CRG 04/19-20: Consideration of culture, strengths and risk in pre-sentence reports

Published Date
CRG Report Number
0419-20

Pre-sentence reports (PSRs) provide information to courts on an individual’s background, circumstances, needs and plans. Prior research has argued that PSRs focus too heavily on risk of recidivism, while discussions of cultural and prosocial factors are limited. Using natural language processing techniques (text mining and sentiment analysis), this research sought to describe the language and content within the reports. In Study 1, we compared PSRs written for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across mainstream and Indigenous sentencing courts. In Study 2, we compared PSRs written for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to those written for non-Indigenous people. These studies support previous findings that PSRs focus on risk of recidivism, while references to an individual’s strengths and cultural and community background are less frequent. PSRs may not be providing courts with all the information needed to understand the circumstances of the individuals they are sentencing.