While the number of people under probation supervision has decreased in recent years, the United States still has over 3 million people on community supervision at any given time. Unfortunately, over 20% or 657,000 individuals will experience a probation revocation at some point during their probation sentence and return to jail. Across the country, individuals return to jail most frequently for technical violations, or non-illegal behaviors such as missing office appointments, not enrolling- or not participating in treatment, or breaking curfew. Black, Latine, Indigenous, and other racially minoritized groups experience violations and revocations at disproportionate rates to their white peers with similar violation types and return more often to jail for behaviors that are not illegal outside the context of probation.

In response, probation departments across the country are implementing key reforms to reduce revocations broadly, and to eliminate disparate returns to jail, specifically. However, local prosecutors may also play important roles in probation revocations, yet little is known about their responsibility and influence over probation revocations.

Justice System Partners (JSP), in collaboration with Fair and Just Prosecution (FJP), NORC at the University of Chicago, and Arnold Ventures, examined the role prosecutors play in setting probation conditions, vetting violations of those conditions, and pursuing probation revocations.

JSP has learned a lot from reviewing policies across all 50 states, conducting surveys of over 300 prosecutor’s offices, and conducting in-depth interviews with 18 elected prosecutors. Collecting these varying types of data helps us to better understand how prosecutors can support the success of local probation departments in helping people on supervision avoid future arrest and complete probation successfully.

From these reviews, surveys, and conversations, JSP developed policy recommendations supporting the role of prosecutors related to probation revocations. These recommendations have a central goal to enhance equity, reduce the number of individuals returning to jail for probation revocations, and eliminate disparate revocations.