Understanding How Probation and Parole Conditions Are Set in Three States

The Understanding How Probation and Parole Conditions Are Set in Three States report series was developed as part of the Aligning Supervision Conditions with Risk and Needs project, the goal of which is to reduce probation and parole revocations and reorient community supervision toward promoting success by changing the way probation and parole conditions are imposed. Conditions are requirements that a person on probation or parole must adhere to while serving a period of community supervision. For people on parole, this occurs after the person has served time in prison and is released into the community for a post-prison period of supervision. For people on probation, this period of supervision occurs in the community in lieu of incarceration. The hypothesis for this project was that if probation and parole conditions targeted individuals’ criminogenic needs and were based on risk level, individuals on supervision would be more successful. However, to move to this form of condition setting, we first needed to understand how conditions were being determined and what role, if any, risk and needs assessments played in the condition-setting process.

The reports in this series set forth our findings on the probation and parole condition-setting process utilized by three distinct jurisdictions and what role, if any, risk and needs assessments play in the condition-setting process. The findings in these reports are based primarily on legal and policy review, and interviews conducted with relevant stakeholders who we presumed would have a hand in recommending or imposing supervision conditions.

This report series was made possible with support from Arnold Ventures.