Effects of Judges' Sentencing Decisions on Criminal Careers

This NIJ Research in Brief reports findings of a study designed to determine the degree to which judicial sentencing decisions affect offenders' subsequent criminal careers. The project described in Effects of Judges' Sentencing Decisions on Criminal Careers examined the criminal careers of 962 felony offenders in New Jersey who were sentenced in 1976 and 1977 to confinement and noncustodial programs. Data collected included judicial perceptions, predictions of the offenders' future criminal behavior, and sentencing purposes; execution of sentences; and the offenders' arrests and charges during the 20 years after sentencing. The study found that available sentencing choices had little effect—other than that of incapacitation—on recidivism as measured by new arrests and charges.