Developing a Seriousness Scale From Criminal Histories (From Prosecutorial Decisionmaking, P 295-312, 1980, Joan E Jacoby, ed. - See NCJ-79210)

• NCJ Number: 79224
• Author(s): S H Turner
• Date Published: 1980
• Length: 18 pages
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Available on microfiche as NCJ-79210.

Annotation

Pretesting for the development of a scale that will reproduce the judgments of experienced prosecutors about the overall seriousness of an accused's prior criminal record is described.

Abstract

Selected were 21 actual adult criminal histories that ran the gamut from no prior record up to lengthy prior records. Assistant prosecutors in the Kings County, N.Y. prosecutor's office and college students were asked to rate the seriousness of each record according to various formats. Subjects were asked to rate the histories according to the following cluster of variables: the number of offenses committed, the seriousness of the offenses committed as measured by the Sellin/Wolfgang (SW) scale, the chronological pattern of offense severity, dispositions, special offenses having prosecutorial priority, failure in treatment, the time frame between offenses, and other more complex variables. The first pretest schedule had no scoring scale, as each subject was asked to provide the number deemed appropriate for the judged seriousness of the record. The second schedule included a preprinted 11-point scale with 'anchors' (two examples of extreme prior records with scoring), for which a 7-point scale was substituted in subsequent pretests. Half of the subjects were presented with a schedule including disposition information, while the other 50 percent did not receive disposition information. Ratings by students and assistant prosecutors did not differ significantly, suggesting that the professional's view of criminal history seriousness might parallel the citizen's view. The tentative findings indicate that a prosecutor applies the following formula to determine the seriousness of an accused's prior record: (1) begin with 1.4; (2) add 7 percent of the number of arrests; (3) add 16 percent of the number of crimes against persons; (4) add 38 percent of the value of the last offense (which ranges from a low of 1 to a high of 4); (5) add 19 percent of the percent of SW index offenses; and (6) add 16 percent of the number of offenses involving 'heavy' drugs. Tabular data are provided.