Report: 65% on probation are felons, 50% are violent... and an agent was recently murdered

There is a new report, Probation and Parole in the United States, issued by the Bureau of Justice Statistics of the US Department of Justice.

A sex offender recently murdered a Maryland parole and probation agent during a home visit.

Parole and probation (especially probation) is the backbone of the correctional system with approximately two-thirds of convicted offenders residing in communities. An estimated 3,668,800 adults were under community supervision.

Is there a connection between prison populations, correctional supervision, and crime? It seems plausible based on the best available evidence from the US Department of Justice.

The death of a probation agent in Maryland last month has heightened tensions between state officials and the union that represents probation officers over safety protocols. Washington Post. More on this story is available (without a paywall) at Maryland Matters. Three top officials within the state’s Division of Parole and Probation have been replaced, a week after a parole agent was killed while visiting the home of a sex offender.

The emphasis of this article is probation considering that the vast majority of those supervised in the community are probationers and their increasingly difficult criminal histories.

Probation was once a sanction for people convicted of mid-range to lower-level crimes without criminal histories or those with a limited criminal history. Now, 65 percent are on probation due to a felony, up from 53% in 2012.

The percentage with “known characteristics” shows that 50 percent were sentenced for a violent crime with big increases since 2012.

Historically, that’s a huge difference.

Traditionally, parole and probation agents have large caseloads (150-200 to one is fairly common) and the question often posed by advocates is what they are doing to prevent recidivism through placement in programs.

If 65 percent are felons and 50 percent are violent, then we have a question of public safety along with issues of rehabilitation as a priority.

Parole and probation agents may be some of the best “criminologists” in the justice system. There’s nothing like direct and sustained contact with offenders and their families to understand crime and the offender population. However, parole and probation agents often leave their agencies because of overwhelming caseloads.

Recidivism Of Probationers

There’s little national research on probation recidivism. The Bureau of Justice Statistics states that 43 percent of state probationers were rearrested for a felony over three years, but it’s a dated study. However, if we included misdemeanors (and a longer period measured), that number would be considerably higher.

65 percent completed probation according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics so there is an obvious overlap between new arrests and successful completions. Arrests do not seem to stand in the way of a person completing parole and probation.

Recidivism of Parolees

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics of the US Department of Justice, 82 percent of those released from state prisons over ten years were arrested once again and 61 percent were returned to prison. They had 4.2 million arrests before incarceration. Forty-two percent had 5 to 10 previous incarcerations.

Bureau Of Justice Statistics Report

Among adults on probation whose type of offense was known, 65% were on probation in 2022 due to a felony, up from 53% in 2012.

About 35% of adults on probation with a known offense in 2022 had a misdemeanor offense.

Among adults under community supervision for whom the most serious offense was known, 25% of those on probation and 39% of those on parole had committed a violent offense.

(Editor’s Note, the 25 percent violent figure for probation leaves out sex offenses, domestic violence, and other violent crimes. See chart below. The actual percentage of violent probationers is 50 percent. See percent with known categories below). 

(Editor’s Note: Most parolees were sentenced for a violent crime per the Bureau of Justice Statistics thus the 39 percent violent figure above for parolees doesn’t make sense, especially when you include criminal history. Bureau of Justice Statistics data suggest that 62 percent of state prisoners were violent. 66 percent of male inmates are serving time for violent crimes.)

The sex distribution of persons on community supervision for whom sex was known remained consistent over the past 10 years for both probation and parole. Females made up 24% of the reported adult probation population and 11% of the adult parole population in both 2012 and 2022.

Active probation supervision decreased from 73% of the probation population for whom status was known in 2012 to 64% in 2022.

About 80% of adults on parole with a known supervision status were under active supervision in 2022, while less than 1% had only financial conditions.



Conclusions

Overworked parole and probation agents are dealing with increasingly difficult caseloads. Justice-related mental health populations are increasing throughout the country. Most on community supervision have substance abuse histories.

Parole and probation (especially probation) is the backbone of the correctional system with approximately two-thirds of convicted offenders residing in communities. An estimated 3,668,800 adults were under community supervision (probation or parole).

But, regardless of the positions of advocates, there is no national consensus as to best practices on community supervision, principally because of the overwhelming numbers of people being on parole and probation caseloads “and” the severity of their crimes “and” the lack of research “and” inadequate state funding of programs.