ORIGIN & FUNCTIONS
The State Commission on Criminal Sentencing Policy was established in 1999 (Chapter 648, Acts. of 1999). The Commission is responsible for the State's voluntary criminal sentencing guidelines. It collects sentencing guidelines worksheets and automates the information; monitors sentencing practices, including judicial compliance with the guidelines; and, as necessary, adopts changes to the guidelines. The Commission integrates correctional options into the guidelines and establishes criteria for determining which defendants should be eligible for correctional options (Code Criminal Procedure Article, secs. 6-201 through 6-215).
Court personnel are trained by the Commission to use voluntary sentencing guidelines. For estimating the impact of legislative or policy changes on State correctional resources, the Commission uses a correctional population simulation model.
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