What am I looking at?

The Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission (VCSC) submits this report as required by the provisions of the VA Code § 63.2-1530 for the Child Protective Services Accountability System (CPA System).

The data for this report is generated from the VCSC’s Sentencing Guidelines Data System. The VCSC develops and maintains sentencing guidelines for most felony offenses. Circuit Court judges are provided with the sentencing guidelines recommendations. Virginia’s sentencing guidelines are voluntary and a judge may depart from the guidelines and sentence an offender to a term longer or shorter than the guidelines recommend. Once an offender has been sentenced, the sentencing guidelines forms are sent to the VCSC and the information is automated. The automated data are based on the information recorded on the sentencing guidelines forms.

The VCSC’s Sentencing Guidelines Data System is based on sentencing events. A sentencing event includes all of the offenses for which an offender is sentenced in the same court on the same day. Therefore, the sentencing information that is available reflects the sentence given for the entire event; sentencing information for each individual offense in the event is not collected.

The VCSC report includes sentencing events in which the offender has been convicted of an offense specified in § 63.2-1530(B)(2) of the Code of Virginia. That offense may not be the primary, or most serious, offense in the event if the offender was convicted of multiple charges.

The Sentencing Guidelines Data System only contains those sentencing events in which the primary offense is covered by the Guidelines. The primary offense is identified based on Sentencing Guidelines instructions. Virginia’s Sentencing Guidelines forms are available on the VCSC website (www.vcsc.virginia.gov).

Important Note:

The VCSC report includes sentencing events in which the offender has been convicted of an offense specified in § 63.2-1530(B)(2). For some of the offenses listed in § 63.2-1530(B)(2), the victim may be an adult or a child. Accordingly, the VCSC report includes sentencing events in which the victim of the offense was an adult. In some cases, data are insufficient to determine if the victim was an adult or a child.

Definitions

These are the detailed definitions of the data points presented in these reports:

• Sentencing Date - The date the offender was sentenced, as reported on the Sentencing Guidelines form.
• Victim’s Age - The exact age of the victim is not identified in available sources. The victim’s age is determined by statutes that only apply to children of a specific age or based on the age range scored on the Sentencing Guidelines (i.e., the score assigned to the “Offender Relationship with Victim” factor on the Sentencing Guidelines’ Sex Offender Risk Assessment worksheet; this factor is not applicable in all cases).
• Offender’s Age - The age of the offender on the date of offense for the primary offense (most serious offense as determined by Sentencing Guidelines rules).
• Relationship - Users are cautioned when using this information because the exact relationship is frequently not available. When the relationship is not available, N/A is reported. When information is available, the relationship is determined based on the score recorded on the Sentencing Guidelines (i.e., the score assigned to the “Offender Relationship with Victim” factor on the Sentencing Guidelines’ Sex Offender Risk Assessment worksheet). In other cases, the score may be the same for two different types of relationships and both are printed in this column.
• Concluded By - This identifies how the offender was found guilty of the crime(s). “Guilty Plea” – Offender pled guilty to the crime(s); “Bench Trial” - A trial held before a judge without a jury; “Jury Trial” – A trial when the jury determines the finding of guilt; “Combination” – Charges in the event were concluded by different types of trials or a trial and a guilty plea. When information is available that a plea agreement was accepted by the court, “Plea Agreement” also appears in this column.
• SG Judge - The name of the sentencing judge reported on the Sentencing Guidelines form.
• Imposed Time - The sentence announced by the judge. This covers all offenses in the sentencing event. For most offenses, the judge may suspend all or part of this sentence. The suspension of time may be contingent upon the offender fulfilling specific requirements, such as probation supervision or an alternative to incarceration.
• Effective Time - The sentence announced by the judge minus any suspended time. This is the time the offender is to serve in jail or prison. For felony offenses committed on or after January 1, 1995, offenders must serve at least 85% of the effective sentence. A sentence of “Time Served” may be an extensive period of incarceration, but the exact time is unknown.
• Jury Trial (Effective Time) - In cases concluded by jury trials, judges cannot impose effective sentences that exceed the amount of time recommended by the juries. By law, § 19.2-303, a judge cannot not increase the sentence fixed by the jury, even if the jury recommendation is below the sentencing guidelines recommendation. Judges are permitted to lower the recommended sentences of juries by suspending a portion of the jury sentence..
• SG Compliance - Virginia’s Sentencing Guidelines are not mandatory. If a judge disagrees with a Sentencing Guidelines recommendation, a departure reason is given. “Within SG” – The judge sentenced within the Sentencing Guidelines recommendation; “Above SG” – The judge gave an effective sentence longer than the Sentencing Guidelines recommendation; “Below SG” – The judge gave an effective sentence shorter than the Sentencing Guidelines recommendation.
• Departure Reason(s) - If a departure reason is given, the report includes the judge’s departure reason or reasons as written on the sentencing guidelines cover page. When staff is unable to read the writing, “[illegible]” is inserted into the departure reason. Departure reasons for this report are limited to 250 characters.
• Conviction Description - A short description of the crime based on the Virginia Crime Code entered on the Sentencing Guidelines form.
• Statute - The Code of Virginia reference based on the Virginia Crime Code entered on the Sentencing Guidelines form. Additional information on the Code of Virginia may be found at http://lis.virginia.gov.
• Felony/Misdemeanor - Classification of criminal offenses as defined in the Code of Virginia in § 18.2-9 and subsequent sections:
  • F = Completed Felony
  • A = Attempted Felony
  • C = Conspiracy to Commit a Felony
  • X = Subsequent Sex Offense
  • M = Misdemeanor
  • S = Special Penalty Structure
  • N = Non-Guidelines Offense (forms are submitted for informational purposes).

What am I looking at?

The Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission (VCSC) submits this report as required by the provisions of § 63.2-1530.

The data displayed on these pages is from the 2013 fiscal year (July 1 - June 30) onwards. For data prior to the 2013 fiscal year, please view the historical reports page.

Data Source:

The data for this report is generated from the VCSC’s Sentencing Guidelines Data System. The VCSC develops and maintains sentencing guidelines for most felony offenses. Circuit Court judges are provided with the sentencing guidelines recommendations. Virginia’s sentencing guidelines are voluntary and a judge may depart from the guidelines and sentence an offender to a term longer or shorter than the guidelines recommend. Once an offender has been sentenced, the sentencing guidelines forms are sent to the VCSC and the information is automated. The automated data are based on the information recorded on the sentencing guidelines forms. The VCSC’s Sentencing Guidelines Data System is based on sentencing events. A sentencing event includes all of the offenses for which an offender is sentenced in the same court on the same day. Therefore, the sentencing information that is available reflects the sentence given for the entire event; sentencing information for each individual offense in the event is not collected. The VCSC report includes sentencing events in which the offender has been convicted of an offense specified in § 63.2-1530(B)(2) of the Code of Virginia. That offense may not be the primary, or most serious, offense in the event if the offender was convicted of multiple charges. The Sentencing Guidelines Data System only contains those sentencing events in which the primary offense is covered by the Guidelines. The primary offense is identified based on Sentencing Guidelines instructions. Virginia’s Sentencing Guidelines forms are available on the VCSC website (www.vcsc.virginia.gov).

Important Note:

The VCSC report includes sentencing events in which the offender has been convicted of an offense specified in § 63.2-1530(B)(2). For some of the offenses listed in § 63.2- 1530(B)(2), the victim may be an adult or a child. Accordingly, the VCSC report includes sentencing events in which the victim of the offense was an adult. In some cases, data are insufficient to determine if the victim was an adult or a child.

Definitions:

• Sentencing Date: The date the offender was sentenced, as reported on the Sentencing Guidelines form.
• Victim’s Age: The exact age of the victim is not identified in available sources. The victim’s age is determined by statutes that only apply to children of a specific age or based on the age range scored on the Sentencing Guidelines (i.e., the score assigned to the "Offender Relationship with Victim" factor on the Sentencing Guidelines’ Sex Offender Risk Assessment worksheet; this factor is not applicable in all cases).
• Offender’s Age: The age of the offender on the date of offense for the primary offense (most serious offense as determined by Sentencing Guidelines rules). Relationship: Users are cautioned when using this information because the exact relationship is frequently not available. When the relationship is not available, N/A is reported. When information is available, the relationship is determined based on the score recorded on the Sentencing Guidelines (i.e., the score assigned to the "Offender Relationship with Victim" factor on the Sentencing Guidelines’ Sex Offender Risk Assessment worksheet). In other cases, the score may be the same for two different types of relationships and both are printed in this column.
• Concluded By: This identifies how the offender was found guilty of the crime(s). "Guilty Plea" – Offender pled guilty to the crime(s); "Bench Trial" - A trial held before a judge without a jury; "Jury Trial" – A trial when the jury determines the finding of guilt; "Combination" – Charges in the event were concluded by different types of trials or a trial and a guilty plea. When information is available that a plea agreement was accepted by the court, "Plea Agreement" also appears in this column.
• SG Judge: The name of the sentencing judge reported on the Sentencing Guidelines form.
• Imposed Time: The sentence announced by the judge. This covers all offenses in the sentencing event. For most offenses, the judge may suspend all or part of this sentence. The suspension of time may be contingent upon the offender fulfilling specific requirements, such as probation supervision or an alternative to incarceration.
• Effective Time: The sentence announced by the judge minus any suspended time. This is the time the offender is to serve in jail or prison. For felony offenses committed on or after January 1, 1995, offenders must serve at least 85% of the effective sentence. A sentence of "Time Served" may be an extensive period of incarceration, but the exact time is unknown.
• Jury Trial (Effective Time): In cases concluded by jury trials, judges cannot impose effective sentences that exceed the amount of time recommended by the juries. By law, § 19.2-303, a judge cannot not increase the sentence fixed by the jury, even if the jury recommendation is below the sentencing guidelines recommendation. Judges are permitted to lower the recommended sentences of juries by suspending a portion of the jury sentence.
• SG Compliance: Virginia’s Sentencing Guidelines are not mandatory. If a judge disagrees with a Sentencing Guidelines recommendation, a departure reason is given. "Within SG" – The judge sentenced within the Sentencing Guidelines recommendation; "Above SG" – The judge gave an effective sentence longer than the Sentencing Guidelines recommendation; "Below SG" – The judge gave an effective sentence shorter than the Sentencing Guidelines recommendation.
• Departure Reason(s): If a departure reason is given, the report includes the judge’s departure reason or reasons as written on the sentencing guidelines cover page. When staff is unable to read the writing, “[illegible]” is inserted into the departure reason. Departure reasons for this report are limited to 250 characters.
• Conviction Description: A short description of the crime based on the Virginia Crime Code entered on the Sentencing Guidelines form.
• Statute: The Code of Virginia reference based on the Virginia Crime Code entered on the Sentencing Guidelines form. Additional information on the Code of Virginia may be found at http://lis.virginia.gov.
• Felony/Misdemeanor: Classification of criminal offenses as defined in the Code of Virginia in § 18.2-9 and subsequent sections: F= Completed Felony, A=Attempted Felony, C=Conspiracy to Commit a Felony, X= Subsequent Sex Offense, M=Misdemeanor, S=Special Penalty Structure, N=Non-Guidelines Offense (forms are submitted for informational purposes).

How do I use this page?

Start by selecting last year in the Select Year drop-down. Then select your city or county. The charts will will update to show specific data for your area for the timeframe you specify.

Once you are familiar with that data, experiment with selecting different values from the various available filters. Also, if you roll your cursor over the charts and values, tool-tips will appear with additional, contextual, information about the data points you are looking at.