PSIR Or Pre-Sentence Investigation Report

Within the U.S. criminal justice system there is a valuable resource that helps the Judge determine an effective sentence that would account for such factors as restitution, rehabilitation, and incarceration. This tool is a PSIR or Pre-sentencing Investigation Report.
Pre-sentencing reports originated from the passing of the Sentencing Reform Act, which was part of the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984. This legislation required all capital murder cases to have a Pre-sentencing reports performed. This reform led many states to implement such reports for all felony cases. The use of a PSIR relieve state costs associated with incarceration. In the article The History of the Pre-sentence Investigation Report published by the Center on
The use of community-based corrections such as probation and drug treatment facilities increases the chance of successful reintegration of the offender into the community. The PSIR is completed by researching and compiling information in several different areas. These areas include criminal history, education level, financial status, family relationship, work history, and the victim’s impact statement. Upon conviction, the Judge issues the order for a PSIR to be completed. The order is then sent to the Department of Corrections to be assigned to a probation officer for investigation. The investigation begins with compiling any previous criminal history that includes all convicts both misdemeanors and felonies. In an article in the Criminal Justice Policy Review the authors Leanne F. Alarid and Carlos D. Montemayor (2010) explain the need for collecting the various information contained in the PSIR. “Certain sections of the PSIR were found to be highly important in the decision-making process of judges, namely, employment, prior offense[s]… and the victim[s]-impact statement”(2010). The authors further argue that any previous criminal history has a great effect on sentencing. Second is the education level of the offender. This information helps the probation officer recommend useful vocational and technical programs that could be beneficial for the offender’s reintegration into the community. Third is the offenders work history. The work history displays the offender’s ability to learn and function in a work environment. The fourth area is the cost to the State, offender’s family and