Probation and parole trends by state: A look back at the data on ‘alternatives’ to incarceration
(for the Prison Policy Initiative)
We compiled, corrected, and analyzed 45 years of state-level probation and parole data, and found that while most (but not all) states have reduced the number of people they’ve placed under supervision, many states have had more people on probation than previously reported.
Community supervision represents the largest segment of the criminal legal system and, much like incarceration, it is almost entirely a state- and locally-run enterprise. As we explain in Punishment Beyond Prisons, on an average day, around 3.5 million people are on probation or parole compared to 2 million people who are incarcerated. To put this into perspective, that means more people are on parole than are in local jails nationwide, and people on probation make up more than half of all people under correctional control of any kind. But how has the number of people under supervision in each state changed over time? In this briefing, we clean up and piece together state-level community supervision data covering roughly the last 45 years to provide a clear view of supervision dynamics in each state, as well as how states compare to one another.