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Date: April 30, 2024 Tue
Time: 12:42 am
Time: 12:42 am
Results for prison sentencing reform
1 results foundAuthor: Pew Charitable Trusts Title: South Carolina Reduced Theft Penalties While Safely Cutting Prison Population Summary: In 2010, South Carolina enacted comprehensive sentencing reforms that included a provision to increase the state's felony theft threshold-the dollar value of stolen money or goods above which prosecutors may charge a person with a felony rather than a misdemeanor-and revise penalties for certain property crimes. The state is one of 37 that changed their theft thresholds between 2000 and 2016. Felony offenses are typically punishable by a year or more in state prison, while misdemeanors can result in up to a year in a local jail, so South Carolina's changes have the effect of prioritizing costly prison space for those convicted of more serious offenses. The new policy also represents an acknowledgment by lawmakers that inflation raises the value of stolen goods and therefore has an impact on the penalties imposed. For example, in a state with a $500 threshold, stealing a bicycle worth $250 in 1985 would have led to a misdemeanor charge, but today, because of inflation, that same bicycle would be worth $5752 and stealing it would result in a felony charge, potential prison time, and the diminished employment and housing prospects, occupational licensing restrictions, and other consequences that can accompany a felony conviction. In April 2017, The Pew Charitable Trusts published a study of 30 states that had raised their felony theft thresholds between 2000 and 2012 and found that the reforms did not interrupt downward trends in property crime or larceny rates. These states reported roughly the same average decrease in crime as the 20 states that had not changed their theft laws, and threshold amounts were not correlated with property crime or larceny rates. Now, Pew has undertaken an analysis of South Carolina's change in an effort to expand on the national study by examining a broader range of outcomes, including the relationships among higher dollar thresholds, crime, and the value of stolen goods. The evaluation reinforced the earlier findings, determining that since the 2010 law was implemented-even as South Carolina has sent fewer people to prison for theft offenses, and for shorter terms-the state's property crime rate has continued to fall. Pew also found that the value of items stolen did not change, alleviating concerns that a higher threshold would lead not only to more theft but also to targeted theft of more expensive goods. This brief delves into the findings of this research and demonstrates how South Carolina's results provide further evidence that states can increase their felony theft thresholds without compromising public safety. Details: Pew Charitable Trusts: 2018. 10p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 7, 2018 at:https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/issue-briefs/2018/04/south-carolina-reduced-theft-penalties-while-safely-cutting-prison-population Year: 2018 Country: United States URL: https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/issue-briefs/2018/04/south-carolina-reduced-theft-penalties-while-safely-cutting-prison-population Shelf Number: 151439 Keywords: Prison Sentencing ReformProperty CrimeSentencing ReformStolen GoodsTheftTheft Reduction |