RD368 - Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission 2012 Annual Report


Executive Summary:
The Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission is required by § 17.1-803 of the Code of Virginia to report annually to the General Assembly, the Governor, and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia. To fulfill its statutory obligation, the Commission respectfully submits this report.

The report is organized into five chapters. The remainder of the Introduction chapter provides a general profile of the Commission and an overview of its various activities and projects during 2012. The Guidelines Compliance chapter that follows contains a comprehensive analysis of compliance with the sentencing guidelines during fiscal year (FY) 2012. The third chapter presents the results of the Commission's recent study to update and refine the risk assessment instrument applied to nonviolent offenders sentenced in circuit court. The fourth chapter describes the Immediate Sanction Probation program, which the General Assembly has directed the Commission to implement in select pilot sites. In the report's final chapter, the Commission presents its recommendations for revisions to the felony sentencing guidelines system.