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The Effects of Sanction Intensity on Criminal Conduct - JDAI Helpdesk

The Effects of Sanction Intensity on Criminal Conduct - JDAI Helpdesk

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supervisi<strong>on</strong> than they might need. When we repeated our analyses <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> the model using<br />

UCR Part I <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g>fenses (those <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g>fenses c<strong>on</strong>sidered by the FBI to be <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> greater c<strong>on</strong>cern to the<br />

authorities, based <strong>on</strong> severity am<strong>on</strong>g other factors), and <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g>fenses with victims that were<br />

likely to involve a greater ec<strong>on</strong>omic cost, we saw similar patterns <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g>fending as for<br />

model-defined severity. <str<strong>on</strong>g>The</str<strong>on</strong>g> low risk group were still at lower risk <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> committing these<br />

<str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g>fenses than the n<strong>on</strong>-low risk group, and our findings about the threshold held relatively<br />

c<strong>on</strong>stant. However, using these alternative definiti<strong>on</strong>s may defeat the key object <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />

Philadelphia’s predicti<strong>on</strong> model: to better distribute agency resources according to the<br />

risk <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> the type <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> serious <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g>fending that poses the greatest threat to public safety and fear<br />

<str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> crime. Only 31 per cent <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> low risk <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g>fenders had ever been charged with such an<br />

<str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g>fense (3 per cent post-risk assessment), but nearly 70 per cent <strong>on</strong> average had been<br />

charged with a UCR Part I or victim/damage <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g>fense (nearly 9 per cent post-risk<br />

assessment). While these are undoubtedly <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g>fenses that c<strong>on</strong>tribute substantially to the<br />

crime problem, their high prevalence in a sample <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g>fenders known not to be causing<br />

the worst kinds <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> harm to society suggests that it is less crucial to focus <strong>on</strong> these crime<br />

types than homicide, robbery, serious assaults, and sexual crimes.<br />

Our choice <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> alternative definiti<strong>on</strong>s <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> severity was the main limitati<strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> this<br />

part <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> the explorati<strong>on</strong> because it was not possible with the available data to create a more<br />

detailed ranking <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> severity based <strong>on</strong> different factors. Our two proxy measures were<br />

necessarily too broad because <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> the difficulties (discussed above) in analyzing limited<br />

data <strong>on</strong> rare events. <str<strong>on</strong>g>The</str<strong>on</strong>g>y tended to overstate serious <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g>fending by including <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g>fenses that<br />

might not be c<strong>on</strong>sidered serious at all when deciding which <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g>fenders require more<br />

intensive criminal justice system interventi<strong>on</strong>. UCR Part I <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g>fenses, as discussed above,<br />

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