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Probation and parole, collectively known as community supervision, too often contribute to mass incarceration by sending people back to prison for technical violations. More than 50 elected prosecutors and 90 current and former probation and parole leaders issued a statement last week calling for reforms that would make community supervision “smaller, less punitive, and more equitable, restorative, and hopeful.”

Supervision is too punitive, supervision professionals say. Instead of helping people reintegrate into the community, governments impose harsh conditions that focus on suppression, surveillance, and control, such as barring contact with family members with records, requiring people to report to supervision offices while also keeping a job, restricting where they can live, and demanding payment of fees for everything from drug tests to appointments with their parole officers.

The system sets people up to fail, former federal prosecutor Miriam Aroni Krinsky and former commissioner of the New York City Department of Probation Vincent Schiraldi wrote for USA Today. “Individuals under community supervision are one missed appointment, one curfew violation or one late-fee payment away from a technical violation and possible imprisonment.”

Almost a quarter of people entering prison in 2017 were incarcerated for a technical probation or parole violation, not a new offense, costing taxpayers $2.8 billion annually. Technical violations target communities of color, Krinsky and Schiraldi note, exacerbating structural racism, substance use, housing insecurity, and mental health issues.

We would like to thank the Equal Justice Initiative for the content. Click HERE to view the original comprehensive article.