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What is a pre-sentence investigation report and what is it used for in Florida?

Whitney S. Boan Protecting Your Right

Video Transcript

The pre-sentence investigation report is a report that is provided to the court usually by the department of corrections where individuals are assigned to explore and prepare a pre-sentencing investigation. What that will include is information about you as an individual, who you are, what you’ve gone through in your life, what if any prior criminal history do you have? Ultimately, it will assess the facts of the case with which you’ve been charged and convicted at that point in time.

Then it will make a recommendation to the court in terms of what kind of sentence may be appropriate for you, either under the criminal punishment code sentencing guidelines or based upon what the investigating pre-sentence investigation officer thinks would be appropriate for the court to sentence you to. It’s not binding upon the court. However it is something that is given some authority and some weight in the court’s determination as to how to sentence you after you’ve been convicted of a crime.