Criminal Justice

Compare and contrast a Presentence Investigation (PSI) and Pre-Parole Investigation (PPI). Start with the purpose of the PSI and PPI. Address what can be allowed to be put in the PPI Report that is not allowed in the PSI Report

ANSWER

Compare and Contrast a Presentence Investigation (PSI) and Pre-Parole Investigation (PPI)

Presentence Investigation (PSI) is research conducted by courts of law or probation officers to find out the defendant’s prior criminal record, employment, education, and other relevant information that can assist the court in issuing a sentence. PSI enables the court to justify the amount of sentence offered to a convicted individual (Kridle et al., 2014). A Pre-Parole Investigation (PPI) is an investigation conducted by parole boards, commissions, and other parole bodies into the life and conditions of offenders under parole consideration. PPI investigation covers discussions with arresting officers, victims of the offender, the courts, family, friends, employers, and an interview with the offender to determine their views on the underlying crimes. PPI ensures that an offender receives a justified parole decision upon weighing all the relevant aspects of their environment (Vîlcică, 2016).

While both the PPI report and PSI report incorporate social and legal background information of the defendant, there are slight differences on what can be included under these sections. In the PPI, information about the defendant’s behavior during incarceration is included while in the PSI there is no information about the behavior of the defendant because they are yet to be sentenced (Kyle Cook, 2014). Prison reports play an important role in PPI report because they indicate whether the offender has been on good behavior during incarceration that they should deserve to be released whereas, in PSI report, prison officer reports do not play a role because the defendant is yet to be incarcerated. The PPI report highlights the possible conditions that defendants can abide by before they are released to the community on parole while the PSI includes information on possible sentencing guidelines that can determine maximum and minimum sentences for the offender.

References

Kridle, B., Conner, C., & Ruppel, S. (2014). Impact of Presentence Investigation Report Types    and Gender on the Sentencing of Offenders. George Manuel and Dr. Cole Cheek          Spartanburg Methodist College, 192.

Kyle Cook, A. (2014). Presentence investigation report. The encyclopedia of criminology and      criminal justice, 1-5.

Vîlcică, E. R. (2016). Challenges in parole supervision: Views from the field. Corrections, 1(4), 266-292.