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…
Community supervision, commonly known as probation or parole, involves people serving part of their sentence under supervision while living in the community. Supervision conditions are requirements that individuals must comply with during…
This study examines the response of the Colorado Board of Parole to the COVID-19 pandemic.
To mitigate the spread of the virus within correctional facilities, it increased the parole grant rate, expedited case review, and utilized special…
This report examines the challenges and opportunities that states faced in deciding whether to release people from prison during the COVID-19 pandemic. It focuses on the legal mechanisms available to jurisdictions and the factors that…
In Spring 2022, the Council on Criminal Justice (CCJ) launched the Task Force on Long Sentences. The group of 16 experts represents a broad range of experience and perspectives, including crime victims and survivors, formerly incarcerated…
When researchers, policymakers, and advocates examine the impact of long sentences, they typically focus on issues such as the statutory lengths of sentences or the roles that prosecutors and judges play in imposing sentences. While…
In response to the global pandemic in 2020, states and the federal government began to make non-routine releases from prison in order to reduce prison populations to allow for social distancing in prison facilities. This report is aimed at…
For most individuals who receive a prison sentence, the amount of time they will serve in prison is somewhat unpredictable because of officials’ discretionary capacity to exercise “back-end” release decisions, including parole release…
Indeterminacy in prison sentences refers to the unpredictability of the actual length of time that will be served in prison compared to the length of the sentence pronounced by the judge. It reflects the degree to which back-end…
The purpose of the Research in Brief series is to evaluate popular or emerging policy and practice options pertaining to adults in the criminal justice system to determine whether there is an evidence base to support them. The…
