There is an urgency to promote needed improvements, listed below, to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the court system. No longer can traditional solutions, such as additional judges or more resources, serve as effective long-term answers. The current system of selecting magistrates is problematic. The Magistrates are accountable to several individuals within the court system and therefore cannot get a clear picture of whom they serve. The Governor's Crime Commission encourages the General Assembly to create a forum for all interested parties to participate in the review of the current process of appointment, training, supervision, and retention of magistrates, and make the necessary legislative changes so that they will be more accountable to the public.
Several states require PSIs before most sentencing decisions.
Judges like to have this kind of information before they sentence people, especially if they are going to place the person back into the community. The expansion of community correction programs is further increasing the need for PSIs. The Sentencing Commission has also suggested putting more resources into this PSIs. PSIs give judges more information about the people they are about to sentence. With the passage of the constitutional amendment on alternative sanctions, judges now have the legal authority to impose a much wider range of sentencing options.