Is it really a good idea to have judges try to predict which sentences will work best to reduce criminal behavior?
In my quest, I have occasionally encountered the view that judges have no business trying to adjust sentences based on their impact on the offender’s criminal behavior. I think it fair to say that on all occasions, the majority of those who heard such comments were as astonished as I was, but the view that sentencing is about something other than reducing criminal behavior is actually consistent with the almost universal behavior of participants in the sentencing process, so this question merits a response. First, the data from Multnomah County’s sentencing support technology clearly shows (as does an enormous quantity of criminological and correctional research) that different dispositions have different correlations with future criminal conduct — that some sentencing decisions are in fact at least not preventing future victimizations by those sentenced as well as other decisions. It is obviously foreseeable that paying attention to what works on whom and what does not can make a dif
