Mass Probation and Criminal Justice Supervision Disparities

• In Event: Mass Probation and Inequality: Disparities and the Experience of Supervision

Abstract

While research documenting the deep race, class, and gender disparities in imprisonment has proliferated, disparities in probation supervision have mostly been neglected. Probationers, however, represent the majority of adults under formal supervision—and many probationers fail to complete supervision and end up in prison. Thus, disparities in probation are critical for understanding inequalities throughout the criminal justice system. Relying on the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), I estimate the first national probation supervision prevalence rates by demographic group (based on age, race, gender, and socioeconomic status) for the most recent decade. The analyses then compare these characteristics to those of inmates incarcerated for probation violations (collected from Bureau of Justice Statistics surveys) to evaluate disparities and the role of probation revocations in shaping jail and prison populations. Together, these estimates will highlight the unique contribution of probation supervision in shaping patterns of inequality.

Author

• Michelle S. Phelps, University of Minnesota