Executive Summary
High rates of incarceration in the United States have rightfully garnered significant attention from policymakers, researchers, and the public. However, community supervision programs, including parole and probation, have received comparatively little attention. This disparity is notable given the fact that the number of people under community supervision is more than twice as large as the incarcerated population.
In fact, the 3.9 million people on parole and probation in 2020 accounted for 70% of the total correctional population that year. As policymakers pursue reforms to reduce the incarcerated population, the share of correctional populations under parole and probation has
