Mass Probation and Inequality: The Purpose, Form, and Effects of Probation

Session Submission Type: Complete Thematic Panel

Abstract

Over the past forty years, the U.S. correctional population expanded rapidly, with growth slowing only after reaching 7.3 million adults in 2008. This expansion spurred an extensive literature on mass imprisonment and its effects on inequality. Yet nearly 60 percent of the correctional population is on probation, supervised in the community, rather than behind bars. This panel focuses on the purpose of probation, its form for probationers (both in terms of official structure and subjective experience), and the effects of probation. From large-N quantitative studies to theoretical perspectives, panelists will consider the consequences of mass probation for inequality.

Sub Unit

• Area VII: Criminal Justice Policy and Practice / 38: Corrections

Individual Presentations

• Inequities in Administrative Probation - Cecelia Klingele, University of Wisconsin Law School

• Disparities in Programming for Probationers - Faye S. Taxman, George Mason University; Karen Souza, George Mason University

• The Effects of Community Supervision on Recidivism and Labor Market Outcomes: Evidence from a Natural Experiment - Anh P. Nguyen, University of Michigan; David J. Harding, University of California, Berkeley; Jeffrey D. Morenoff, University of Michigan; Shawn Bushway, University at Albany, SUNY

Chair

• Michelle S. Phelps, University of Minnesota