Probation and Parole in the United States, 2017-2018

• NCJ Number: 252072
• Author(s): Danielle Kaeble; Mariel Alper
• Date Published: August 2020
• Length: 42 pages
• Publication Series: BJS Bulletins
• Agencies: BJS
• Publication Type: Statistics; Report (Technical Assistance); Report (Annual/Periodic)

Annotation

The federal Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) presents data on the number of adults on probation or parole in the United States for 2017-2018.

Abstract

This report is the 27th in a series that began in 1980. It provides national data on the adult population on probation or parole in 2017 and 2018. It describes trends in the overall community-supervision population and annual changes in probation and parole populations.

• In the United States, the adult population on probation or parole declined from 4,508,900 at the end of 2017 to 4,399,000 at the end of 2018, a decrease of 2.4%.
• The total community-supervision population in 2018 was at its lowest level since 1998.
• The portion of adults on community supervision fell 1.5% from 2016 to 2017, 3% from 2017 to 2018, and 22% from 2008 to 2018.
• In 2018, the portion of adults on community supervision was at its lowest level since 1990.
• An estimated 1 in 58 adults in the U.S. were under community supervision at the end of 2018, down from 1 in 45 in 2008.