A presentence investigation report (PSIR) is a legal document that presents the findings of an investigation into the "legal and social background" of a person convicted of a crime before sentencing to determine if there are extenuating circumstances which should influence the severity or leniency of a criminal sentence. The PSIR is a "critical" document prepared by a probation officer via a system of point allocation, so that it may serve as a charging document and exhibit for proving criminal conduct. The PSIR system is widely implemented today.
History
PSIR reports trace their origins to the efforts of prison reformer John Augustus who in the 1840s began a campaign to allow discretion in sentencing to help those who were deemed undeserving of harsh sentences and could be reformed. More specifically, in the Police Court of Boston, Augustus posted bail for a man, promising the judge that the man would improve upon returning to the court and would earn a lessened sentence. The rationale behind this was that if a person was not a dangerous criminal, i.e. convicted murderer or other violent offender, that they should be allowed to have familial support, continue working, as well a receive aid from trained specialists, without being in prison. The practice then became firmly entrenched in the 1920s under a theory that crime was a pathology that could be diagnosed and treated like a disease; PSIRs were meant to expose the main reasons behind criminal acts by looking at the offenders history in light of forgiveness and understanding, and thus resulting in a positive change for the future. Since the 1970s, the focus of these documents has increasingly shifted to profiling the defendant's criminal history, with a decreasing emphasis on the defendant's social background. This is at least partially attributable to the increase in public fear of crime since the 1970s as well as the increasing opposition to more "liberal" approaches to the matter of criminal justice.
The information included in a typical PSIR encompasses both legal and extralegal information about the defendant such as:
Legal Information
Juvenile record
Adult record
Previous court record
Probation/parole history
Mitigating and aggravating circumstances
Official version of offense
Plea bargain
Custody status
Pending cases
Previous cases
Recommendation summary
Extralegal Information
Probation officer recommendations
Gang affiliation
Background and ties to the community
Substance use disorder history
Physical health
Mental health
Financial circumstances
Employment history
Education history
Medical history
Victim-impact statement
Marital history
Military record
Evaluative/needs summary
There is considerably more extralegal information contained within the PSIR. This is important because many have seen this as suggestive of sentencing disparities or inequality in the treatment of offenders with a lower socioeconomic status or little to few ties to the community. However, as Alarid and Montemayor (2010, p. 130) state, "The use of extralegal factors becomes especially important in that the PSIR identifies needs related to the defendant's criminal behavior for future treatment intervention services".