdeclinewasfordrugoffenders.In2016,justundertwo-thirds(63percent)ofFloridaprisonadmissionscameinwithanonviolentprimaryoffense.Figure12:46PercentDeclineinDrugNewCourtCommitmentstoPrison

Source:CJIAnalysisofPrisonAdmissionsDataProvidedbytheFloridaDepartmentofCorrections

Lookingatadditionaloffensesandcriminalhistory,justunderhalf(48percent)oftotalnewcourtcommitmentstoprisonin2016hadnocurrentorpriorviolentoffensesontheirrecord.Figure13:48PercentofNewCourtCommitmentstoPrisonHaveNoCurrentorPriorViolentOffense


Overall,eightofthetoptenprimaryoffensesarenonviolent(Table1).Despitethedeclineindrugoffensescomingintoprison,drugoffensesstillmakeupthreeofthetoptenoffensesat

11,073 10,576 11,829

5,930

9,052 8,8626,379

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admission.iiThenumberofnewcourtcommitmentsadmittedforthirddegreepossessionofacontrolledsubstancehasdecreasedbymorethanhalfsince2007,thoughitisstillthesecondmostcommonoffenseatadmission,withseconddegreesale/manufacturing/delivery,alsoreducedbyaroundhalf,cominginthird.Meanwhileburglaryofadwellingoranoccupiedstructure/conveyanceisnowthenumberonecrimeatadmissionafterrisingeightpercentinthelastdecade.Traffickinginstolenpropertyisup,whileotherpropertyoffenseshavedeclined.Table1:EightoftheTopTenOffensesatAdmissionareNonviolent

PrimaryOffense 2007 2016 ChangeBurglaryofaDwelling/OccupiedStructure/Conveyance 2,171 2,352 8%PossessionofControlledSubstance(3rdDegree) 4,417 1,965 -56%Sale/Manufacturing/DeliveryofControlledSubstance(2ndDegree) 3,842 1,958 -49%TrafficInStolenProperty 1,327 1,507 14%Felon/DelinquentwithGun/ConcealedWeapon/Ammunition 1,037 1,500 45%BurglaryofanUnoccupiedStructure/Conveyance-orAttempted 1,953 1,194 -39%TraffickinginControlledSubstance(1stDegree) 1,560 1,190 -24%GrandTheft,$300-$5,000 1,389 973 -30%RobberywithaDeadlyWeapon 986 832 -16%Robbery 919 608 -34%Source:CJIAnalysisofPrisonAdmissionsandIntakeDataProvidedbytheFloridaDepartmentofCorrections

LengthofStayWhileadmissionshavedeclined,sentencelengthandlengthofstayinprisonhasrisenoverthelastdecade.Thismaybepartiallyduetothereductioninlower-leveloffenderscomingintoprison,althoughthereareindicationsitmayalsobedrivenbyincreasedsentenceswithincertainoffensetypesandoffenses,forexampleburglaryofadwellingoroccupiedstructureandtraffickinginstolenproperty,whichhadbothincreasedadmissionsandaveragesentencelength.Fornewlysentencedoffenders,theaveragesentencelengthhasrisen22percentinthelastdecade.Lengthofstayforthosereleasedfromprisonhasrisen18percent,suggestingthereissomelagbetweenthenew,longersentencescomingintoprisonandwhoisbeingreleased.

iiForthepurposesofdiscussingspecificoffenses,CJIcombinedalldrugcrimesintopossession,sale/manufacturing/delivery,ortraffickingbydegree(thisseparatesdrugswhicharetreateddifferentlyintermsofpenalty,butallowsaclearerviewoftheimpactofacategoryofdrugchargesontheprisonpopulation).

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Themostcommonmeasureoflengthofstayinprisonisthetimefromadmissiontoreleaseforeveryonewhogetsoutofprison.Lengthofstayiscommonlymeasuredforfirstreleases,oroffenderswhocomeinonanewprisonsentenceratherthanaviolationofpost-releasesupervision.Figure14:TimeServedinPrisonRose18PercentinLastDecade

Source:CJIAnalysisofPrisonReleaseDataProvidedbytheFloridaDepartmentofCorrections

Theincreaseinsentencelengthandlengthofstayisnotlimitedtoviolentcrimes.Bothsentencelengthatadmissionandlengthofstayatreleasehaverisenacrossalloffensetypes.Figure15:TimeServedIncreasedAcrossAllOffenseTypes


35.241.6

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PrisonPopulationAsaresultofthedecliningadmissionsbutgrowinglengthofstayinprison,theprisonpopulationhasbeenfairlysteadyoverthelasttenyears.Overall,thepopulationhasgrownthreepercentinthelastdecade.Althoughtheprisonpopulationhasdeclinedeachofthelasttwoyearsandisprojectedtocontinuedecliningforthenextthreeyears,itisprojectedbegingrowingagain,albeitslowly,inFiscalYear2020-2021.8Figure16:FloridaPrisonPopulationMostlySteadyOverLastDecade

Source:CJIAnalysisofPrisonStatusPopulationDataProvidedbytheFloridaDepartmentofCorrectionsiii

iiiFigure16showsthecustodypopulationasrecordedinFDC’s“statuspopulationfile”onDecember31ofeachyear2007-2016.Figure1showedthetotaljurisdictionalpopulationinDecemberofeachyearreportedbyFDCtotheBureauofJusticeStatisticsthrough2015.Jurisdictioncountsmayincludeprisonersheldoutsidethestateandprisonersincertaintypesofconfinedcommunitysettingswhoarenotincludedinthecustodypopulationcount.

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Figure17:FewerthanHalfofCountiesReducedPrisonBedUse

Source:CJIAnalysisofPrisonStatusPopulationDataProvidedbytheFloridaDepartmentofCorrectionsBeneaththesteadyprisonpopulationnumbersliesignificantchangesinthecompositionoftheprisonpopulation.Geographically,moreprisonersarenowcomingfromcountiesincentralandnortheasternFlorida,withsouthernFloridacountiesandmostpanhandlecountiesreducingtheirprisonuse,insomecasessignificantly(seeFigure17).Overall,29of67countiesreducedtheiruseofprison.DuvalCountynowhasthemostpeopleinprisonofanycountyinthestate,up35percentfrom2007,whileMiami-Dade,whichusedtobethetopcontributor,hasreducedthenumberofpeopleinprisonbyeightpercentduetodrasticallycurtailedadmissions.

PercentageChangeinPrisonPopulation,2007-2016

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Themixofoffensetypeswithintheprisonpopulationhasalsochangedinthelastdecade.Commensuratewiththereductioninadmissionsfordrugoffenses,therearenowfewerdrugoffendersinprisonthanin2007.Atthesametime,thenumberofpropertyandviolentoffendershasgrown.Figure18:TheNumberofPropertyandViolentOffendersinPrisonGrewinLastDecade

Source:CJIAnalysisofPrisonStatusPopulationDataProvidedbytheFloridaDepartmentofCorrections

Overall,39percentofthecurrentprisonpopulationdoesnothaveanyviolentcrimerelatedtotheircurrentconfinement.Whenaddinginpastcrimes,29percentoftheprisonpopulationorjustover27,000peopleinprisonhavenocurrentorpriorviolentcrimes.ivFigure19:29PercentofPrisonPopulationHasNoCurrentorPriorViolentCrime


ivFourpercentoftheprisonpopulationcouldnotbematchedtopastrecordsandisexcludedfromthiscount.

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27,212CurrentorPriorViolent,66,667

PrisonPopulaWonbyCurrentandPriorViolent,Dec312016

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Onereasonthataveragesentencelengthfornewcourtcommitmentshasgrownfasterthanaveragelengthofstayforpeoplereleasedfromprisonisthatoffenderswithlongersentences,includingmanylifesentences,arebeingadmittedtoprisonbutnotbeingreleased.InDecember2016,theaverageprisonerhadalreadyserved71monthsinprisonandhad75monthsremaininguntilhisorhertentativereleasedate,comparedto52monthsservedsofarfortheaverageprisonerinDecemberof2007,and64monthsuntiltentativerelease.Alongwiththisstackingeffectandthegrowthofviolentoffendersinprison,theprisonpopulationhasbecomeolderovertime.Whileoffendersaged35-49makeupthelargestgroupinFlorida’sprisons,“elderlyoffenders,”definedinstatuteasage50orolder,makeupthefastestgrowingportionofthepopulation.Figure20:TheNumberof18-24YearOldsinPrisonHasFallenWhiletheNumberAge50orOlderHasGrown


Finally,whilethenumberofHispanicinmateshasbeengrowingslightlyoverthelastdecade,blacknon-Hispanicinmatesstillmakeupalmosthalfofthe2016prisonpopulation(47percent)comparedtojust17percentoftheFloridaresidentpopulationin2015.

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Figure21:Black,Non-HispanicInmatesMakeUpJustUnderHalfofPrisonPopulation


CommunitySupervisionTrendsOverthepastdecade,thestatewidepopulationofindividualsonanykindofcommunitysupervision,includingprobationorpost-prisonreleasesupervision,hasdeclinedgradually,mirroringdeclinesinfelonyfilingsandsentencestoprison.Figure22:CommunitySupervisionPopulationDeclined11PercentinLastDecade

Source:FloridaDepartmentofCorrections2015-2016AgencyStatistics

Similarly,newadmissionstocommunitysupervisionhavedecreasedconsistentlysince2007ataslightlyslowerratethanprisonadmissions(22percentversus28percent).

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50,000

White,Non-Hispanic Black,Non-Hispanic Hispanic

Prison

Pop

ulaW

on

PrisonPopulaWonbyRace/Ethnicity,2007vs2016

2007 2016

153,692

136,956

100,000

120,000

140,000

160,000

180,000

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

CommunitySupervisionPopulaWonbyYear,2007-2016

22

Figure23:CommunitySupervisionAdmissionsDeclined22PercentinLastDecade

Source:FloridaDepartmentofCorrections2015-2016AgencyStatistics

Thefollowingsectionsofthereporttakeadeeperlookatthetrendshighlightedabove.Theremainderofthereportexamineslaws,policies,andpracticesthathavecontributedtothethesetrends,including:

• exploringthereductioninadmissionsthroughtheuseofalternativestoincarcerationandchangesinrevocationpolicyandpractice,

• howenhancementsandmandatoryminimumsmaybecontributingtothegrowthinsentencelengths,

• sentencinglawsandpracticesforcommonpropertyanddrugcrimes,• furtherinformationaboutelderlyprisoners,and• alookatreleaseandreentryprogramsandrecidivism.

107,203

83,176

50,000

70,000

90,000

110,000

130,000

FY06 FY07 FY08 FY09 FY10 FY11 FY12 FY13 FY14 FY15

CommunitySupervisionAdmissions,FY2006-FY2015

KeyFindings

• Florida’scrimeratehasdeclinedcloseto30percentsinceitspeakin1988• Thedeclineinreportedcrimesandarrestsledtocommensuratedeclinesinfelony

charges,particularlyamongthirddegreefelonies• Prisonadmissionsdropped28percent,drivenbya39percentdeclineinprobation

revocations• 18percentgrowthinlengthofstaybalancedouttheeffectoftheadmissionsdecline

ontheprisonpopulation,leadingtoanoverallstableprisonpopulationinthelastdecade

23

PRISONADMISSIONSInFlorida,sentencingdecisionsaredrivenprimarilybytheuseofthestates’sentencingguidelines,knownastheCriminalPunishmentCode(CPC).Inthissection,wereviewthesentencingguidelinesusedbythestate,alternativestoincarcerationavailabletojudgesandtrendsintheiruse,trendsintheuseofrevocationsfromsupervisionandyearandadayprisonsentences,exceptionsfromtheguidelinesintheformofmandatoryminimumsandenhancements,andsentencesandtrendsforcommonpropertyanddrugcrimes.

SentencingGuidelinesOverviewIn1983,Floridaestablishedsentencingguidelineswiththegoalofensuringuniformsentencingacrossthestate.Sincethesentencingguidelineswerefirstenacted,theyhaveundergonethreemajorrevisionsin1994,1995,and1997.9Inthelastmajorrevisionin1997,theCriminalPunishmentCode(CPC)wasestablished,applyingtoallfelonies,exceptcapitalfelonies,committedonorafterOctober1,1998.10UndertheCPC,everydefendantchargedwithanon-capitalfelonyhasaCPCworksheetcompletedpriortosentencingtodeterminethelowestpermissiblesentencethatcanbeimposedbythejudge.11Thelowestpermissiblesentenceisbasedonthetotalsentencingpointsthedefendantisawarded,whichinturnisbasedontheprimaryoffense,additionaloffenses,thedefendant’scriminalhistory,andotherconsiderationssuchasviolationscommitted,andoffenseorsentencingenhancements.12Eachoffenseisassignedaseveritylevelfrom1to10,andacorrespondingpointvalue.Theoffensewiththehighesttotalsentencingpointsistheprimaryoffense.TheCPCallowsforgreaterdiscretionthantheprevioussentencingguidelinesusedbythestatebutexpandstherangeofdefendantswhocanreceiveaprisonsentence.Underthepreviousguidelines,onlyoffenderswithatotalsentencingscoreof52pointsormorecouldreceiveaprisonsentence.UndertheCPC,it’spossibleforanyfelonyoffendertoreceiveaprisonsentence.13Totalsentencingscoresaregroupedintofourmajorcategoriesbasedontherecommendedsentence.In2009,thestateexpandedtheuseofnon-stateprisonsanctionsthatcanbeorderedbythejudgebutlimitedtheuseofthesesanctionstothirddegreefelonies.Non-stateprisonsanctionsincludeprobation,communitycontrol,drugcourt,andotheralternativestoincarcerationdescribedinthefollowingsection.

24

Table2:SanctionbyTotalPointCategory

PointTotal SuggestedSanction22PointsorLess Presumptivenon-stateprisonsanctionifthedefendantis

convictedofanonviolentthird-degreefelonyvNon-stateprisonsanctionorstateprisonforallotheroffensesatthediscretionofthesentencingjudge

22.1-44Points Non-stateprisonsanctionorstateprisonatthediscretionofthesentencingjudge

44.1-60Points Stateprison,exceptforthefollowingsituations:14• Prisondiversionprogramifthetotalpointsare48or

less(or54pointsorlessandsixpointsareforatechnicalviolationofcommunitysupervision)ANDprimaryoffenseisanonviolentthird-degreefelony

• Post-adjudicatorydrugcourtordrugoffenderprobationifthetotalpointsare60orlessANDprimaryoffenseisathird-degreefelonyorseconddegreedrugpurchaseorpossessionoffense

60.1orMorePoints StateprisonOverthelastdecade,thenumberofscoresheetsfiledwithtotalsentencingpointsinthelowerrangeshasfallen,whilethenumberofhigh-scoringsheetshasremainedsteady(Figure24).Thisisdrivenbythedeclineinfilingsforthirddegreefeloniesdiscussedabove.Figure24:DeclineinFelonyCaseswithLowerSentencingPointTotals

Source:CJIAnalysisofSentencingScoresheetDataProvidedbytheFloridaDepartmentofCorrections

vExclusionsincludeiftheprimaryoffenseisaforciblefelony,eveniftheseveritylevelallowsittofallintothispointrange.Judgescanalsodepartfromthepresumptivenon-prisonsentenceifthenon-prisonsanctioncouldpresentadangertothepublic.

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

22orUnder 23-44 45-60 61orAboveSenten

cingScoresheets

TotalPoints

SentencingScoresheetsbyTotalPointDistribuWon,2006vs2015

2006 2015

25

Adownwarddeparture,orasentencelowerthantherecommendedsentence,canbeorderedbythejudgeuponafindingthatcertainmitigatingfactorsjustifythedeparture.15Mitigatingfactorsthatcanbeusedtojustifyadownwarddeparturearelistedinstatute,howeverthejudgeisnotlimitedtothefactorsspecificallylisted.16Theoneexceptionrelatestoadefendant’ssubstanceabuseaddiction,includingintoxicationatthetimeoftheoffense.Thecourtisprohibitedfromconsideringsubstanceabuseasamitigatingfactorjustifyingdownwarddeparture,exceptwhendeterminingeligibilityforthepost-adjudicatorydrugcourtprogram.17Therecommendedsentenceforoffendersreceiving45ormoretotalsentencingpointsisstateprison,althoughincertaincasesothersanctionsarepermitted(Table2).AsshowninFigure25,manyoffendersfallinginthisrangereceivedlessserioussanctions.In2015,48percentofdefendantsinthe45-60pointrangereceivedprisonsentencesasdid69percentofdefendantsinthe61orabovecategory,meaningthatover30percentofdefendantsinthe61orabovecategorydidnotreceiveprisonsentences.Despitethesedepartures,itisclearthatthesentencingguidelineshaveanimpactonsentencesgiventhecleardifferentiationbetweenthegroups.Figure25:SentencingPointTotalsDriveSentences,WithSignificantDownwardDepartures


UndertheCPC,thelowestpermissiblestateprisonsentenceisbasedonthetotalnumberofsentencingpoints.Themaximumsentenceisbasedonthefelonydegreeassignedtotheprimaryoffense(Table3).However,ifadefendantisbeingsentencedforamandatoryminimum,themandatoryminimumtrumpstheguidelinerecommendation.Floridahasatleast108crimeswithmandatoryminimums,discussedinfurtherdetailinthemandatoryminimumandenhancementssectionbelow.18

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

22orUnder

23-44 45-60 61orAboveSh

areofSen

tenceType

s

TotalPoints

SentenceTypesbyTotalPoints,NewSentencesOnly,2015

Probalon

CommunityControl

CountyJail

StatePrison

26

Table3:FelonyClassifications

FelonyDegree MaximumSentence

LifeFelony Life1stDegree 30Years2ndDegree 15Years3rdDegree 5Years

Averagesentencelengthsforthoseoffenderswhodoreceiveaprisonsentencehavegrown22percentoverthelastdecade,from59.5monthsto72.9months.Thisisalargeincrease,butitispartiallyexplainedbythechangeinwhichtypesofoffendersarebeingsentencedtoprison.Individualssentencedtoprisonin2016are,onaverage,convictedofmoreseriouscrimes.Thesechangesareexploredfurtherinthefollowingsectionsonalternativestoincarceration,yearandadaysentences,andprobationrevocations,allofwhichreflectchangesinhowindividualsaresentencedinFloridacomparedtoadecadeago.

Figure26:ForThoseSentencedtoPrison,theAverageLengthofSentenceIncreased22PercentinLastDecade

Source:CJIAnalysisofAdmissionsDataProvidedbytheFloridaDepartmentofCorrections

Thechangeinwhoiscomingtoprisondoesnottellthefullstory.Sentenceshaveincreasedforalloffensetypes,andasdiscussedfurtherbelow,forcertainoffenseswheretherewasnoreductioninadmissions.

59.5 72.9

0

50

100

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Mon

ths

MeanTotalSentenceforNewCourtCommitmentstoPrison,2007-2016

27

Figure27:SentenceLengthsRoseforAllOffenseTypes


AlternativestoIncarcerationPrisonadmissionsareoftenreducedbyexpandingtheuseofalternativestoincarceration.Thesealternativesareothersanctions,ofteninvolvingcommunitysupervision,giveninlieuofaprisonsentence.TherearefourmainalternativestoincarcerationsinuseinFlorida:probation,communitycontrol,drugoffenderprobation,orproblemsolvingcourts.

Probationisaformofcommunitysupervisionthatisoftenusedforlow-leveloffenses.Anydefendantconvictedofafelonywhomeetstherequirementsforanon-stateprisonsanction,asdescribedabove,maybeplacedonprobationwhereheorshewillbesupervisedbytheFloridaDepartmentofCorrections(FDC).Iftheoffenderviolatesthetermsorconditionsofprobation,thecourtisauthorizedtoimposeanysentencethatitcouldhaveimposedatthe

102.8

37.5 33.6 32.0

111.9

42.4 38.5 40.2

0

50

100

150


Mon

ths

MeanTotalSentencebyOffenseTypeforNewCourtCommitmentstoPrison,2007vs2016(Months)

2007 2016

KeyFindings

• MostfelonysentencesinFloridaarebasedonsentencingguidelinesthatfactorinprimaryandsecondaryoffenses,criminalhistory,violations,andenhancementstocomeupwitharecommendedsentence

• Inthelastdecade,thenumberofnewsentencesscoringinthelowerpointsrangeshasfallen

• Averagesentencelengthforthoseoffendersreceivingprisonsentenceshasgrown,partially,butnotentirely,drivenbythechangeinfelonycharges

28

defendant’soriginalsentencing.ThisisthemostcommonformofalternativetoincarcerationinFlorida(seeFigures28and30).Communitycontrolisaformofintensivecommunitysupervisionthatistypicallyusedasanalternativetoincarcerationforoffenderswhoqualifyforanon-stateprisonsanctionbutdonotqualifyforprobation.19Itcanalsobeusedasasanctionforindividualswhoviolatethetermsoftheirsupervision.Individualsplacedoncommunitycontrolaretypicallyrestrictedtotheirhomeswiththeexceptionofemployment.Drugoffenderprobationisaformofintensivesupervisiondirectedtowardsoffenderswithachronicsubstanceabuseaddiction.Whilemostofthealternativestoincarcerationarelimitedtothirddegreefelonies,individualsconvictedofasecond-degreefelonyforpurchaseorpossessionofacontrolledsubstancecanbeplacedondrugoffenderprobation.Individualsplacedondrugoffenderprobationaresubjecttoalloftheregularstandardconditionsofsupervisionandsomespecialconditionswhichcanoftenincludeinpatientoroutpatientsubstanceabusetreatment,frequentdrugtestingandcurfewrestrictions.Figure28:RegularProbationistheMostCommonlyUsedAlternativetoIncarceration

Source:FloridaDepartmentofCorrectionsFY2015-2016AnnualReport

Problem-solvingcourtsareintensive,court-focusedformsofsupervisiongearedtowardsspecializedpopulations.Currently,thereare107problem-solvingcourtsavailabletoadultfelonyoffenders:46drugcourts,4DUIcourts,27mentalhealthcourts,and30veteranscourts.Drugcourtsaretheproblem-solvingcourtusedmostofteninFloridaandareavailablebothpre-adjudicationandpost-adjudication.Typicallydrugcourtparticipationislimitedtononviolentoffenderswithanassessedsubstanceabusetreatmentneed.Thereiscurrentlynostandardizedscreeningtooltodeterminethisneedusedstatewide.Whilestate-runalternativestoincarcerationsuchasprobationandcommunitycontrolareavailableacrossthestate,availabilityofproblem-solvingcourtsisinconsistent,withaccess

50,474

9,322 6,064

010,00020,00030,00040,00050,00060,000

Probalon DrugOffenderProbalon

CommunityControl

Adm

ission

s

AdmissionstoCommunitySupervisionPrograms,FY2015-2016

29

dependingoncapacityandfundingwithincourtcircuits.AsFigure29shows,manyofthecountiesthatsendindividualstoprisonatthehighestrateshavelittleornoadultfelonydrugcourtavailability.Thismaybedrivenbythesmallsizeofsomeofthesecountiesandthelackofservicesorfundinginmoreruralareasofthestate.Figure29:CountieswithLowerPrisonAdmissionRatesHaveMoreAdultFelonyDrugCourtAdmissions

Source:CJIAnalysisofProblem-SolvingCourtDataProvidedtheOfficeoftheStateCourtsAdministratorandPrisonAdmissionsDataProvidedbytheFloridaDepartmentofCorrections

DrugCourtAdmissionsvsPrisonAdmissionsper100,000Residents

30

TrendsinUseofAlternativestoIncarcerationOverthelastdecade,Floridahassuccessfullymovedlower-leveloffenders(intermsofoffenseseveritylevelsandcriminalhistorypoints)awayfromstateprisonsentences.Someofthisshiftawayfromprison,asdiscussedabove,istheresultoffewerfelonyfilingsandconvictions.Additionally,therehasbeenareductionintheuseofstateprisonasasanctionforoffenderswithdrugandpropertycrimes.Instead,nonviolentoffendersaremorelikelytobesentencedtoastayincountyjail(Figure30).

Figure30:PropertyandDrugOffendersLessLikelytoBeSentencedtoPrison,MoreLikelytoReceiveJailTime

Source:CJIAnalysisofSentencingScoresheetsDataProvidedbytheFloridaDepartmentofCorrectionsThescoresheetdataonlyshowsmajorcategoriesofsanctionsandthereforedoesnotfullyfleshoutthepictureofwhichalternativestoincarcerationarebeingusedandhowthathaschangedovertime.Inparticular,problem-solvingcourtadmissionsarenotincludedinthescoresheetdata,likelybecausemanyproblem-solvingcourtsarepre-adjudication.Post-adjudicationproblem-solvingcourtsmaybemarkedasprobationsentences.TheOfficeoftheStateCourtAdministratorwasabletosharedataonadmissionsforcertaintypesofproblem-solvingcourts.Florida’sadultfelonyproblem-solvingcourtsadmittedover6,000offendersin2015.viParticipationindrugcourtshasdeclinedconsiderablysince2010,possiblydrivenbythedecreaseindrugarrestsandchargesdiscussedabove.

viTheOfficeoftheStateCourtsAdministratorwasnotabletoprovideadmissionscountsformentalhealthcourts.

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

2011 2015ShareofCrimeScoreshe

ets

SentencesasaPercentageofDrugCrimeScoresheets,NewSentences

Only,2011vs2015

Probalon

CommunityControl

CountyJail

StatePrison0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

2011 2015ShareofCrimeScoreshe

ets

SentencesasaPercentageofPropertyCrimeScoresheets,NewSentencesOnly,2011vs2015

Probalon

CommunityControl

CountyJail

StatePrison

31

Figure31:Problem-SolvingCourtAdmissionsDeclineSince2010

Source:CJIAnalysisofProblem-SolvingCourtDataProvidedtheOfficeoftheStateCourtsAdministratorWhilelower-severitycrimesmaybelesslikelytoreceiveaprisonsentenceundertheguidelines,theseoffensesstillhaveanimpactonthestateprisonpopulation.Forinstance,onlysevenpercentofoffenderswithaprimaryoffenseofsimplepossessionofacontrolledsubstancereceivedaprisonsentencecomparedto73percentofoffenderswithaprimaryoffenseoftraffickinginacontrolledsubstance.Becausetheoverallpoolofpossessionoffendersismuchlarger,therewerestillahighernumberofsimplepossessionoffenderssentencedtoprisonundertheguidelinesin2015(929comparedto892fortrafficking20).Figure32:CrimeswithaLowRateofPrisonSentencesCanStillImpactthePopulation

Source:CJIAnalysisofSentencingScoresheetsDataProvidedbytheFloridaDepartmentofCorrections

7,565

4,777

195 1731,172

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Adm

ission

sProblem-SolvingCourtAdmissionsbyCourtType,

2010-2015

AdultDrugCourt DUICourt VeteransCourt

0 2,500 5,000 7,500 10,000 12,500 15,000

Sale/Manufacturing/DeliveryBurglaryofaDwelling/Occupied

SimplePossessionTrafficking

BurglaryofanUnoccupiedStructureFelon/DelinquentwithGunTrafficInStolenPropertyGrandThej,$300-$5,000

NewPrisonSentences

SentenceTypesbyOffense,NewSentencesOnly,2015

StatePrison CountyJail CommunityControl Probalon

32

ResponsestoViolationsIn2016,revocationsfromsupervisionmadeup39percentoftotaladmissionstoprison.Thissectionexamineshowpracticesinthecommunityhaveimpactedthenumberandtypeofrevocationstoprison.Uponplacementonsupervision,offendersarerequiredtoadheretocertaintermsandconditionsorderedbythesentencingjudgeortheFloridaCommissiononOffenderReview(FCOR),formallyknownastheFloridaParoleCommission.Thesetermsandconditionsoftenincluderegularreportingtotheprobationandparoleofficer,maintainingemployment,drugtesting,andcompletingprogrammingandtreatmentrequirements.FDCisresponsibleformonitoringthetermsandconditionsofanindividual’scommunitysupervisionandinformingthecourtorFCORofanyviolationofthesetermsandconditions.Overthelast10years,FDC’sresponsestotechnicalviolationsofthetermsandconditionsofsupervisionhavechangedsignificantly.Priorto2003,FDCparoleandprobationofficersweregiventhediscretiontodeterminewhetheranoffendercommittedawillfulviolationofthetermsandconditionsofsupervisionbeforereportingtheviolationtothereleasingauthority.InMarch2003,inresponsetoafewhighprofilecrimes,FDCimplementedwhatwasknownasthe“zero-tolerancepolicy.”FDC’szero-tolerancepolicyrequiredparoleandprobationofficerstoreporteveryviolationtothecourt,regardlessoftheseverityoftheviolationoriftheviolationwasawillfulviolation.Inaddition,violationreportsthatweresubmittedtothesentencingjudgeorFCORunderthezero-tolerancepolicyoftenrequestedthatawarrantbeissued.21In2006,FDCagainchangeditspolicyregardingrespondingtoviolationsandgaveparoleandprobationofficersdiscretioninrespondingtoviolations,requiringonlywillfultechnicalviolationsbereportedtothecourtorFCOR.Sincethenthenumberofrevocationstoprisonhasdroppedsignificantly.Thenumberofoffenderscominginasprobationrevocationsdropped39

KeyFindings

• Countieswithhigherprisonadmissionrateshavelowerdrugcourtadmissions,possiblyduetotheirsmallsizeandlackofresources

• Thenumberofnewadmissionstodrugcourthasdeclinedsince2010• Drugandpropertyoffendersarelesslikelytobesentencedtoprison,butmorelikely

tobesentencedtocountyjail,thanfiveyearsago• Duetotheoveralllargenumberofconvictionsforcertaincrimes,evenoffenses

whichrarelyreceiveprisonsentencescanimpacttheprisonpopulation

33

percent,whilethenumberofreturnsforviolationsofpost-releasesupervisiondropped36percent.Inbothcasesthemajordropcameintheyearsimmediatelyfollowingthepolicychange.Figure33:RevocationsfromCourtDropped39PercentinLastDecade


Propertyoffendersaremostlikelytoenterprisonasarevocation.In2016,44percentofpropertyoffenderssentencedtoprisonenteredasprobationrevocations,comparedto35percentofdrugoffenders.

Figure34:44PercentofPropertyOffendersAdmittedtoPrisonasProbationRevocations

Source:CJIAnalysisofPrisonAdmissionsDataProvidedbytheFloridaDepartmentofCorrections.

Around70percentofscoresheetsfilledoutforoffenderswhowerepreviouslyonsupervisionresultedinsometypeofincarcerationsanction.Fornonviolentpropertyanddrugoffenderswhowerepreviouslyonsupervision,countyjailwasthemostcommonsentencegiven,followedbyprison.Comparedtononviolentoffendersreceivingnewsentences(thosenot

16,950

10,308

2,175 1,4010

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Adm

ission

s

PrisonAdmissionsbyType,2007-2016

ProbalonRevocalon ReleaseRevocalon

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

Violent Property Drugs OtherNew

Cou

rtCom

mitmen

ts

NewCourtCommitmentsbyAdmissionTypeandOffenseType,2016

ProbalonRevocalon

NewlySentencedPrisoner

34

previouslyundersupervision),thosebeingrevokedweremorelikelytobesenttoprison(30percentcomparedto20percentofnewsentencesfornonviolentcrimes).Figure35:ClosetoTwo-ThirdsofNonviolentOffendersPreviouslyonSupervisionReceiveSomeIncarcerationSanction


Althoughnoneoftheavailabledatadirectlyindicateswhetheraprobationrevocationisforanewcrimeoratechnicalviolation,thenumberofsentencingpointsawardedgivesanindication.Sixpointsareawardedforatechnicalviolationandtwelvepointsareawardedforanewconvictionwhileonsupervision.Ofthe30,000sentencingscoresheetsfiledforthosealreadyundersupervisionin2015,22percenthadnocommunitysanctionviolationpoints,40percenthadsixpoints,andtheremaining39percenthad12ormorepoints.The40percentwithonlysixpointsaremostlikelytechnicalviolations.Ofthosewithsixviolationpoints,23percentweresentencedtostateprison,comparedto46percentofthosewithmorepoints.

Foroffendersservingpost-prisonreleasesupervision,arevocationorreturntoprisonmaybeforashortperiodeitherbecauseitisinresponsetoalow-levelviolationorbecausethereislittletimeremainingonthesesentences.Thatsaid,averagetimeservedamongprisonersre-admittedfollowingtechnicalviolationsofpost-prisonreleasesupervisionhasincreasedconsiderablyoverthepastdecade.

Timeservedforindividualsreturningtoprisonafterconditionalreleaseviolationshasmorethantripledfrom2.5to8.1months,whiletimeservedforotherpost-prisonreleasesupervisionviolations,suchascontrolreleaseorparole,hasmorethandoubledfrom1.6to4.5months.Inbothcases,FCORdeterminestheneedforareturntoprisonandthelengthofstay,subjecttotimeleftontheoffender’ssentence.

Ifanindividualisrevokedfromparole,conditionalrelease,controlrelease,probationorcommunitycontrol,alltimeofftheirsentenceearnedpriortoreleaseisautomaticallyforfeited.However,individualsrevokedbacktoprisonareeligibletoearnnewtimetoreducetheirrevokedsentence.22

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%


ShareofSen

tenceOutcomes

SentencesGivenforOffenderUnderSupervisionWhenSentencingScoresheetFiledbyPrimaryOffenseType,

2015

Probalon

CommunityControl

CountyJail

StatePrison

35

Figure36:TimeServedforConditionalReleaseViolationsMoreThanTripledinLastDecade

Source:CJIAnalysisofPrisonReleaseandIntakeDataProvidedbytheFloridaDepartmentofCorrections

Year-and-a-DaySentencesOneofthereasonsthatadmissionsdeclinedsosteeplywithoutgreatlyimpactingtheprisonpopulationisthatadmissionsfellprimarilyamonglower-leveloffendersservingshortperiodsoftimeinstateprison,whileadmissionswithlongersentencesdidnotdeclineandthelengthsofthosesentencesgrew.Inparticular,39percentoftheoveralldeclineinadmissionswasamongoffendersgiven“yearandaday”sentences.These366-daysentencesaretheminimumstateprisonsentencesomeonecanbegiven.Bythetimeanoffenderisprocessedintostateprisonandcreditedforpretrialjailtime,heorshemayserveonlyafewmonthsinstatecustody.Removingtheseindividualsfromtheprisonpopulationthereforedoesnothaveassignificantaneffectontheprisonpopulationasdivertinganindividualwithalongersentence.

2.5 1.6

8.1

4.5

0

5

10

CondilonalReleaseViolalon OtherPost-ReleaseSupervisionViolalon

MeanTimeServedbyTechnicalRevocaWonType,2007vs2016

2007 2016

KeyFindings

• Revocationstoprisonhavedroppedsignificantly,mostlydrivenbytherepealofthezerotolerancepolicytoviolationsofcommunitysupervision

• Usingaproxyfortechnicalviolations,itappearsthat40percentofsentencesforoffenderspreviouslyundersupervisionhaveonlyatechnicalviolation;ofthese23percentaresentencedtoprison

• Whileviolatorsofpost-prisonreleasesupervisioncomebackintoprisonforshortperiods,thelengthoftheseviolationperiodshasgrownsignificantlyinthelastdecade

36

Theuseofthistypeofsentencehasdeclinedsignificantlyinthelastdecade,bothforprobationrevocationsanddirectsentencestoprison.In2007,17percentofprisonadmissionswerefortheseshortprisonsentences.By2016,thishadfallento8percent.37:67PercentDropin366DaySentencesDroveSignificantPortionoftheAdmissionsDecline


Most366daysentencesareforcrimeswithseveritylevelsofsevenandbelowsuchaspossessionofacontrolledsubstance,orlow-valuegrandtheft.In2007,366daysentencesweremostcommonlygiventodrugoffenders,butnowpropertyoffendersaremostlikelytoenterprisononthistypeofsentence.Whilethesesentencesdroppedacrossthestate,twocountiesaccountforasignificantportionoftheshift:HillsboroughandPolkCounties.Bothcountiespreviouslysentover1,000offendersayeartostateprisonwith366-daysentences,andbothnowsendfewerthan400.Figure38showsthechangeinthenumberofyearandadaysentencesadmittedtoprisonin2007vs2016.Eightcountiesinthestatearenowsendingmoreoffendersfortheseshortsentences,althoughthegrowthissmall.

7,059

2,351

010,00020,00030,00040,00050,000

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Adm

ission

s

PrisonAdmissionsbyYear-and-a-daySentences,2007-2016

Longersentences Yearandadaysentences

37

Source:CJIAnalysisofAdmissionsDataProvidedbytheFloridaDepartmentofCorrectionsCountyjailpopulationshavedeclinedinthelastdecade(seeFigure7).Anecdotalinformationsuggeststhatthedeclinein366-daysentencesmaycoincidewiththeavailabilityofspaceincountyjailsaswellastheexpansionofprogramsdesignedtodivertrevocationsandprovidemorelocalservices.Iftheseoffendershaveshiftedtocountyjailsentencesratherthannon-incarcerationsentences,itmayexplaintheuptickinsentencestocountyjaildiscussedabove.

ChangeinYearandaDaySentencestoStatePrison,2007-2016

Figure38:AFewCountiesAccountforMostoftheReductioninYear-and-a-DaySentences

KeyFindings

• Yearandadaysentenceshavedeclinedfrom17percentofprisonadmissionsto8percent

• Twocounties,HillsboroughandPolk,accountformostofthisreduction

38

EnhancementsandMandatoryMinimumsEnhancementsandmandatoryminimumsentenceshaveasignificanteffectontheFloridaprisonpopulation.Almost36,000currentFloridaprisonersweresentencedwithanenhancementormandatoryminimum,up19percentfrom2007.Theseenhancementsprimarilyimpactlengthofstayinprison,leadingtoastackingeffectwhereoffenderscomeintoprisonbutdonotleaveatthesamerate.Figure39:37PercentofOffendersinFlorida’sPrisonsWereSentencedUnderaMandatoryMinimumorEnhancement

Source:CJIAnalysisofPrisonPopulationDataProvidedbytheFloridaDepartmentofCorrections

Floridahasanextensivelistofmandatoryminimumsentences.In2016,stafffromFlorida’sSenateCommitteeonCriminalJusticeconductedaninventoryofmandatoryminimumtermsinFloridaandidentified108offensesthatcarryamandatoryminimumsentence.23Examplesinclude:fraudofmotorvehicle,criminaluseofpersonalidentification,andlastlydrugtrafficking,whichcarries47separatemandatoryminimumsentences.24Anyonefoundguiltyoftraffickinginacontrolledsubstancefacesaminimumthreeyearmandatoryminimumtoalifesentencedependingontheoffense,drugtype,andweight.Ofthescoresheetsfiledwithaprimaryoffensecarryingamandatoryminimum,74percenthadaminimumpermissiblesentencebelowthemandatoryminimum,meaningtheymayhavereceivedalowersentenceifsentencedundertheguidelinesalone.Thesecasesdidnotalwaysresultinanenhancedsentence,however;inmanyinstancesmandatoryminimumsandenhancementsareusedasnegotiatingtoolsinpleadealsandthendroppedfromthefinalsentence.Floridaalsohasanumberofadditionalenhancements,includinganenhancementforweaponsoffensesandfivemajorhabitualoffenderprovisionsdetailedbelow.

65,033 62,142

30,009 35,728

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

2007 2016

Adm

ission

s

PrisonPopulaWonbyEnhancementorMandatoryMinimum,2007vs2016

EnhancementorMM

NoEnhancementorMM

39

Figure40:SentenceLengthsHighandGrowingforOffendersCominginwithEnhancementsorMandatoryMinimums


Onaverage,thosecominginwithamandatoryminimumorenhancementweresentencedto149.5monthsinprison,comparedto64.6monthsforthosecominginwithoutanenhancedsentence.Thisispartiallyduetoenhancedsentencesbeinggivenformoreseriouscrimes,butevenwhenoffensetype,criminalhistory,andotherfactorsrelatedtosentencingaretakenintoaccount,beingconvictedofanoffensecarryingamandatoryminimumorenhancementstillhasalargeandstatisticallysignificanteffectonthetotalsentence.Holdingallelseequal,havingaprimaryoffensethatcarriesamandatoryminimumadds11monthstoanoffender’ssentence,whilebeingconvictedofahabitualoffenderfelonyorviolentenhancementadds31months.Bothenhancedandnon-enhancedaveragesentenceshavegrownoverthelastdecade.Themostcommonenhancementsatprisonadmissionarethehabitualfelonyoffenderenhancementandthemandatoryminimumsforcommittingacrimewithafirearm,otherwiseknownas“10-20-Life.”Thenumberofoffenderscomingintoprisonwithhabitualoffenderenhancementshasfallenoverthelastdecade,whilethenumbercominginwith10-20-Lifesentenceshasrisen(Figure41).10-20-LifeFlorida’s10-20-lifelawrequiresthecourttoimposeamandatoryminimumsentenceifaweaponisusedduringthecommissionofcertainoffenses:2526

• Iftheindividualwasinpossessionofafirearm,thecourtmustimposeatenyearmandatoryminimumsentence.

• Iftheindividualwasinpossessionofasemi-automatic/machinegun,thecourtmustimposea15yearmandatoryminimumsentence.

• Iftheindividualdischargedanytypeoffirearm,thecourtmustimposea20yearmandatoryminimum.

53.5

135.3

64.6

149.5

050100150200

NoEnhancementsorMMs OneorMoreEnhancementsorMMs

Mon

ths

MeanTotalSentencebyEnhancementorMMSentences,2007vs2016

2007 2016

40

• Iftheindividualdischargedaweaponwhichcausedgreatbodilyinjuryordeath,thecourtmustimposea25yearmandatoryminimumtolife.

Figure41:TheMostCommonEnhancementsatPrisonAdmissionareFelonyHabitualOffenderandCrimewithaFirearm(“10-20-Life”)


Thesemandatoryminimum(MM)penaltiesareinadditionandconsecutivetothepenaltiesfortheunderlyingfelonyconviction.However,thecourtdoeshavethediscretiontoorderathreeyearmandatoryminimumsentence,insteadofthetenyearmandatory,ifanindividualwasinpossessionofafirearmwhilecommittingtheoffenseofaggravatedassault,possessionofafirearmbyafelonvii,orburglaryofaconveyance.27

Inrecentyears,changeshavebeenmadetoFlorida’s10-20-Lifelawtogivejudgesgreaterdiscretiontodepartfromthemandatorysentenceforaggravatedassault,oneoftheoffensestowhichthe10-20-Lifelawapplies.In2014,theFloridaLegislaturepassedHouseBill89whichallowedthecourttodepartfromthemandatoryminimumforaggravatedassaultifthecourtmakescertainwrittenfindings.Inaddition,in2015,theLegislaturepassedSenateBill228whichremovesaggravatedassaultfromthelistofcrimesinwhichthe10-20-Lifelawapplies.28

HabitualOffenderProvisionsFloridahasfivemajorhabitualoffenderprovisions:habitualfelonyoffender,habitualviolentfelonyoffender,prisonreleaseereoffender,three-timeviolentfelonyoffender,andviolentcareercriminal.Table4summarizeseachoftheseprovisions.

viiIfanoffenderwhoisconvictedoftheoffenseofpossessionofafirearmbyafelonyhasapreviousconvictionofcommittingorattemptingtocommitafelonylistedin775.084(1)(b)1,FloridaStatuteandpossessedafirearmordestructivedeviceduringthecommissionofthepriorfelony,theoffendermustbesentencedtothe10yearmandatoryminimum

2,066

1,3641,547 1,530

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

HabitualFelonyOffenderEnhancement

CrimewithaFirearmMandatoryNew

Cou

rtCom

mitmen

ts

NewCourtCommitmentsforCommonEnhancements

2007 2016

41

Table4:HabitualOffenderEnhancements

Enhancement Summary FelonyDegree Penalty ReleaseEligibilityHabitualFelony29

AnypersonwhohaspreviouslybeenconvictedofanycombinationoftwoormorefeloniesinFlorida,andcommitsafelonywithinfiveyearsofdateofpriorconviction,orreleasefromprison,whicheverIslater.

Lifefelonyor1stdegreefelony

Life Eligibleforgain-timeanddiscretionaryreleaseandconditionalrelease

2ndDegree 30yr3rdDegree 10yr

HabitualViolentFelony30

Anyonewhohaspreviouslybeenconvictedofafelonyoranattemptorconspiracytocommitafelonyandhasoneormorepriorconvictionforcertainviolentcrimes.31

Lifefelonyor1stdegree

Life Eligibleforreleaseafterserving15years

2ndDegree 30yr Eligibleforreleaseafter10years

3rdDegree 10yr Eligibleforreleaseafterserving5years

PrisonReleasee32

Anyonewhocommitsorattemptstocommitacertainoffensewithinthreeyearsofbeingreleasedfromprison,whileservingaprisonsentence,whileonescapestatusfromprison.33

Life Life Ineligibleforgain-time;mustserve100percentofsentence

1stDegree 30yrMM2ndDegree 15yrMM3rdDegree 5yrMM

Three-TimeViolent34

Anypersonwhohaspreviouslybeenconvictedasanadulttwoormoretimesofafelony,oranattempttocommitafelony,andtwoormoreofsuchconvictionswereforcommitting,orattemptingtocommitanyoffenseorcombinationofcertainviolentoffenses35

Life Life Ineligibleforgain-time;mustserve100percentofsentence

1stDegree 30yrMM2ndDegree 15yrMM3rdDegree 5yearMM

ViolentCareerCriminal

AnypersonwhohasbeenconvictedasanadultthreeormoretimesofanoffenseinFloridaoranyotherqualifiedoffensefromalistofviolentoffenses.36

Lifefelonyor1stdegreefelony

Life Ineligibleforgain-time;Eligibleforconditionalmedicalrelease2ndDegree 30yrMM

3rdDegree 10yrMMPropertyoffendersarethemostlikelytobesentencedunderthehabitualfelonyoffenderenhancement.Propertyoffendersadmittedtoprisonunderthisenhancementin2016receivedanaverage90monthsentence,131percenthigherthanthe39monthaveragesentencefornon-habitualpropertyoffenders.Thisisthelargestproportionaldifferenceinsentencelengthforanyoffensetype.Violentoffendersreceivingahabitualfelonyoffenderenhancementweresentencedto53percentlongerthanthosewhodidnotreceivetheenhancement.

42

Figure42:FelonyHabitualPropertyOffendersReceive90MonthAverageSentenceComparedto39MonthforNon-Habitual


PropertyOffensesAlmost9,000propertyoffenders,or31percentofnewcourtcommitments,weresentencedtoprisonin2016.Whilethenumberofpropertycrimesreportedinthestatehasgonedown21percentinthelastdecade,thenumberoffelonyscoresheetsfiledonthesecrimeshasactuallyincreasedfourpercentandthenumberofdirectprisonsentenceshasremainedfairlysteadyfrom2006to2015.ThenextsectionreviewsthesentencinglawsandpracticesforthemostcommonpropertycrimesinthestateofFlorida.

108.7

39.2 36.9 38.4

166.2

90.3 81.5 72.4

0

50

100

150

200


Mon

ths

MeanTotalSentencebyHabitualFelonyOffenderEnhancementandOffenseType,2016

NoHabitualOffenderEnhancement HabitualOffenderEnhancement

KeyFindings

• 37percentofcurrentprisonersinFloridaweresentencedundereitheramandatoryminimumoranenhancement

• Floridahasatleast108mandatoryminimumsandfivedifferenthabitualoffenderenhancements,manyofwhichoverlapandimpactthesamepopulation

• Themostcommonmandatoryminimumsandenhancementsarethehabitualfelonyoffenderenhancement,whichmostcommonlyisappliedtopropertyoffenses,andthe10-20-Lifemandatoryminimumforuseofafirearmincommissionofacrime

43

Burglaryviii

Offenderswithaburglaryprimaryoffensemakeup16percentofbothnewcourtcommitmentstoprisonandtheprisonpopulation.Generally,propertyoffensesmakeupasmallerportionoftheprisonpopulationthanadmissionsbecauseofshorterlengthsofstaycomparedtoviolentcrimes.Thefactthatburglaryofadwellingoroccupiedstructureisthemostcommoncrimeinprisonandthatburglaryasacategorytakesupsomanybedsindicatesthatthesecrimesaresubjecttolongpenalties.Thismaybedrivenbythelargenumberofenhancementsandmandatoryminimums,includingseveralhabitualenhancementsaswellas10-20-Life,forwhichmostburglarycrimesareeligible.Moreoffendersarecomingintoprisonforburglaryofadwellingthanadecadeago,andwithlongersentences.Thenumberofadmissionsforburglaryofanunoccupiedstructure,however,hasfallen.Thiscouldindicateashiftinprosecutorialchargingpractices,giventhatburglariesoverallaredowninthestate.

Theft

Traffickinginstolenpropertyisthefourthmostcommoncrimeatprisonadmission,andthenumberofnewcourtcommitmentshasgrown14percentinthelastdecade.Thenumberofnewcourtcommitmentsforrepeatpetitthefthasrisen36percentinthelastdecade.Sentencelengthsfortraffickinginstolenproperty,grandandpetittheft,andgrandtheftofamotorvehiclehaverisenoverthelastdecade,includinginsituationswherethenumberofadmissionsalsogrew.Thissuggeststhatthegrowthinsentencelengthisnotsolelyduetocarvingoutlessseriousoffendersfromtheadmissionspool.Floridahasoneofthelowestfelonytheftthresholdamountsinthecountryatjust$300.37Thisfelonythresholdamounthasnotbeenincreasedsince1986,whenitwasraisedfrom$100to$300.FloridaistiedwithHawaiiforthefourthlowestfelonytheftthresholdamount,followedbyMassachusettsat$250,andNewJerseyandVirginiaat$200.38Anydefendantwhoischargedwithgrandtheftintheamountof$300to$20,000facesathirddegreefelonywithapenaltyofuptofiveyearsinprison.However,themajorityofindividualssenttoprisonforgrandtheftfallwithinthelowerthresholdamountof$300to$5,000.Tables5and6,onthefollowingpages,includeinformationonthemostcommonoffenseswithintheburglaryandtheftcategories,theirfelonydegrees,severitylevels,primaryoffensepoints(withinthesentencingguidelines),enhancementsthatapplytothoseoffenses,thenumberofscoresheetsfiledin2015(asaproxyforthenumberoffelonydefendants),themediannumberofsentencingpointsearnedbythosedefendants,thetotalpercentageofdefendantsreceivingastateprisonsentence,thenumberofnewcourtcommitments(NCC)toprisonin2016,andfinally,theprisonpopulationin2016.

viiiFDCclassifiesburglarywithanassaultasaviolentcrimebutburglaryofadwellingoroccupiedstructureorconveyanceasapropertycrime.

44

Table5:CommonBurglaryOffenses

Offense FelonyDegree

SeverityLevel(PrimaryOffensePoints)

Enhancements/MandatoryMinimums

ScoresheetsFiled2015

MedianSentencingPoints

PercentSentencedtoStatePrison

NCCsin2016

PrisonPopulationin2016

MeanSentenceLengthforNCCsin2016(Months)

Burglary,ArmedwithExplosiveorDangerousWeapon

1st 8(74) HabitualFelonyHabitualViolentFelony(MM)PrisonReleasee(MM)3-TimeViolent(MM)10-20-Life(MM)

512 114 78% 474 2,885 111

BurglaryofaDwelling/OccupiedStructure/Conveyance

2nd 6/7(36/56) HabitualFelonyPrisonReleasee(MM)10-20-Life(MM)

4,267 77 55% 2,352 8,210

59

BurglaryofanUnoccupiedStructure/Conveyance-orAttempted

3rd 4(22) HabitualFelony10-20-Life(MM)

5,062 34 25% 1,194

1,946 30

Source:CJIAnalysisofDataProvidedbytheFloridaDepartmentofCorrections

KeyFindings

• Burglaryofadwellingoroccupiedstructureisthemostcommoncrimeatprisonadmissionandintheprisonpopulation

• Themostcommonburglaryoffensesarealleligibleforthe10-20-Lifeenhancement,includingburglaryofanunoccupiedstructureorconveyance

45

Table6:CommonTheftOffenses







NCCsin2016



TrafficInStolenProperty

2nd 5(28pts)

HabitualFelony 4,488 41 22% 1,507

2,815 35

GrandTheftMotorVehicle

3rd 4(22pts)

HabitualFelony 1,794 32 17% 429 524 25

GrandTheft,$300-$5,000

3rd 2(10pts)

HabitualFelony 8,947 16 8% 973

1,195 25

PetitTheft/3rdConviction

3rd 1(4pts) HabitualFelony 2,849 19 14% 505 645 22


KeyFindings

• Manycommontheftoffenseshavegrowingnumbersofadmissionstoprison,includingtraffickinginstolenproperty(14percentgrowth)andpetittheft,3rdorsubsequentconviction(36percentgrowth)

• Floridaistiedforthefourthlowestfelonytheftthresholdsat$300,andithasn’tbeenchangedsince1986

46

DrugOffensesDrivenbythereductionindrugarrestsacrossthestate,felonydrugfilings,sentences,andprisonadmissionsdeclinedsignificantlyinthelastdecade.Yet,drugoffensesstillmakeupsomeofthemostcommoncrimesatprisonadmissionandwithintheprisonpopulation.Thelargedeclineindrugcaseswasdrivenbyadeclineinfelonysimplepossession.Thenumberofscoresheetsfiledforthiscrimedeclined35percentfrom2006to2015,althoughthisnumberhascreptbackupinrecentyears.Figure43:DrugPossessionScoresheetsFiledDeclined35PercentinLastDecade

Source:CJIAnalysisofSentencingScoresheetsDataProvidedbytheFloridaDepartmentofCorrections

Whilepossessionofacontrolledsubstanceisstillthemostcommondrugcrimeatprisonadmission,traffickingisthemostcommondrugcrimeintheprisonpopulation,followedbyseconddegreesale/manufacturing/deliveryofacontrolledsubstance.Whilethefelonydegreesassignedtodrugoffensesvarygreatly,seconddegreesale/manufacturing/deliverymostlycoversscheduleIandIIsubstancesix,whilefirstdegreesale/manufacturing/deliverycoversthosesamesubstanceswithinaschoolzone,church,orotherstatutorilydesignatedarea.Drugtraffickingoffenseshavetheirownmandatoryminimums,aswellasbeingsubjecttoenhancementsunder10-20-Lifeandhabitualenhancements.Ofthedrugtraffickersinprisonnow,73percentareservingamandatoryminimumorenhancedsentence.Thenumberofnewcourtcommitmentswithaprimarydrugoffenseandamandatoryminimumrose34percentinthelastdecade,from941in2007to1,264in2016.

ixIncludingheroin,GBH,opium,cocaine,fentanyl,methadone,andmethamphetamine.

0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000 30,000

SimplePossession

Sale/Manufacturing/Delivery

Trafficking

OtherDrugCrime

SentencingScoresheetsFiled

SentencingScoresheetsbyDrugCrimeType,2006vs2015

2006 2015

47

Table7:CommonDrugOffenses







NCCsin2016



TraffickinginControlledSubstance(1stDegree)

1st 7-9(56-96) HabitualFelony10-20-Life(MM)

1,375 84 75% 1,190

4,949

71

Sale/Manufacturing/DeliveryofControlledSubstance(1stDegree)

1st 5-7(28-56) HabitualFelony

661 92 76% 538 1,953 57

Sale/Manufacturing/DeliveryofControlledSubstance(2ndDegree)

2nd 3-6(16-36) HabitualFelony

4,613 42 38% 1,958 3,767 32

PossessionofControlledSubstance(3rdDegree)

3rd 3(16) N/A 19,028 23 11% 1,965

2,128 22


KeyFindings

• Thirddegreesimplepossessionisstillthemostcommondrugoffenseatprisonadmission,andthethirdmostcommonintheprisonpopulation

• Firstdegreesale/manufacturing/delivery,whichmostlycoversenhancedoffensessuchasschoolzoneorchurchoffenses,hasalmostdoubletheaveragesentenceforseconddegreesale/manufacturing/delivery(57monthsvs32months)althoughbyandlargetheycoverthesamesubstances

48

ELDERLYPRISONERSOneofthestrikingdemographicstoriesinFlorida’sprisonsystemisthegrowthofprisonersage50andolder,definedaselderlyinFloridastatute944.02.39In2016,elderlyprisonersmadeup23percentoftheprisonpopulation,upfrom14percentin2007.Inrawnumbers,thisismorethan23,500offendersage50orolderinFlorida’sprisons.Thisnumberhasgrown65percentinthelastdecade.Figure44:NumberofPrisonersAge50orOverGrew65PercentinLastDecade


Asdiscussedintheoveralltrendssection,growthintheprisonpopulationcanbedrivenbytwothings:howmanypeoplecomein,andhowlongtheystay.Inthiscase,thelatteristhemaindriverofgrowthinthisportionofthepopulation.Overall,13percentofnewcourtcommitmentstoprisonareage50andoveratthetimeofadmission.Thenumberofprisonadmissionsforoffender’soverage50hasgrownonlyfourpercentinthelastdecade.Bycontrast,lengthofstayinprisonforelderlyprisonershasgrownsignificantlyoverthatperiod.

14,251

23,542

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Prison

ers

PrisonersAge50andOver,SnapshotPopulaIon2007-2016

49

Figure45:FourPercentGrowthinNumberofElderlyPrisonersAdmitted


Theaveragesentenceforcurrentprisonersage50andoveris313months,comparedto184monthsforprisonersunderage50.Theseoffendersalsohavethelongestremainingperioduntiltheirtentativereleasedate,awayofmeasuringthefutureimpactofthosecurrentlyinprison.Whilethetimeremaininguntiltentativereleasehasgrownforallagegroupsassentencesgrewoverthelastdecade,ithasgrownthemostforolderoffenders.Figure46:ElderlyPrisonersHave8YearsonAverageRemainingUntilRelease


Thetimeuntilreleaseunderstatesthepotentialimpactoftheseoffendersontheprisonpopulation,however,becauseitdoesnotincludethosewithoutareleasedateatall.Offenderswithlifesentencesarenotgivententativereleasedates,andtheseincludemanycurrentelderlyprisoners.Infact,justunderhalf(47percent)ofprisonerswithlifesentencesareage50orolder.Thenumberofoffendersoverage50withalifesentencehasgrown91percentinthelastdecade.Anypersonsentencedtolifeimprisonmentforoffensescommittedonorafter

3,708

3,843

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

2007 2016

New

Cou

rtCom

mitm

ents

NewCourtCommitmentsbyAgeatAdmission,2007vs2016

50andOver

35-49

25-34

18-24

43.859.9 68.5

84.455.3 66.3 76.4

96

0

50

100

150

18-24 25-34 35-49 50andOver

Mon

ths

AgeCategory

AverageTimetoTentaIveReleaseDate,byAgeCategory,2007vs2016(Months)

2007 2016

50

October1,1998,willbeincarceratedfortherestoftheirnaturallives,unlessgrantedpardon,executiveclemency,orconditionalmedicalrelease.40Figure47:47PercentofPrisonerswithLifeSentencesareAge50orOlder


Unsurprisingly,giventhelongsentences,themajority(63percent)ofelderlyoffendersareinprisonforprimaryviolentoffenses,followedbydrugs(12percent)andnonviolentformsofburglary(10percent).Despitemanyelderlyoffendershavingbeensentencedforveryseriouscrimes,theyaremuchmorelikelytobeclassifiedasbeinglowrisktoreoffendcomparedtoyoungeroffenders.Thisfitswithastrongbodyofresearchshowingthatageisoneofthestrongestpredictorsofcriminalbehaviorwithcriminaloffendingdecliningsignificantlyasindividualsage.41InFlorida’scurrentprisonpopulation,37percentofelderlyprisonersareclassifiedinthelowestrisktorecidivatecategory,comparedto15percentofthetotalpopulation.Thisislikelyunderstatingthenumberoflowriskelderlyoffendersbecausetheoldertheoffenderinprison,thelesslikelyheorsheistohavebeenassessed,andthemorelikelytobelowriskifassessed.Iftheremaining38percentofelderlyoffenderswhocurrentlydonothaveariskscorewereassessed,itisalmostcertainthatanevenlargerpercentageoftheoverallgroupwouldbeinthelowestriskcategory.Whilesomestateshaveearlyreleaseoptionsgearedtowardstheelderlypopulation,inFlorida,theonlyearlyreleasemechanismforthisgroupisconditionalmedicalparole,whichhasstringenteligibilitycriteria.42Comparedtotheiryoungerpeers,olderinmatestypicallyhavehighratesofbothmildandserioushealthconditions,leadingtomuchgreatermedicalneeds.Duetothehighmedicalneedsoftheelderlyinmatepopulation,prisonsnationwidespendabouttwotothreetimesmoretoincarceratetheseindividualsthanyoungerinmates.43AccordingtotheFloridaDepartmentofCorrection’s(FDC)mostrecentlypublishedannualreport,inFiscalYear2014-2015,theelderlyinmatepopulationaccountedfor53percentofallepisodesofcarecomparedto22percentoftheinmatepopulation.44

2,9245,610

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

2007 2016

Prison

ers

NumberofPrisonerswithaLifeSentencebyCurrentAge,2007vs2016

50andOver

35-49

25-34

18-24

51

Whilethereisnoearlyreleasepolicytargetedspecificallytowardstheelderly,giventheuniqueneedsofthispopulation,FDChasmadeeffortstomanagethispopulationwithintheconfinesofprisonfacilities.Inparticular,FDChasestablishedelderlyoffenderhousingforinmateswhomeetcertaincriteriainordertoaccountfortheirworklimitationsandhealthcareneeds.Tobeeligibleforanelderlyhousingdorm,aninmatemustbeatleast50yearsorolder,mustnothavereceivedanyviolentdisciplinaryreportswithinthelastthreeyears,mustnototherwisebedeemedtobeasecurityordisciplinaryriskforplacement,andmustbecompatiblewiththefacility’smissionandprofile.45

KeyFindings

• Thenumberofprisonersage50orovergrew65percentinthelastdecade• Thisgrowthwasdrivenbyprisonerswithverylongsentencesagingintothe

definitionof“elderlyprisoner”• Almosthalfofprisonerswithalifesentence—forwhichthereisnorelease

mechanismbesideslimitedmedicalrelease—arealreadyovertheageof50• InFY2015,prisonersoverage50accountedfor53percentofallhealthcare

episodescomparedto22percentoftheinmatepopulation

52

RELEASEANDREENTRYThevastmajorityofoffenderswhoenterFlorida’sprisonsystemareeventuallyreleased.Thissectiondescribesthelawsandpracticesaroundprisonreleaseandreentry,andhowtheseaffecthowlongoffendersspendinprisonbeforetheirrelease.

TimeServedInFlorida,individualssentencedtostateprisonforacrimecommittedonorafterOctober1,1995arerequiredtoserveatleast85percentofthesentenceorsentencesimposedbeforetheyareeligibleforrelease,regardlessofthetypeofcrime.46Someenhancementandhabitualoffenderprovisionsrequireaninmatetoserve100percentoftheirsentenceinprison.Manystatesincreasedtimeservedrequirementsforviolentoffendersinthe1990stocomplywiththefederalTruthinSentencingprogram.However,onlyafewstatesincludednonviolentoffendersintheserequirements.47

Gain-TimeCurrently,theonlywayforinmatestoreducethetimetheyserveinprisonisthroughwhatisknownas“gain-time.”TheFloridaDepartmentofCorrections(FDC)isstatutorilyauthorizedtoawardgain-timetoinmateswiththeintendedgoalofincentivizinginmatestoparticipateinprogrammingandcomplywiththerulesoftheinstitution.48Therearefourtypesofgain-timeaneligibleinmatexcanearntoreducetheirsentenceby15percent:incentivegain-time,meritoriousgain-time,educationalachievementgain-time,andeducationgain-time.Table8:Gain-TimeOptionsforEligibleInmates

GainTypeOptions Requirements Gain-TimeEarned

Incentive

Creditsearnedbasedonratingreceivedrelatedtoinstitutionaladjustment,work,andparticipationinprograms

Upto10dayspermonth

Meritorious

Completionofoutstandingdeed Onetimecreditofupto60days

EducationalAchievement

CompletionofGEDorvocationalprogram Onetimecreditof60days

Education

Satisfactorilyparticipatedin150hoursoffunctionalliteracyinstruction

Onetimecreditofupto6days

Source:FloridaAdministrativeCode,33-601.101IncentiveGainTime.

xOnlyinmateswhocommittedcrimesafterOctober1,1995areeligibleforthetypesofgain-timedescribedinTable8.

53

Mostinmatescanbeginearninggain-timewithinthefirstmonthofcommitmenttoFDC.But,ifsomeoneisservingasentenceformandatoryminimum,theycannotbegintoearngain-timeuntiltheyhaveservedthemandatoryportionofthesentence.Asaresult,individualsservingmandatoryminimumsentenceshavelimitedincentivetoparticipateinprogrammingorcomplywiththerulesofFDCduringthemandatorytermoftheirsentence.49Themajorityofgain-timeearnedbyinmatesisincentivegain-time.FDChassetupaprocessforawardingincentivegain-timebasedontheresultsofmonthlyevaluationscompletedbyFDCsecurityandprogrammingstaff.Eligibleinmatescanbeawardedanywherefromzerocreditsforunsatisfactoryevaluationstoeightdaysforabovesatisfactoryevaluations.Additionalgain-timedayscanalsobeawarded,uptothetendaystatutorylimit,basedonadherencetoprogramortreatmentplan,workorprogramstability,orprogramachievement.Inmateswhohaveearnedgain-timetowardsareductionoftheirsentencemayhaveallorsomeoftheirgain-timeforfeitedforcertaintypesofmisconduct.50

LengthofStayTrendsTheaveragelengthofincarcerationforfirstreleases—offendersreleasedforthefirsttimeontheircurrentsentence—hasincreasedsteadilyoverthepastdecade.Thecurrentstatewideaveragein2016was42months,upfrom35in2007.Althoughanincreaseofsevenmonthsmaynotsoundsignificant,whenmultipliedbythethousandsofpeoplemovingthroughFlorida’sprisonsystem,thisgrowthcanhaveasignificanteffectontheprisonpopulation.Themedianlengthofstayin2016was27months,upfrom21monthsin2007.Whileitisdifficulttocomparelengthofstayacrossstates,themostrecentnationalestimatesfromtheBureauofJusticeStatisticsputmedianlengthofstayforviolentoffendersat28months,comparedto35monthsinFlorida.51Figure48:TimeServedforDrugOffensesHasIncreased24%Since2007


55.5

31.9 27.4 23.8

63.3

34.7 34.0 32.1

0

20

40

60

80


Mon

ths

MeanTimeServedbyOffenseType,2007vs.2016

2007 2016

54

Since2007,timeservedhasincreasedforalloffensetypes,withthelargestincreasesoccurringamongdrugoffendersand“other”offenders.Mostsignificantlywithinthat“other”group,averagetimeservedforFelonDrivingwithLicenseSuspended/Revoked/Canceled/Deniedincreased24%(from17to21months).Amongthetop10offensesatadmission,lengthofincarcerationforfirstdegreetraffickinghasgrownthemost,from44monthsfor2007releaseesto53monthsfor2016releasees.Releaseeswithaprimaryoffenseofburglaryofadwellingoroccupiedstructureservedanaverageofalmostfouryears(46months),steadyfrom2007,althoughthenumberofoffenderscominginforthiscrimehasriseninthelastdecade.Themeanlengthofstayforsimplepossessionoffendersisabout20monthsonaverage,upslightlyfrom2007.Themostrecentnationalestimateputsmediantimeservedfordrugpossessionat10monthscomparedto16monthsinFlorida.52Figure49:TraffickingOffendersServe53MonthsonAverage,Up20Percentfrom2007


Thevastmajorityofoffendersreleasedfromprisonserveover85percentoftheirsentenceduetothetimeservedrequirementspassedin1995.Violentoffenders’averagetimeservedhoversclosestto85percentoftheirsentences,whereasdrugoffenders,propertyoffenders,andothertypesofoffenderstypicallyserveonetotwoadditionalmonthsbeyond85percentoftheirsentence.Thismaybebecauseviolentoffenders,servinglongerinprison,havemoreopportunitiestoearngaintime.

46.1

20.4

32.0

29.8

34.0

28.8

53.1

23.4

92.4

55.2

0 20 40 60 80 100

BurglaryofaDwelling/OccupiedStructure/

SimplePossession(3rdDegree)

Sale/Manufacturing/Delivery(2ndDegree)

TrafficInStolenProperty

Felon/DelinquentwithGun/Concealed

BurglaryofanUnoccupiedStructure/

Trafficking(1stDegree)

GrandTheh,$300-$20,000

RobberywithaDeadlyWeapon

Robbery

Months

MeanTimeServedAmongFirstReleasesforTop10OffensesatAdmission,2007vs2016

2007

2016

55

PrisonReleaseTypesandReentryPlanningOnceaninmateservesatleast85percentoftheirsentenceorsentences,withorwithoutgain-time,theinmatemaybereleasedthrougheitherexpirationofsentenceorreleasedtopost-prisonreleasesupervision.Expirationofsentenceincludesoffendersreleasedwithoutsupervision,aswellasthosewithasplitprobationsentencereleasedtoprobationorcommunitycontrolsupervision.Themaintypesofpost-prisonreleasesupervisioninFloridainclude:parole,controlrelease,conditionalrelease,addictionrecoverysupervision,andconditionalmedicalrelease.ConditionalreleaseandaddictionrecoverysupervisionarebothnondiscretionaryreleasetypesthatdonotrequireaformaldecisionbytheFloridaCommissiononOffenderReview(FCOR)butratherareatypeofmandatorysupervisionforinmateswhomeetcertaincriteria.Specifically,conditionalreleaseisforindividualsservingsentencesforcertainviolentorhabitualcrimes.Addictionrecoverysupervisionisrequiredforinmateswhohaveahistoryofsubstanceabuseoraddictionorhaveparticipatedinanydrugtreatmentprogram.xiWhileFCORdoesnotmakeaformalreleasedecisionforconditionalreleaseandaddictionrecoverysupervision,FCORisresponsibleforsettingthetermsandconditionsofsupervisionandoverseeingtherevocationprocess,whennecessary.

xiIndividualswithacurrentorpreviousconvictionforaviolentoffense,drugtrafficking,saleofacontrolledsubstance,certainpropertyoffenses,oratrafficoffenseinvolvinginjuryordeathareineligibleforaddictionrecoverysupervision.EligibleinmatesarescreenedintotheprogramusingtheFDC’sSimpleDrugScreeningInstrument.

KeyFindings

• AlloffenderssentencedafterOctober1,1995mustserveatleast85percentoftheirsentencebehindbars

• Thosewithmandatorysentencescannotbeginearninggain-timeuntiltheyhavecompletedthemandatoryportion,reducingtheirincentivetoparticipateinprogramming

• Thestatutorytimeservedrequirementshaveledtolonglengthsofstayinprisoncomparedtonationalaverages

• Lengthofstayinprisonhasgrownforalloffensetypesinthelastdecade,includingincaseswherethenumberofadmissionswassteadyorgrowing

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Parole,controlreleaseandconditionalmedicalreleasearealldiscretionaryreleasetypesandrequireaformalreleasedecisionbyFCOR.Whileparolewasformallyabolishedin1983,therearestillanumberofindividualsinprisonwhoareeligibleforthisdiscretionaryreleasetype.Controlrelease,whilenotcurrentlybeingused,isanotherearlyreleaseoptionwhichcanbegrantedtoeligibleinmatesiftheprisonpopulationexceeds99percentofitscapacity.ConditionalmedicalreleaseisforinmateswhoFDChasdeterminedtobepermanentlyincapacitatedorterminallyill.FCORconsiderspersonsforpossibleconditionalmedicalreleaseuponareferralfromFDC.Inmateswhoarereleasedtopost-prisonreleasesupervisionwillbesupervisedfortheperiodequaltothegain-timethattheyreceivedinprison.

ReleaseTrendsAlthoughFloridahasnearly20differentreleasetypesonrecord,onlyabouthalfofthemhavebeenusedregularlyoverthepastdecade.Amongactivereleaseoptions,expirationofsentencewithoutprobationismostcommon.Sixty-threepercentofreleasedprisonersreturntotheircommunitieswithoutanykindofcommunitysupervision.Thenextmostcommonreleaseoptionsareconditionalreleasesupervisionandexpirationofsentencetoprobationorcommunitycontrol(CC).Conditionalrelease,asdescribedabove,isbasedontheoffenseandismostcommonforviolentoffenders.Anexpirationofsentencewithprobationorcommunitycontroltofollowhappenswhenajudgegivesasplitsentencebeforetheoffendercomestoprison.Thisismostcommonforviolentandpropertyoffenders,ofwhom16percentand11percent,respectively,havecourt-orderedsupervisiontofollow.Figure50:MostPrisonReleaseesHaveNoSupervisiontoFollow


19,1805,401

4,955

1,020

386

160

24

17

0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000

ExpirajonofSentence(EOS)

CondijonalRelease

EOStoProbajon/CC

ProgramSupervision

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ReinstatementofSupervision

Parole

CondijonalMedicalRelease

Releases

PrisonReleasesbyReleaseType,2007vs.2016

2007 2016

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Drugoffendersaremostlikelytobereleasedwithoutanysupervisiontofollow,whereasviolentoffendersaremostlikelytohavesupervisiontofollow.Only32percentofpropertyoffendersand24percentofdrugoffendershaveanysupervisiontofollowrelease.Figure51:MostPropertyandDrugOffendersReleasedWithoutSupervisiontoFollow


Recently,FDChasexpandeditspracticeofconductingriskassessmentsofprisonerspriortorelease.Riskassessmentinstrumentsidentifythelikelihoodthatanindividualwillrecidivate,andresearchshowsthattheyareeffectivetoolsfortargetinginterventions,includingsupervisionandprogramming.53In2016,89percentofreleasedprisonershadariskassessmentconductedpriortorelease.xiiAmongindividualsevaluatedandreleasedthatyear,49percentweredeterminedtobeahighrisktorecidivateattheirfinalassessment(withRecidivismIndexscoresof4or5onascaleof5).Fortypercentofoffendersinthehighestrisklevelwerereleasedwithoutsupervision,comparedtojustunder80percentinthelowestrisklevel(Figure52).

xiiOnaverage,thisriskassessmentwasconductedtwo-thirdsofthewaythroughthereleasee’sprisonsentence.

0%

20%

40%

60%

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100%


ShareofReleases

PrisonReleasesbyOffenseType,2016

AddicjonRecoverySupervision

CondijonalRelease

EOStoProbajon/CC

ExpirajonofSentence(EOS)

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Figure52:HigherRiskOffendersMoreLikelytoHaveSupervisiontoFollowRelease


Althoughlookingatreleasetypesbyrecidivismindexscoreshowsthatsupervisionisgenerallybeingtargetedathigherriskoffenders,italsohighlightsthatprogramsupervision,alsoknownasaddictionrecoverysupervision,ismostlytargetedatoffenderswithalowriskofrecidivism(thosewithscoresof1,2,or3).Astrongbodyofresearchindicatesthattoomuchtreatmentorsupervisionforlow-riskoffenderscanactuallyincreaserecidivism.54ReentryPlanningSincethemajorityofindividualsreleasedfromFloridaprisonsarereleasedwithoutsupervisiontofollow,FDChasrecognizedtheneedtostreamlinetheDepartmentsreentryplanningprocesses.Inparticular,FDChasmadeeffortstochangetheirreentryplanningphilosophyfromaprocessthatoccursdirectlypriortoreleasetoamorefrontendapproachthatbeginsthedayanindividualwalksinthedoor.WhileFDCreportsthatitdoesnotcurrentlyhaveenoughprogrammingslotstoprovideprogrammingtoeveryoffenderincarcerated,FDC’snewlyestablishedDivisionofDevelopment:ImprovementandReadinessisconsideringchangingitspolicyrelatedtotheprioritizationofprogrammingtofocusprogrammingoninmateswithinfiveyearsofrelease,ratherthanthecurrentpolicyofthreeyearspriortorelease.55Reentryprogrammingfocusesonsubstanceabusetreatment,educational/academic,career/technicaleducation,andfaithandcharacter-basedprograms.56Currently,programmingdecisionsaredeterminedbasedonthelengthoftimeaninmatehasremainingontheirsentenceandtheresultsoftheCorrectionalIntegratedNeedsAssessmentSystem(CINAS).WhilemostfacilitiesstillusetheCINAS,FDCisintheprocessofpilotinganewassessmenttoolknownas“Spectrum.”FDCreportsthatSpectrumwillprovidethemwithinformationontheprogrammingandtreatmentneedsofeveryinmateshortlyfollowingtheircommitmenttoFDC.InadditiontothestepstakenbyFDC,theFloridaLegislaturehasintroducedlegislationtorespondtoinmatereentryneedsandimprovetheoverallreentryprocessinthestate.In2014,theFloridaLegislaturepassed,andtheGovernorsubsequentlysigned,HouseBill53,which

0%

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1 2 3 4 5

ShareofReleases

RecidivismIndexScore

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ExpirajonofSentence(EOS)EOStoProbajon/CC

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AddicjonRecoverySupervision

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requiresFDCtocollaboratewiththeDepartmentofHealthandtheDepartmentofHighwaySafetyMotorVehiclestoprovideeveryFlorida-borninmatewithacopyoftheirbirthcertificateandastate-issuedidentificationcardpriortotheirrelease.State-issuedidentificationcardsareoftenanecessaryreentrydocumentinorderforanindividualtoobtainemployment,housing,orapplyforpublicbenefits.Whilemanysystemstakeholdershaverecognizedtheneedtoimprovethereentryprocessinthestate,individualsreleasedfromprisonstillfacesignificantbarriersduetothemanycollateralconsequencestiedtoafelonyconviction.Forexample,thereareanumberofoffensesthatrequiresuspensionorrevocationofanindividual’sdriver’slicense,includingpossessing,selling,ortraffickingacontrolledsubstance,theftoffenses,passingworthlessbankchecks,andgraffiti/criminalmischief.

RecidivismRecidivismhasdeclinedslightlyamongoffendersreleasedfromprisoninFloridainthelastfiveyears,drivenbysmalldeclinesinone-yearrecidivism(returntoprisonwithin12monthsofrelease).Whilerecidivismcanbeastrongmeasureofsuccessfuloutcomesforprisonersreleasedintothecommunity,itcanalsobedrivenbymanyfactorsbesidessuccessfulrehabilitation.57First,recidivismmaybedrivenbytheunderlyingriskofthepopulation.Ifmanylow-riskoffendersaresenttoprison,thiswilllowertheoverallrecidivismrate,notbecausethesystemissuccessfullyrehabilitatingoffendersbutbecauseofunderlyingcharacteristicsoftheoffendersthemselves.Similarly,returntoprison,themeasureusedbyFlorida,canbesensitivetotheamountandtypeofpost-prisonreleasesurveillancedone.Florida,withminimalpost-prisonreleasesupervision,mayhavealowerreturn-to-prisonratethanotherstatesbecauseofunderlyingdynamicsratherthanagencypractices.

KeyFindings

• Sixty-threepercentofprisonersarereleasedwithoutanysupervisiontofollow• Violentandhigher-riskoffendersaremostlikelytohavepost-releasesupervision• Thedepartmentistakingstepstofacilitatereentryforindividualsreleasedwithout

supervision,buttheystillfacemanycollateralconsequences

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Figure53:SlightDeclineinRecidivismRatesSince2008

Source:FloridaDepartmentofCorrections,FloridaPrisonRecidivismReport:Releasesfrom2008to2014

Despitetheselimitations,recidivismisausefulindicatorofwhetherindividualsreleasedfromprisonarelikelytocommitfuturecrimes,andhowthatvariesbyunderlyingcharacteristicsoftheindividual.Lookingatpeoplereleasedfromprisonin2012(whohavethreeyearsoffollow-upinformationavailable),recidivismvariesbyoffensetype,with“other”violentoffenses(whichincludesaggravatedassault,battery,andarson)havingthelowestrecidivismrate,withonly19percentofreleasedoffendersreturningwithinthreeyears,followedbyburglaryat22percent.Figure54:RecidivismVariesfrom19Percentfor“Other”ViolentCrimeto31PercentforWeaponsOffenses


10% 10% 9% 8% 8% 9% 8%

10% 10% 10% 10% 10% 9%

7% 7% 7% 8% 8%

0%5%10%15%20%25%30%35%40%

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Recidivism

Rate

YearofRelease

RecidivismRatesbyYearofRelease

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27.6%25.2%

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BURGLARYROBBERY

SEXUAL/LEWDBEHAVIORPROPERTYTHEFT/FRAUD/

WEAPONSOTHER

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DRUGS

RecidivismRate

RecidivismRatesbyPrimaryOffense(2012Releases)

1-12Months 13-24Months 25-36Months

27%23%

19%27%

31%25%

30%

29%22%

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Recidivismalsovariesbyage.Overall,itislowestforelderlyoffendersreleasedfromprison,fittingwiththelowerriskprofileoftheseoffendersdiscussedinthepriorsection.Figure55:ElderlyOffendersHaveSignificantlyLowerRecidivismThanYoungerOffenders


0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%

Under25

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AgeatRelease

RecidivismRatesbyAgeatRelease(2012Releases)

1-12Months 13-24Months 25-36months

30%

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25%

21%

11%

KeyFindings

• Recidivismasdefinedbyhowmanyprisonreleasesreturntoprisonwithinthreeyearshasdeclinedsince2008from27.6percentforthosereleasedin2008to25.2percentforthosereleasedin2012

• Offendersconvictedof“other”violentcrimesandburglaryhavethelowestrecidivismrates

• Individualsreleasedovertheageof65haveconsiderablylowerrecidivismthanthosereleasedatyoungerages

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CONCLUSIONThesizeanddiversityofFlorida’scriminaljusticesystemmakeitachallengetosummarize.ThisreportrevieweddatathatwasreadilyavailabletotrytopiecetogetherapictureofsomeofthemainforcesandissuesdrivingthesizeandcompositionoftheFloridaprisonpopulation.Still,muchremainsunknown,eitherbecausedatadoesnotexist,wasunavailable,orwasnotabletobegatheredandanalyzedintheperiodofthiscontract.FurtherdatadevelopmentorreviewasdiscussedbelowmayhelpthelegislaturebetterunderstandFloridasystemsandpractices.FloridaCircuitandSpecialtyCourtsTheOfficeoftheStateCourtAdministrator(OSCA)wasabletoshareindividual-leveldatafrom53outof67countiesinthestate,reachingbackatleasttenyears.However,severallargecounties—includingDuvalCounty,wheresignificantgrowthinprisonadmissionstookplaceoverthelastdecade—werenotrepresentedinthisdataset.Inaddition,muchofthedataaboutspecificcaseswasmissing,includingmostsentencinginformation.Thesedataalsodidnothavesentencingguidelinesinformationsuchastotalsentencingscore,priorcriminalhistorypoints,orenhancements.Instead,CJImostlyusedsentencingscoresheetdatacollectedbytheFloridaDepartmentofCorrections(FDC)toshedinsightintothetypesofsentencesgiven.AsnotedintheAppendix,thesentencingscoresheetdataisalsoincomplete.Fulldatafromall67counties,andlinkedorcompletedatasothateachcourtcasecanbelinkedtoasentencingscoresheetandprisonorprobationadmissions,wouldensureaccuratetrackingandreportingofsentencingoutcomesandchangesovertime.OSCAalsocollectsdataonspecialtycourtprograms,includingcourt-leveldataondrugcourtadmissionsandsurveyinformationfromeachcourtoneligibilityrequirements,capacity,andotherimportantissues.However,mostofthisdatacollectiondoesnotextendtoothertypesofspecialtycourtssuchasmentalhealthcourtsandDUIcourts.Riskinformationisnotcollectedfromthemajorityofcourts,althoughthisisanimportantindicatorofwhetherspecialtycourtprogramsarebeingtargetedtotherightpopulation.Inaddition,althoughOSCAcollectsnumbersofparticipantscompletingeachyear,thesenumbersarenotlinkedtoadmissionsinawaythatallowsanyevaluationofsuccessorfailurerateswithoutmoreextensivedataanalysis.Ideally,admissioncohortswouldbetrackedinsuchawaythatsuccessandfailurecanbeaccuratelytrackedovertime.RevocationsFDChasimpressivedatasystemsandreporting.Oneareawhereimprovementmaybewarrantedisinthelinksbetweencommunitysupervisiondataanddatausedtotrackandmanagetheprisonpopulation.Initsgeneralreporting,FDCdoesnotconsidertechnicalviolationsofsupervisiontobenewadmissions,andwhatCJIreferredtoas“post-releaserevocations”arenotincludedinnormalFDCadmissioncounts.Theyarealsonottrackedin

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regularreportsonlengthofstay.Althoughthisisasmallgroup,prisonresourcesareusedtoprocesstheminandoutforshortstays.Inaddition,althoughFDCissupervisingprobationersandthoseoncommunitycontrol,it’snotpossibletotellhowmanyoftheadmissionscominginthedoortoprisonarefornewcrimesortechnicalviolations,whattheunderlyingcrimeisversusthenewcrimeifthereisone,andhowlongtechnicalviolatorsofprobationstayinprison.Usingscoresheetdata,CJIwasabletomakeroughestimatesofthesequestions,butgiventhelimitationsofthescoresheetdata,theremaybemuchbetterwaystodothisbylinkingadministrativedatasetsfromcommunitysupervisionandprisonadmission.Moredetailedinformationonthenumberandtypesofviolationsleadingtorevocationtoprisonandhowtheyaffectprisonsentencesmayalsohelpstateandlocalagenciesandthelegislaturemonitorandevaluateinnovativecourtandagencyprogramsthattargetviolationsandrevocations.

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APPENDIX:DATAANDINTERVIEWSOURCESANDMETHODOLOGYThedatausedinthisreportisacombinationofaggregatedatafrompre-existingsourcesandnewanalysisofindividualleveladministrativedatagatheredbytheFloridaDepartmentofCorrections.Thefollowingdatasourceswerepulledfrompublicwebsites:

• BureauofJusticeStatistics,NationalPrisonersSeriesdataonprisonpopulationsandimprisonmentrates.Thisisa50-stateandfederalsetofcomparabledataacrosstime.Accessedat:https://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=nps

• FederalBureauofInvestigations,UniformCrimeReportdataonviolentandpropertycrimesandcrimeratesinFlorida,theUnitedStates,andindividualFloridacounties(aggregateduptothecountylevelfromreportinglawenforcementagenciesineachcounty).Accessedat:https://www.ucrdatatool.gov/

• FloridaDepartmentofLawEnforcement,UniformCrimeReportdataonarrestsandarrestratesbyyear.Accessedat:http://www.fdle.state.fl.us/cms/FSAC/Data-Statistics/UCR-Arrest-Data.aspx

• FloridaOfficeoftheStateCourtsAdministrator,TrialCourtStatisticsdataoncircuitcriminalcountsanddefendantsbymonthandyear.Accessedat:http://trialstats.flcourts.org/

• FloridaDepartmentofCorrections,AnnualandMonthlyReportsoncommunitysupervisionpopulationsandadmissionsbyyear.Accessedat:http://www.dc.state.fl.us/pub/spop/2017/01/index.html

Non-publicdatasharedwithCJIinaggregateformincluded:• Drugcourtadmissionsandpopulationbycourt,byyear,sharedbytheOfficeofthe

StateCourtAdministrator.

Interviewswithagencystaffandotherstakeholdersacrossthestatehelpedtofilloutthepolicyandpracticepicture.Altogether,22individualswereinterviewedorhelpedarrangeinterviews,pulldata,orotherwiseprovidecontextualinformation:

• LeeAdams,ChiefofSentenceStructure,FloridaDepartmentofCorrections• BethAtchison,SouthernRegionalDirector,FloridaDepartmentofCorrections• MichaelBurke,DataAnalyst,FloridaDepartmentofCorrections• JamesClark,LegislativePolicyAnalyst,OfficeofProgramPolicyAnalysisand

GovernmentalAccountability• NancyDaniels,FormerPublicDefender,SecondCircuitPublicDefender’sOfficeand

FloridaPublicDefender’sAssociation• RickyDixon,AssistantSecretaryforInstitutions,FloridaDepartmentofCorrections

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• DavidEnsley,ChiefofResearchandDataAnalysis,FloridaDepartmentofCorrections• JudgeRonaldFicarrotta,ChiefJudge,ThirteenthJudicialCircuit• StevenFielder,ChiefofStafftoSecretaryJones,FloridaDepartmentofCorrections• GinaGiacoma,DirectorofAdministration,FloridaCommissiononOffenderReview• JenniferGrandal,SeniorCourtOperationsConsultant,OfficeoftheStateCourts

Administrator• KristinaHartman,ChiefofPrograms,DivisionofDevelopment:Improvementand

Readiness,FloridaDepartmentofCorrections• CalebHawkes,LegislativeAffairsDirector,FloridaCommissiononOffenderReview• JulieJones,Secretary,FloridaDepartmentofCorrections• BradLocke,ChiefofApplied,ResearchandPolicy,DivisionofDevelopment:

ImprovementandReadiness,FloridaDepartmentofCorrections• ClaireMazur,StateDirector,OfficeofProgramPolicyAnalysisandGovernmental

Accountability• RustyMcLaughlin,ChiefofClassification,FloridaDepartmentofCorrections• SarahNaf,ChiefofLegislativeAffairs,OfficeofStateCourtsAdministrator• JennyNimer,AssistantSecretaryforCommunityCorrections,FloridaDepartmentof

Corrections• RosePatterson,ChiefofEducationandImprovement,OfficeoftheStateCourts

Administrator• AbeUccello,DirectorofDevelopment,DivisionofDevelopment:Improvementand

Readiness,FloridaDepartmentofCorrections• JoeWinkler,DeputyRegionalDirector,FloridaDepartmentofCorrections

Finally,theremainderoftheanalysiswasdoneusingFloridaDepartmentofCorrections(FDC)individual-leveloffenderdatafiles.FDCsharedsixmajorindividual-leveldatafileswithCJI:

• Prisonadmissions,CY2007-CY2016,includingprioradmissionsforthoseadmittedduringthe2007-2016period

• PrisonstatuspopulationsnapshotsfromDecember31ofeachyear,2007-2016• Prisonreleases,CY2007-2016• Allrelatedoffenseinformationforoffendersincludedinthethreefilesabove• Intakes,CY2007-2016,includingeveryoneadmittedtoFDCcustodynotconsidereda

newadmission(thisincludedbothtechnicalviolatorsofcertainkindsofsupervision,andreturnsfromcourt,returnsfromescape,andotherintaketypeswhichwereexcludedasdiscussionbelow)

• SentencingscoresheetsfiledwithFDC,CY2006-2015

BelowwedescribehowwecleanedandanalyzedthedatafromthesesixFDCdatafiles.Wheneverpossible,CJIusedFDC’sdatadefinitionsandcategories.Forinstance,offensetypeandoffensecategoryarefourandninegroupcategoriesusedbyFDC,whichCJIalsoused.

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Whenthesecategorieswerenotincludedinaparticulardataset,CJImatchedtheminbasedontheprimaryoffensenameandcodegiveninbothdatasets.CJIfurthercategorizeddrugcrimesintofourcategoriesbasedontheconduct:

• Simplepossession• Sale/manufacturing/delivery• Trafficking• Otherdrugcrime(thisincludespurchaseorintenttopurchase)

Thesefourcategorieswereusedtoaggregatedrugcrimesupfromthespecificdrugtypeandweightwithoutlosingallinformationaboutconduct.CJIalsocategorizedadmissionsintothreemajortypes:

• Newlysentencedprisoners:Thisincludesalloffenderswhowerenotonsupervisionbeforeprisonadmission,asdefinedbyanFDCflag.

• Probationrevocations:ThisconsistsofeveryoneadmittedonanewsentencewhowasonsupervisionbeforeprisonadmissionasdefinedbytheflagprobationviolatorintheFDCadmissionsdatasetorthe“UnderSupervision”flaginthesentencingscoresheetsdataset.Theremaybesomerevocationsofcommunitycontrolandothersupervisiontypesincludedinthiscategory.Technicalviolatorsofprobationandcommunitycontrolwouldalsobeincludedinthiscategory.

• Releaserevocations:Thesearetechnicalviolatorsfrompost-releasesupervisionsuchasconditionalreleaseandparole.TheyarenotcountedintypicalFDCadmissioncountsbecausetheydonothaveanewsentenceoranewadmissiondate.Theywereaddedtotheadmissionfileusingthe“intakedate”fromtheintakefileandtheadmissioncode.Onlyintakeswiththeadmissioncodes“COND.VIO.NON/S”“COND.MED.REL.RETURN”“CNTL.REL.VIOLATOR”“PROG.SUPV.VIOL”RETSCRPN/S”“COND.MED.REL.VIOL.”“PRSVIOLATOR”“COMMUTATION/RETURNED”and“PAR.VIO-NON/S”wereretainedandaddedtoanyadmissionsforthelistedadmissioncodestomakeupthiscategory.Theseintakedateswerealsoaddedintothereleasefile(substitutingforrepeatedadmissiondateslinkedtomultiplereleasedates)todeterminelengthofstayinprisonfortheseviolationtypes.

Examiningsentencelengths,CJIusedthetotalsentencelengthvariabledefinedbyFDCtocalculatesentenceaverages.Lifeanddeathsentenceswereincludedinaverageswithasubstitutedvalueof50years.Whencalculatingthepercentageofsentenceserved,thesesentenceswerefilteredfromthecalculation,asweresentencesforoffensescommittedbeforeOctober1,1995sincethesewerenotsubjecttothe85Percentlaw.Primaryoffensedegree,severitylevel,andcriminalhistoryweremergedintotheadmissions,status,andreleasefilesfromthefulloffensefiles.Todeterminewhetheranindividualhadahistoryofviolentcrime,allprioroffenseswerecodedaseitherviolentornonviolentbasedontheFDCoffensetype,andthentheoffenderwascodedashavinganypriororcurrentviolentcrime,whetherornottheseweretheprimaryoffensesforthecurrentorprioradmissions.Twelvepercentofstatuspopulationrecordswerenotabletobematchedtofulloffense

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records,meaningfelonydegreeandcriminalhistoryinformationisnotcomplete.Thevastmajorityoftheseunmatchedrecordswereforoffendersinprisonwithcurrentviolentcrimes.ThesentencingscoresheetdatawaspulledseparatelyfromtheotherdatainresponsetoadifferentdatarequestandthensharedwithCJI.Forthisreason,2016datawasnotcompleteandwasnotusedintheanalysis.ThesentencingscoresheetdatafiledwithFDCismissingcases,asdiscussedintheFDCSentencingReports(seehttp://www.dc.state.fl.us/pub/sg_annual/1516/sg_annual-2016.pdfforthemostrecentreport).Comparingthenumberofsentencestoprisonrecordedinthesentencingscoresheetsversusthenumberofpeopleadmittedtoprisonwithanewsentencegivesevidenceofthismissingness.In2006,26percentofprisonadmissionsdidnothaveacorrespondingscoresheetavailable.By2015,thismissingnessdeclinedto12percent(itfellrapidlyfrom2006-2008andsincethenhasvariedfrom10to16percent).Itisunknownwhethernon-prisonsentencesaremoreorlessunderrepresentedinthescoresheetdata.Ineithercase,thedeclineinprisonsentencesgivenfrom2006to2015maybeunderstatedinthescoresheetdatabecauseofthehighernumberofmissingscoresheetsintheearlieryear.Todeterminethesentencegiveninthescoresheetdata,flagsforeachsentencetypewerecomparedandthemostserioussentencegivenwasselected,withseriousnessdefinedasstateprison>countyjail>communitycontrol>probation.Ifadefendantwasgivenasplitsentencethesentencewasrecordedasthemostseriouspartofthatsplitsentence.Countyjailsentencesmayincludesentencesgivenoftimeservedpretrial,wherenoneoftheincarcerationtimewasactuallyservedpost-adjudication.Prisonsentencesmayalsoincludesomeoralltimeservedpretrial.Inadditiontotheanalysispresentedinthereport,CJIranmorethan175tablescross-tabbingandsummarizingvariablesofinterestinthesedatasets.ThefullanalyticalresultswillbesharedwithOPPAGA.1NationalAssociationofStateBudgetOfficers(1987),“TheStateExpenditureReport,”http://www.nasbo.org/sites/default/files/ER_1987.PDF;NationalAssociationofStateBudgetOfficers(2007),StateExpenditureReportFiscal2006”,http://www.nasbo.org/sites/default/files/ER_2006.pdf.Note:Comparisonexcludescapitalexpenditures.2NationalAssociationofStateBudgetOfficers,“ExaminingFiscalStateSpending2014-2016,”https://www.nasbo.org/mainsite/reports-data/state-expenditure-report.3BureauofJusticeStatistics(2016),“Prisonersin2015”,http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/p15.pdf.4FederalBureauofInvestigation,UniformCrimeReports,UCRDataTool,accessedathttp://www.ucrdatatool.gov/Search/Crime/State/StateCrime.cfm5FederalBureauofInvestigation,(2016),“CrimeintheUnitedStates2015,”Table5,accessedat:https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2015/crime-in-the-u.s.-2015/tables/table-56PewPublicSafetyPerformanceProject(2016),“NationalImprisonmentandCrimeRatesContinuetoFall,”http://www.pewtrusts.org/~/media/assets/2016/12/national_imprisonment_and_crime_rates_continue_to_fall_web.pdf7Fla.State.§948.08(1)(h)18FloridaCriminalJusticeEstimatingConference,February2017.

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9FloridaDepartmentofCorrectionsandOfficeofStateCourtsAdministrator,“FloridaCriminalPunishmentCode,ScoresheetPreparationManual”http://www.dc.state.fl.us/pub/sen_cpcm/cpc_manual.pdf.10FlaStat.§775.08211FloridaDepartmentofCorrectionsandOfficeofStateCourtsAdministrator,“FloridaCriminalPunishmentCode,ScoresheetPreparationManual”http://www.dc.state.fl.us/pub/sen_cpcm/cpc_manual.pdf.12Ibid.13FloridaDepartmentofCorrections,Florida’sCriminalPunishmentCode:AComparativeAssessment,http://www.dc.state.fl.us/pub/sg_annual/0001/14Fla.Stat.§921.002615Ibid.16Ibid.17Ibid.18FloridaDepartmentofCorrectionsandOfficeofStateCourtsAdministrator,“FloridaCriminalPunishmentCode,ScoresheetPreparationManual”http://www.dc.state.fl.us/pub/sen_cpcm/cpc_manual.pdf.19Fla.Stat.§948.00120Notethatthesenumbersaresmallerthantheactualnumberofadmissionstoprisonforthesecrimesbecauseofmissingscoresheets.21TheFloridaSenate,CommitteeonCriminalJustice,InterimProjectReport2006-109,“ReviewofSanctionsOrderedforViolationsofProbation”http://archive.flsenate.gov/data/Publications/2006/Senate/reports/interim_reports/pdf/2006-109cj.pdf22Fla.Admin.Code.R.33-601.101(2017).23TheFloridaSenate,SPB7066BillAnalysisandFiscalImpactStatement(2015)https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2016/7066/Analyses/2016s7066.pre.cj.PDF.24Ibid.25Theoffenseswhichapplytothe10-20-lifelawinclude:murder,sexualbattery,robbery,burglary,arson,aggravatedbattery,kidnapping,escape,aircraftpiracy,aggravatedchildabuse,aggravatedabuseofanelderlypersonordisabledadult,unlawfulthrowing,placing,ordischargingoradestructivedeviceorbomb,carjacking,home-invasionrobbery,aggravatedstalking,drugtrafficking,andpossessionofafirearmbyafelon.26Fla.Stat.§775.08727Ibid.28Ibid.29Fla.Stat.§775.08430Ibid.31Habitualviolentprovisionappliesto:arson,sexualbattery,robbery,kidnapping,aggravatedchildabuse,aggravatedabuseofanelderlypersonordisabledadult,murder,manslaughter,aggravatedmanslaughterofachild,unlawfulthrowing,placing,ordischargingoradestructivedeviceorbomb,home-invasionrobbery,aggravatedstalking,aggravatedbatteryandarmedburglary.32Fla.Stat.§775.08233PrisonReleaseeappliestotreason,murder,manslaughter,sexualbattery,carjacking,home-invasionrobbery,robbery,arson,kidnapping,aggravatedassaultwithadeadlyweapon,aggravatedbattery,aggravatedstalking,aircraftpiracy,unlawfulthrowing,placing,ordischargingofadestructivedeviceorbomb,,anyfelonythatinvolvestheuseorthreatofphysicalforceorviolenceagainstanindividual,armedburglary,burglaryofadwellingorburglaryofanoccupiedstructure,carryingaweaponduringoffense,lewdandlasciviousoffenseswithvictimunderageof16,,childabuseandneglectoffenses,useofandpromotingsexualperformancebyachildandchildpornography..34Fla.Stat.§775.08435Three-TimeViolentappliesto:alloffensesonthehabitualviolentoffenderlist(arson,sexualbattery,robbery,kidnapping,aggravatedchildabuse,aggravatedabuseofanelderlypersonordisabledadult,murder,manslaughter,aggravatedmanslaughterofachild,unlawfulthrowing,placing,ordischargingoradestructivedeviceorbomb,home-invasionrobbery,aggravatedstalking,aggravatedbatteryandarmedburglary)andaswellascarjacking.

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36ViolentCareerCriminalapplies:anyforciblefelony,aggravatedstalking,aggravatedchildabuse,aggravatedabuseofanelderlypersonordisabledadult,lewdorlasciviousbattery,molestation,conduct,orexhibition,escape,oranyfelonyviolationinvolvingtheuseorpossessionofafirearm.37Fla.Stat.§812.01438NationalConferenceofStateLegislators(2015),“MakingSentenceofSentencing:StateSystemsandPolicies,”https://www.ncsl.org/documents/cj/sentencing.pdf39Fla.Stat.§944.02(4)40Fla.Stat.§944.275(4)(c)41Devers,Lindsey.DesistanceandDevelopmentalLifeCourseTheories:ResearchSummary.Rep.N.p.:BureauofJusticeAssistance,2011.https://www.bja.gov/Publications/DesistanceResearchSummary.pdf42A2010studybytheVeraInstituteofJusticestatedthatasof2009,15stateshadsometypeofspecificgeriatricreleasepolicy.Manyotherstateshaveindeterminatesentencingsystemswhichmayallowforparoleorotherearlyreleaseaccountingfor,butnotbasedon,age.VeraInstituteofJustice(2010)“It’sAboutTime:AgingPrisoners,IncreasingCosts,andGeriatricRelease,”accessedat:http://archive.vera.org/sites/default/files/resources/downloads/Its-about-time-aging-prisoners-increasing-costs-and-geriatric-release.pdf43BJayAnnotetal.,CorrectionalHealthCare:AddressingtheNeedsofElderly,ChronicallyIll,andTerminallyIllInmates,U.S.DepartmentofJustice,NationalInstituteofCorrections,2004.44FloridaDepartmentofCorrections,2014-2015AnnualReport.45Fla.Admin.Code.R.33-601.217(2016).46Fla.Stat.§944.27547BureauofJusticeStatistics,(1999),“TruthinSentencinginStatePrisons,”Accessedat:https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/ascii/tssp.txt48Ibid.49Ibid.50Ibid.51BureauofJusticeStatistics,Prisonersin2013,Table17.Accessedat:https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/p13.pdf52Ibid.53Bonta,JamesandD.A.Andrews(2007)TheRisk-Needs-ResponsivityModelforOffenderAssessmentandRehabilitation.54Latessa,EdwardandChristopherLowenkamp(2006),«WhatWorksinReducingRecidivism?»,Accessedat:https://www.uc.edu/content/dam/uc/ccjr/docs/articles/What_Works_STLJ.pdf55ConferencecallwithAbeUccello,FDCDirectorofDevelopment.56ConferencecallwithKristinaHartman,FDCChiefofProgramming.57King,RyanandBrianElderbroom,(Oct2014),“ImprovingRecidivismasaPerformanceMeasure,”Accessedat:http://www.urban.org/research/publication/improving-recidivism-performance-measure

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Documents

May 2017 An Examination of Florida's Prison Population Trends