A new study from the Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center shows that parole and probation are PROBLEMS, not solutions.
It says ALMOST HALF “of state prison admissions nationwide are due to violations of probation or parole for new offenses or technical violations.”
Anyone who’s ever been on parole or probation can tell you it’s HARD. In many cases, the terms and requirements are almost impossible to live by. And it costs!
The study says that almost 1 in 4 people in prison “are incarcerated as a result of a supervision violation, costing states more than $9.3 BILLION ANNUALLY.”
Black people are being cycled back into prison, because parole and probation are set up for people to fail, not succeed. The numbers make that clear.
It’s not just that people are bad and they can’t do what’s right. It’s that the rules are unnecessarily STRICT and HARSH.
Being on parole and probation means EVERY part of your life is under state control, and when you add having a record on top of this, employment, family, and fun all become OBSTACLES. More than half of prison admissions in 20 states are due to supervision violations!
So let’s be clear about something: parole and probation are NOT about helping people transition back into society. More often than not, they’re a one-way ticket BACK into the system. Enough is enough because mass incarceration MUST be stopped.