A Process Evaluation of Pennsylvania's 8th Edition Sentencing Guidelines

• In Event: Crime, Science and Politics WG Panel 2 : Innovation and Access in Justice Systems

Abstract

Pennsylvania recently overhauled its sentencing guidelines with the goals of increasing consistency and reducing racial and ethnic disparities in punishment. This NIJ-funded process evaluation of the new guidelines includes a systematic review of publicly available documentation and a descriptive/qualitative analysis of data from semi-structured interviews with Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing stakeholders. The results are situated within an implementation science framework and describe the change processes preceding the implementation of the 8th edition guidelines. The presentation highlights, for example, the groups of stakeholders involved, the data and activities used to inform major revisions, dissenting opinions between stakeholder groups, and the alignment of the adopted revisions with evidence-informed guidance on reducing disparities, such as the Model Penal Code: Sentencing. Throughout, we maintain a focus on strategies for reducing racial and ethnic disparities in punishment, and share future plans for evaluating the impacts of this major policy change.

Author

• Clare Strange, Drexel University