{"@type": "dcat:Dataset", "accessLevel": "public", "bureauCode": ["011:21"], "contactPoint": {"@type": "vcard:Contact", "fn": "Open Data Office of Justice Programs (USDOJ)", "hasEmail": "mailto:opendata@usdoj.gov"}, "dataQuality": false, "description": "Effective October 1, 1994, the state of North Carolina\r\n implemented a new structured sentencing law that applied to all felony\r\n and misdemeanor crimes (except for driving while impaired) committed\r\n on or after October 1, 1994. Under the new structured sentencing law\r\n parole was eliminated, and a sentencing commission developed\r\n recommended ranges of punishment for offense and offender categories,\r\n set priorities for the use of correctional resources, and developed a\r\n model to estimate correctional populations. This study sought to\r\n investigate sentencing reforms by looking at the effects of structured\r\n sentencing on multiple aspects of the adjudication process in North\r\n Carolina. A further objective was to determine whether there were\r\n differences in the commission of institutional infractions between\r\n inmates sentenced to North Carolina prisons under the pre-structured\r\n versus structured sentencing laws. Researchers hoped that the results\r\n of this study may help North Carolina and jurisdictions around the\r\n country (1) anticipate the likely effects of structured sentencing\r\n laws, (2) design new laws that might better achieve the jurisdictions'\r\n goals, and (3) improve the potential of sentencing legislation in\r\n order to enhance public safety in an effective and equitable\r\n way. Administrative records data were collected from two\r\n sources. First, in order to examine the effects of structured\r\n sentencing on the adjudication process in North Carolina, criminal\r\n case data were obtained from the North Carolina Administrative Office\r\n of the Courts (Parts 1 and 2). The pre-structured sentencing and\r\n structured sentencing samples were selected at the case level, and\r\n each record in Parts 1 and 2 represents a charged offense processed in\r\n either the North Carolina Superior or District Court. Second, inmate\r\n records data were collected from administrative records provided by\r\n the North Carolina Department of Correction (Part 3). These data were\r\n used to compare the involvement in infractions of inmates sentenced\r\n under both pre-structured and structured sentencing. The data for Part\r\n 3 focused on inmates entering the prison system between June 1, 1995,\r\n and January 31, 1998. Variables for Parts 1 and 2 include type of\r\n charge, charged offense date, method of disposition (e.g., dismissal,\r\n withdrawal, jury trial), defendant's plea, verdict for the offense,\r\n and whether the offense was processed through the North Carolina\r\n Superior or District Court. Structured sentencing offense class and\r\n modified Uniform Crime Reporting code for both charged and convicted\r\n offenses are presented for Parts 1 and 2. There are also county,\r\n prosecutorial district, and defendant episode identifiers in both\r\n parts. Variables related to defendant episodes include types of\r\n offenses within episode, total number of charges and convictions,\r\n whether all charges were dismissed, whether any felony charge resulted\r\n in a jury trial, and the adjudication time for all charges. Demographic\r\n variables for Parts 1 and 2 include the defendant's age, race, and\r\n gender. Part 3 variables include the date of prison admission,\r\n sentence type, number of prior incarcerations, number of years served\r\n during prior incarcerations, maximum sentence length for current\r\n incarceration, jail credit in years, count of all infractions during\r\n current and prior incarcerations, reason for incarceration, infraction\r\n rate, the risk for alcohol and drug dependency based on alcohol and\r\n chemical dependency screening scores, and the number of assault,\r\n drug/alcohol, profanity/disobedience, work absence, and money/property\r\n infractions during an inmate's current incarceration. Demographic\r\n variables for Part 3 include race, gender, and age at the time of each\r\ninmate's prison admission.", "distribution": [{"@type": "dcat:Distribution", "accessURL": "https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR02891.v1", "title": "Evaluation of North Carolina's 1994 Structured Sentencing Law, 1992-1998"}], "identifier": "3576", "issued": "2001-02-23T00:00:00", "keyword": ["criminal justice system", "felony offenses", "misdemeanor offenses", "policies and procedures", "punishment", "sentencing", "sentencing reforms"], "language": ["eng"], "license": "http://www.usa.gov/publicdomain/label/1.0/", "modified": "2006-03-30T00:00:00", "programCode": ["011:060"], "publisher": {"@type": "org:Organization", "name": "National Institute of Justice", "subOrganizationOf": {"acronym": "OJP", "id": 22, "name": "Office of Justice Programs", "parentOrganization": {"acronym": "DOJ", "id": 10, "name": "Department of Justice"}, "parentOrganizationID": 10}}, "title": "Evaluation of North Carolina's 1994 Structured Sentencing Law, 1992-1998"}