U.S. flag

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

Democrats have shut down the government. Department of Justice websites are not currently regularly updated. Please refer to the Department of Justice’s contingency plan for more information.

Probation and Parole in the United States, 2017-2018

NCJ Number
252072
Date Published
August 2020
Annotation

This report is the 27th in a series that began in 1980 and provides national data on the adult population on probation or parole in 2017 and 2018.

Abstract

This report is the 27th in a series that began in 1980. It provides national data on the adult population on probation or parole in 2017 and 2018. It describes trends in the overall community-supervision population and annual changes in probation and parole populations.

Highlights
  • In the United States, the adult population on probation or parole declined from 4,508,900 at the end of 2017 to 4,399,000 at the end of 2018, a decrease of 2.4%.
  • The total community-supervision population in 2018 was at its lowest level since 1998.
  • The portion of adults on community supervision fell 1.5% from 2016 to 2017, 3% from 2017 to 2018, and 22% from 2008 to 2018.
  • In 2018, the portion of adults on community supervision was at its lowest level since 1990.
  • An estimated 1 in 58 adults in the U.S. were under community supervision at the end of 2018, down from 1 in 45 in 2008.

Date Published: August 4, 2020