NCJ Number
173554
Date Published
1997
Length
40 pages
Annotation
This report discusses trends in the number of Federal offenders serving terms of community supervision during fiscal years 1990 through 1996.
Abstract
Community supervision includes offenders sentenced to a term of probation and offenders who are serving a term of supervision in the community, either parole or supervised release, after release from prison. The findings show that the total population of Federal offenders under community supervision increased 10 percent during fiscal years 1990 through 1996. The most notable change in the mix of this population occurred in the percentage of offenders serving a term of community supervision following a prison term. During fiscal years 1991 through 1995, the number of offenders sentenced with serious criminal histories increased at a significantly greater rate than did those with less serious criminal histories. Further, available data suggest that inmates released from Federal prisons in fiscal years 1997 through 2001 may include a greater number of high-risk offenders than did the population released through fiscal year 1996. The total number of offenders with special conditions remained relatively stable between fiscal years 1992 and 1996. In addition, the total number of offenders removed from supervision for violating their terms of supervision increased by approximately 21 percent between fiscal years 1990 and 1996. Although the total Federal population on community supervision increased only 10 percent from fiscal years 1990 through 1996, compared to a 63-percent increase in the Federal prison population, two noteworthy changes occurred in that population, both caused by the implementation of the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984. First, the percentage of offenders sentenced directly to community supervision (probation) decreased, and the percentage of offenders sentenced to prison terms with required supervised release increased. Second, the percentage of offenders released from prison to parole also decreased, reflecting the decrease in the number of offenders who were sentenced under the preguidelines system. Bureau of Prison estimates project that these trends will continue and that a larger proportion of offenders who could pose a higher risk of recidivism are scheduled to be released to community supervision over the next 5 years. 9 tables and 9 figures