Maintaining the myth of individualized justice: Probation presentence reports

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The presentence investigation, hailed in some circles as an invaluable tool to sentencing, serves in actual practice to maintain the myth of individualized justice without disturbing the judicial considerations of offense and prior criminal record. Using an ethnographic perspective, I demonstrate how probation officers accomplish this goal. I show that early in the investigation probation officers, in an attempt to satisfy judicial expectations, weigh prior criminal record and present offense and then classify defendants into types that reflect eventual sentencing recommendations. Although other data such as defendants' attitudes and social history are collected subsequently and included in the report, probation officers structure this information to legitimate their initial typings.