U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

Probation and Parole Population Reaches Almost 3.8 Million

NCJ Number
171327
Date Published
June 1996
Annotation
Almost 3.8 million adult men and women were on probation or parole in the United States at the end of 1995, an increase of about 119,000 during the year.
Abstract

The number of adults under some form of correctional supervision, including those held in local jails and State and Federal prisons, totaled more than 5.3 million, 2.8 percent of all adults in 1995. Half of all offenders on probation in 1995 had committed a felony, and 25 percent were on probation for a misdemeanor. One in every six probationers had been convicted of driving while intoxicated or under the influence of alcohol. Texas had the largest number of residents on probation and parole with more than 518,000 under community supervision, followed by California with nearly 379,000. At the end of 1995, almost 3.9 percent of all adults in Texas were on probation or parole. North Dakota and West Virginia had the lowest probation and parole supervision rate per 100,000 adults (511), followed by Kentucky (546) and Mississippi (574). During 1995, five States reported increases of at least 10 percent in their probation populations and 10 reported similar increases in their parole populations. Arkansas had a 14.2-percent rise in its probation population, and Colorado had a 22.8-percent rise in its parole population. Women made up about 21 percent of probationers and 10 percent of parolees. About 64 percent of adults on probation were white and 34 percent were black. 5 tables and 1 figure

Date Published: June 30, 1996