U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 4:30 P.M. EDT BJS THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 1997 202/633-3047 NATION'S PROBATION AND PAROLE POPULATION REACHED ALMOST 3.9 MILLION LAST YEAR WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Almost 3.9 million adult men and women were on probation or parole at the end of 1996, an increase of about 128,000 during the year, the Justice Department reported today. The number of offenders being supervised in the community on probation or parole increased 3.4 percent during 1996, compared to the 3.3 percent annual average since 1990. The total number of adults under correctional supervision-- incarcerated or in the community--reached a new high of 5.5 million at the end of 1996. As of last December 31, 2.8 percent of the U.S. adult population, or about one in every 35 adults, were incarcerated or on probation or parole. At the end of last year, 3,180,363 adult offenders were on probation. More than half (55 percent) had been convicted of a felony, 26 percent had been convicted of a misdemeanor, 17 percent for driving while intoxicated or under the influence of alcohol and 2 percent for other offenses. An additional 704,709 adults at year-end 1996 were on parole, which is conditional, supervised release following a prison term. Parolees are subject to re-incarceration for rule violations. Almost all of the offenders on parole (96 percent) had served a felony sentence. Fewer than half of all those entering parole in 1996 had received their release as a result of a parole board decision; 48 percent had received a mandatory release because of a sentencing statute or a good-time provision that released them from prison. Three-quarters of probationers and parolees maintained regular contact with a supervisory agency. The other offenders were not required to have regular contact (7 percent of probationers and 10 percent of parolees) or could not be located (10 percent of probationers and 7 percent of parolees). Texas had the largest number of adults on probation and parole with more than 538,000 under supervision, followed by California with 389,000. At the end of 1996, 3.9 percent of all adults in Texas were on probation or parole. Fourteen states reported that fewer than 1 percent of their adult populations were on probation or parole. West Virginia had the lowest probation and parole supervision rate (466 offenders per 100,000 adults), followed by North Dakota (553), Kentucky (560) and Mississippi (587). Five states reported increases of at least 10 percent in their probation populations during 1996, led by Virginia (up 22.1 percent) and Alabama (up 16.0 percent). Eight states reported increases of at least 10 percent in their parole populations, led by New Hampshire (up 35.8 percent) and Alaska (up 20.5 percent). Women represent a growing percentage of the probation and parole populations nationwide. There were 515,600 women on probation (21 percent of all probationers) and 79,300 on parole (11 percent of all parolees) in 1996, up from 18 percent and 8 percent respectively in 1990. At the end of 1996 just over a third of probationers (765,700) and nearly half of parolees (297,000) were black, while two-thirds of probationers (1,417,700) and half of parolees (345,400) were white. Persons of other races accounted for about 1 percent of each population (29,900 probationers and 8,200 parolees.) Hispanics, who may be of any race, comprised 15 percent of probationers (271,000) and 20 percent of parolees (108,400). During 1996 more than 1.5 million probationers and almost 400,000 parolees were released from supervision. Two-thirds of those exiting probation (708,600) and just under half of those exiting parole (179,900) had successfully met the conditions of their supervision. Eighteen percent of probationers (196,900) who were released in 1996 and 40 percent of parolees (155,600) were subsequently re-incarcerated because of a rule violation or new offense. The data were collected and analyzed by Jodi M. Brown and Allen J. Beck, Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) statisticians. More information from BJS is available at the BJS Internet site: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/ Additional criminal justice materials can be obtained from the Office of Justice Programs homepage at: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov After hours contact: Stu Smith at 301/983-9354 Percent Number on Probation change in probation on Region and population, 1996 Probation probation 12/31/96 per jurisdiction 1/1/96 Entries Exits population, population 100,000 12/31/96 during 1996 adult residents U.S. total 3,077,861 1,651,544 1,545,937 3,180,363 3.3 1,621 Federal/a 35,457 18,796 19,952 34,301 -3.3 17 State 3,042,404 1,632,748 1,525,985 3,146,062 3.4 1,603 Northeast 538,941 243,971 224,307 558,605 3.6 1,434 Connecticut 54,507 37,290 35,819 55,978 2.7 2,261 Maineb 8,641 2,651 3,596 7,696 -10.9 815 Massachusetts 43,680 36,436 35,258 44,858 2.7 960 New Hampshire 4,347 3,232 3,165 4,414 1.5 509 New Jersey 126,759 61,851 62,729 125,881 -.7 2,098 New York 168,012 47,502 34,934 180,580 7.5 1,323 Pennsylvania 106,823 41,643 37,934 110,532 3.5 1,206 Rhode Island 18,850 9,385 7,789 20,446 8.5 2,708 Vermont 7,322 3,981 3,083 8,220 12.3 1,860 Midwest 675,380 481,350 459,923 702,419 4.0 1,532 Illinois 109,489 72,672 66,658 115,503 5.5 1,329 Indiana 95,267 77,962 73,639 99,590 4.5 2,294 Iowa 16,579 12,559 13,754 15,384 -7.2 721 Kansas 16,547 13,805 14,620 15,732 -4.9 835 Michigan/c 141,436 117,050 112,937 148,595 5.1 2,106 Minnesotac 83,778 57,314 55,853 88,039 5.1 2,581 Missouri/c 41,728 23,799 20,804 44,644 7.0 1,126 Nebraska 13,895 12,753 12,145 1 4,503 4.4 1,199 North Dakota 2,320 1,581 1,380 2,521 8.7 531 Ohioc 103,327 65,556 64,155 102,755 -.6 1,234 South Dakota/c,d 3,745 4,324 4,151 3,484 -7.0 660 Wisconsinc 47,269 21,975 19,827 51,669 9.3 1,354 South 1,248,608 629,386 594,268 1,281,451 2.6 1,858 Alabama/c,e 33,410 7,416 4,251 38,764 16.0 1,213 Arkansas 22,397 7,828 6,192 24,033 7.3 1,299 Delaware/c 16,124 : : 16,528 2.5 3,012 District of Columbia 10,414 5,399 6,073 9,740 -6.5 2,246 Floridac 243,736 156,044 147,648 249,479 2.4 2,273 Georgia 142,954 71,241 70,038 144,157 .8 2,669 Kentucky/c 11,499 7,503 6,171 11,689 1.7 401 Louisiana 33,753 11,920 10,298 35,375 .8 1,135 Maryland 71,029 35,467 35,943 70,553 -.7 1,864 Mississippi 9,595 3,827 3,423 9,999 4.2 510 North Carolina/c 97,921 54,271 49,111 102,483 4.7 1,867 Oklahomac 27,866 13,970 13,729 28,090 .8 1,161 South Carolina 39,821 15,479 13,218 42,082 5.7 1,524 Tennessee 36,485 20,685 19,769 37,401 2.5 936 Texas/f 421,213 192,793 188,217 425,789 1.1 3,113 Virginia 24,264 25,543 20,187 29,620 22.1 587 West Virginia/c 6,127 : : 5,669 -7.5 404 West 579,475 278,041 247,487 603,587 4.2 1,421 Alaska/e 3,481 1,699 1,420 3,760 8.0 890 Arizona 40,614 12,854 10,278 43,190 6.3 1,318 California 280,545 147,585 136,111 292,019 4.1 1,269 Colorado/c 42,687 20,919 18,619 41,212 -3.5 1,459 Hawaii 12,957 7,082 5,801 14,238 9.9 1,623 Idaho/g 5,308 2,239 1,692 5,855 10.3 696 Montana/b 4,318 1,509 1,354 4,473 3.6 692 Nevada/b 8,634 5,733 4,607 9,760 13.0 823 New Mexico 8,524 9,197 8,793 8,928 4.7 737 Oregon/g 39,725 16,878 14,311 42,292 6.5 1,766 Utah 8,562 4,125 3,576 9,111 6.4 689 Washington/c 120,466 46,198 38,878 125,317 4.0 3,059 Wyoming/c 3,654 2,023 2,047 3,432 -6.1 986 Note: Counts are subject to revision. Final counts and additional data will be published in Correctional Populations in the United States,1996. :Not known. a/Defined as persons received for probation directly from court. b/Total entries and exits are estimated. c/Because of nonresponse or incomplete data, the population on December 31, 1996, d/oes not equal the population on January 1, 1996, plus entries, minus exits. dData are for year ending June 30, 1996. e/January 1, 1996, population count is estimated. f/Data are for year ending August 31, 1996. g/Total entries are estimated. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Percent Number on change in parole on Parole Parole parole 12/31/96 per Region and population, 1996 population, population 100,000 jurisdiction 1/1/96 Entries Exits 12/31/96 during 1996 adult residents U.S. total 679,421 421,055 395,721 704,709 3.7 359 Federal/a 51,461 30,518 22,846 59,133 14.9 30 State 627,960 390,537 372,875 645,576 2.8 329 Northeast 175,207 74,605 67,564 181,856 3.8 467 Connecticut 1,233 1,505 1,655 1,083 -12.2 44 Maine 55 2 0 57 3.6 6 Massachusetts/b,c 5,256 3,889 3,917 4,836 -8 104 New Hampshire 785 854 573 1,066 35.8 123 New Jersey 37,867 13,530 9,850 41,547 9.7 692 New York 55,568 27,064 25,495 57,137 2.8 419 Pennsylvania 73,234 26,903 25,124 75,013 2.4 819 Rhode Island 591 532 548 575 -2.7 76 Vermont 618 326 402 542 -12.3 123 Midwest 86,598 60,401 60,443 87,013 .5 190 Illinois 29,541 22,763 22,240 30,064 1.8 346 Indiana 3,200 4,382 4,007 3,575 11.7 82 Iowa 2,340 1,964 2,104 2,200 -6 103 Kansas 6,094 4,074 4,164 6,004 -1.5 319 Michigan 13,862 9,463 8,716 14,609 5.4 207 Minnesota 2,117 2,698 2,438 2,377 12.3 70 Missouri/b,c 13,001 4,316 5,384 12,197 -6.2 308 Nebraska 661 823 778 706 6.8 58 North Dakota 114 191 201 104 -8.8 22 Ohio 7,432 4,785 5,886 6,331 -14.8 76 South Dakota 688 614 577 725 5.4 137 Wisconsin/b 7,548 4,328 3,948 8,121 7.6 213 South 240,478 108,639 104,231 244,475 1.7 354 Alabama/c 7,793 1,651 4,231 5,213 -33.1 163 Arkansas/c 4,685 5,551 5,093 5,143 9.8 278 Delaware/c 1,033 : : 1,033 -- 188 District of Columbia 6,340 2,951 2,171 7,120 12.3 1,642 Floridad 11,197 3,984 5,938 9,243 -17.5 84 Georgia/b 19,434 11,959 10,036 21,146 8.8 392 Kentucky 4,257 3,491 3,127 4,621 8.6 159 Louisiana 19,028 11,408 9,438 20,998 10.4 674 Maryland 15,748 11,080 10,582 16,246 3.2 429 Mississippi/b 1,510 1,107 886 1,513 .2 77 North Carolina 18,501 10,544 16,687 12,358 -33.2 225 Oklahoma 2,356 465 662 2,159 -8.4 89 South Carolina 5,545 1,334 1,512 5,367 -3.2 194 Tennessee 8,851 3,918 3,835 8,934 .9 223 Texasc 103,089 28,149 18,644 112,594 9.2 823 Virginia/b,c 10,188 10,479 10,767 9,918 -2.7 197 West Virginia 923 568 622 869 -5.9 62 West 125,677 146,892 140,637 132,232 5.3 311 Alaska/b 459 542 378 553 20.5 131 Arizona 4,109 5,314 5,638 3,785 -7.9 115 California 91,807 126,506 121,250 97,063 5.7 422 Colorado 3,024 3,039 2,769 3,294 8.9 117 Hawaii 1,689 623 579 1,733 2.6 198 Idaho 619 469 396 692 11.8 82 Montana/b 744 : : 771 3.6 119 Nevada/b 2,863 : : 3,216 12.3 271 New Mexico 1,366 1,381 1,321 1,426 4.4 118 Oregon 15,019 6,893 6,112 15,800 5.2 660 Utah 2,700 1,914 1,639 2,975 10.2 225 Washington/c 875 42 357 560 -36 14 Wyoming/b 403 169 198 364 -9.7 105 Note: Counts are subject to revision. Final counts and additional data will be published in Correctional Populations in the United States, 1996. : Not known. --Not Calculated. a/Defined as persons received for probation supervision upon release from prison. Includes supervised release, parole, military parole, special parole, and mandatory release. b/Because of nonresponse or incomplete data, the population on December 31, 1996, does not equal the population on January 1, 1996, plus entries, minus exits. c/All data are estimated. d/The January 1, 1996, count is estimated. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Number of adults under community supervision or incarcerated, 1985-96 Total estimated Percent of U.S. correctional Community supervision Incarcerated adults under Year populationa Probation Parole Jail Prison supervision 1985 3,011,500 1,968,712 300,203 254,986 487,593 1.7 1990 4,348,000 2,670,234 531,407 403,019 743,382 2.3 1991 4,535,600 2,728,472 590,442 424,129 792,535 2.4 1992 4,762,600 2,811,611 658,601 441,781 850,566 2.5 1993 4,944,000 2,903,061 676,100 455,500 909,381 2.6 1994 5,141,300 2,981,022 690,371 479,800 990,147 2.7 1995 5,335,100 3,077,861 679,421 499,300 1,078,545 2.7 1996b 5,525,000 3,180,363 704,709 510,400 1,129,500 2.8 Percent change 1899 3.6 3.3 3.7 2.2 4.7 1889 83.5 61.5 134.7 100.2 131.6 Average annual percent change 1894 4.1 3.0 4.8 4.0 7.2 1889 5.7 4.5 8.1 6.5 7.9 Note: See printed copy. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Community corrections among the States, yearend 1996 10 States Persons with the 10 States 10 States supervised 10 States Persons the largest the largest with the highest per 100,000 with the lowest per 100,000 community Number with percent Percent rates of super- adult U.S. rates of super- adult U.S. corrections supervised increase increase vision, 1996 residents/a vision, 1996 residents/a Probation: Texas 425,789 Virginia 0 Texas 3,113 Kentucky 401 California 292,019 Alabama 16 Washington 3,059 West Virginia 404 Florida 249,479 Nevada 13 Delaware 3,012 New Hampshire 509 New York 180,580 Vermont 12 Rhode Island 2,708 Mississippi 510 Michigan 148,595 Idaho 10 Georgia 2,669 North Dakota 531 Georgia 144,157 Hawaii 10 Minnesota 2,581 Virginia 587 New Jersey 125,881 Wisconsin 9 Indiana 2,294 South Dakota 660 Washington 125,317 North Dakota 9 Florida 2,273 Utah 689 Illinois 115,503 Rhode Island 9 Connecticut 2,261 Montana 692 Pennsylvania 110,532 Alaska 8 Michigan 2,106 Idaho 696 Parole: Texas 112,594 New Hampshire 0 Texas 823 Maine 6 California 97,063 Alaska 21 Pennsylvania 819 Washington 14 Pennsylvania 75,013 Minnesota 12 New Jersey 692 North Dakota 22 New York 57,137 Nevada 12 Louisiana 674 Connecticut 44 New Jersey 41,547 Idaho 12 Oregon 660 Nebraska 58 Illinois 30,064 Indiana 12 Maryland 429 West Virginia 62 Georgia 21,146 Louisiana 10 California 422 Minnesota 70 Louisiana 20,998 Utah 10 New York 419 Rhode Island 76 Maryland 16,246 Arkansas 10 Georgia 392 Ohio 76 Oregon 15,800 New Jersey 10 Illinois 346 Mississippi 77 Note: The District of Columbia as a wholly urban jurisdiction is excluded. a/Rates are computed using the U.S. adult resident population on July 1, 1996. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Characteristics of adults on probation, 1985, 1990, and 1996 1985 1990 1996 Sex Male 84% 82% 79% Female 16 18 21 Race White 70% 68% 64% Black 29 31 35 Other races 1 1 1 Hispanic origin Hispanic 0 0 0 Non-Hispanic 86 82 85 Supervision status Active 85% 83% 79% Inactive 7 9 7 Absconded 6 6 10 Out-of-State 2 2 2 Other ** ** 2 Entries to probation Probation without incarceration 93% 87% 72% Probation with incarceration 5 8 13 Probation of other types 2 5 15 Exits from probation Successful completion 80% 69% 65% Returned to incarceration 8 14 18 With new sentence 3 3 5 Without new sentence 5 11 13 Other unsuccessful 6 9 5 Other 6 7 13 Type of offense Felony 50% 48% 55% Misdemeanor 49 31 26 Driving while intoxicated ** 21 17 Other infractions 1 1 2 Note: Percentages are based on reported data only. **Not available. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Characteristics of adults on parole, 1985, 1990, and 1996 1985 1990 1996 Sex Male 93% 92% 89% Female 7 8 11 Race White 54% 52% 53% Black 44 47 46 Other races 2 1 1 Hispanic origin Hispanic 17% 18% 20% Non-Hispanic 83 82 80 Supervision status Active 82% 82% 78% Inactive 6 6 10 Absconded 8 6 7 Out-of-State 4 6 5 Other ** ** 1 Entries to parole Discretionary parole 58% 59% 46% Mandatory parole 42 41 48 Reinstatement ** ** 4 Other ** ** 2 Discharges from parole Successful completion 58% 50% 46% Returned to incarceration 35 46 40 With new sentence 12 17 12 With revocation pending 2 11 28 Other 21 18 1 Transferred to another State 2 1 2 Other 5 3 12 Length of sentence Less than 1 year 1% 5% 4% One year or more 99 95 96 Note: Percentages are based on reported data only. **Not available ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Explanatory notes The 1996 Probation and Parole Data Surveys provide a count of the total number of persons supervised in the community on January 1 and December 31, 1996, and a count of the number entering and leaving supervision during the year. These surveys cover all 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the Federal system. Probation The 1996 Probation Data Survey was sent to 272 respondents _ 39 central State reporters and 233 separate State, county, or court agencies. States with multiple reporters were Alabama (3), Arizona (2), Colorado (9), Florida (15), Georgia (2), Michigan (114), Missouri (2), New Mexico (2), Ohio (52), Oklahoma (3), Tennessee (3), Washington (24), and West Virginia (2). One local agency in Michigan did not provide data. For this agency, the 12/31/95 population count was used as an estimate of the 1/1/96 and 12/31/96 counts. Parole The 1996 Parole Data Survey was sent to 54 respondents _ 52 central reporters, the California Youth Authority, and 1 municipal agency. States with multiple reporters were Alabama (2), and California (2). END OF FILE