> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # §2B3.1 Robbery: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2018 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2b3-1-robbery-fy2018/ - Published: 2026-11-04T10:06:38.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T10:06:38.000Z - Description: A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 672 of the 1,691 people sentenced under §2B3.1 in fiscal year 2018, which is 40%. Restitution was ordered for 72%. The median prison term was 90 months, or 7.5 years. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [§2B3.1 Robbery](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2b3-1-robbery/) › §2B3.1: FY2018 **In brief:** A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 672 of the 1,691 people sentenced under §2B3.1 in fiscal year 2018, which is 40%. Restitution was ordered for 72%. The median prison term was 90 months, or 7.5 years. Updated November 4, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025 This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 1,691 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2018\. Acquittals and dismissals come from a second source, the Federal Judicial Center's records of 753,808 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. It is part of the [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/). ## Mandatory Minimums in 40% of Cases The Commission recorded mandatory minimum information for all 1,691 people. A mandatory minimum applied to 672 of them (40%). A mandatory minimum is a prison term required by statute. The data does not show how often the required term decided the final sentence. The median prison term for everyone sent to prison was 90 months. A quarter received 141 months or more, and a quarter received 51 months or less. ## Restitution and Other Orders Restitution was ordered for 1,223 people (72%), and a fine for 24 (1%). Supervised release followed prison for 1,661 people (98%), and the median term was 36 months. Among all people sentenced, 25% were in criminal history category I, the lowest, and 22% were in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field. ## Counts and Prison Versus Probation The fiscal year ran from October 1, 2017 to September 30, 2018\. A total of 1,691 people were sentenced under this guideline. Of them, 1,675 (more than 99%) went to prison, and 11 (less than 1%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. A life sentence went to 1 person. The terms are as imposed. They are not the time actually served. The Commission files these cases under its Robbery offense type, which also had 1,691 people in this fiscal year. Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted. ## Plea and Trial Medians There were 1,602 guilty pleas (95%) and 89 convictions after a trial. The median prison term after a plea was 85 months. After a trial it was 192 months, based on 89 people sent to prison. Written plea agreements covered 85% of the guilty pleas, and 15% were straight pleas. The comparison is between groups, and it does not show what a trial changes. ## How Sentences Related to the Range A sentence within the guideline range went to 38% (648). A sentence below the range at the government's request went to 26% (442), and below the range without such a request to 29% (493). Above the range: 6% (108). The year before, 2017, had 39% within the range, and the year after, 2019, also had 39%. ## Other Years and What Is Not Shown The Guidelines Manual title is "Robbery." The previous year had 1,544 people and a median of 84 months. The next year had 1,805 people and a median of 95.5 months. For fiscal years 2016 to 2025, the guideline covers 14,661 people, with 99% sent to prison and a median of 92 months. For every guideline in fiscal year 2018, 69,425 people were sentenced, with a median of 24 months and 51% within the range. The table lists each year. The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart, so only federal numbers appear. The records do not show the facts of any case. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 1,582 | 87 months | 94% | | 2017 | 1,544 | 84 months | 94% | | 2018 | 1,691 | 90 months | 95% | | 2019 | 1,805 | 95.5 months | 95% | | 2020 | 1,297 | 87 months | 95% | | 2021 | 1,290 | 93 months | 96% | | 2022 | 1,424 | 97 months | 95% | | 2023 | 1,490 | 96 months | 95% | | 2024 | 1,305 | 96 months | 94% | | 2025 | 1,233 | 92 months | 95% | ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2018 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2B3.1 (1,691), U.S. Sentencing Commission individual data files. The primary guideline is the one that set the offense level for the most serious count. Federal fiscal years run from October 1 to September 30\. No person, judge, or lawyer is identified in any of these records. ### What to Keep in Mind **No parole in federal prison; credit for good conduct.** Federal prison has no parole for crimes committed on or after November 1, 1987\. A federal prisoner can earn up to 54 days of good conduct credit for each year of the sentence the judge imposed, which is about 15%. Some federal prisoners can also earn First Step Act time credits, but many offenses make a person ineligible. The numbers in this post are the sentences judges imposed, not the time people actually served. **Federal supervised release.** Most federal prison sentences are followed by a term of supervised release that the judge sets as part of the sentence. A person who violates it can be sent back to prison. A court-martial cannot sentence anyone to supervision after release. Military parole and mandatory supervised release are decided later by a board, not by the judge at trial. **Who decides the sentence, and under what rules.** Federal judges sentence every federal case. They must calculate the Sentencing Guidelines range, which is advisory, and must impose any mandatory minimum the statute requires unless an exception applies. In courts-martial, the accused could choose sentencing by members until the rules changed. For cases in which every guilty finding is for an offense committed after December 27, 2023, a military judge sentences alone, within sentencing parameters. Courts-martial tried in 2024 and later include both old-rule and new-rule cases, and the data cannot tell them apart. **Time periods.** Federal numbers are by federal fiscal year (October 1 to September 30), based on the sentencing date. The military numbers are by trial date. Neither source has the date of the offense, so a change in law shows up in either data set gradually. **How life sentences and "time served" are counted.** In the federal numbers, a life sentence is counted as 470 months, and any other sentence longer than 470 months is counted as just under 470 months. A sentence of "time served" is counted as one day (0.03 months). Averages are affected by these rules; medians much less. **Mandatory minimum sentences.** Many federal statutes on drugs, images of child exploitation, child sex abuse, and firearms carry mandatory minimum prison terms. The UCMJ has mandatory minimums only for a few offenses (a dishonorable discharge or dismissal for rape and sexual assault, and life for premeditated murder). Federal sentences for these offenses are partly set by Congress, not by the judge. ## Related Analysis - [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article) - [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts) - [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method) - [§2B3.1 Robbery: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2b3-1-robbery/) (overview) - [§2B3.1 Robbery: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2017](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2b3-1-robbery-fy2017/) (previous or next fiscal year) - [§2B3.1 Robbery: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2b3-1-robbery-fy2019/) (previous or next fiscal year) - [How Often Federal Judges Sentence Outside the Guideline Range](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-sentences-outside-guideline-range/) - [Mandatory Minimums: How Many Federal Sentences Are Set by Congress](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-mandatory-minimum-sentences/) - [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source) - [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source) **About the author.** Jocelyn C. Stewart is a retired Army JAG with more than 24 years of trying courts-martial and more than 200 jury trials. She hosts *Where All The Bodies Are Buried* and runs the [Law Office of Jocelyn C. Stewart](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.