Pre-sentence reports and sentencing comments: description and comparison of psychiatric and psychological reports and their use in sentencing decisions

Few empirical studies have investigated the use of mental health pre-sentence reports in criminal sentencing. The current study addressed this gap in the literature by examining and comparing 18 characteristics of 130 psychiatric and 38 psychological Forensicare pre-sentence reports and nine ways that the County Court of Victoria referred to the reports. Overall, the reports met the benchmarks of quality reports, and the court frequently referred to the reports favourably. The current study not only replicates previous findings, but also contributes new knowledge on report characteristics and their use in sentencing. The findings provide guidance for practising clinicians writing pre-sentence reports for the court.