Federal Offenders under Community Supervision, 1987-96

Federal Justice Statistics Program

NCJ 168636  August 1998


William P. Adams and Jeffrey A. Roth
The Urban Institute

U.S. Department of Justice
Bureau of Justice Statistics

by John Scalia
Statistician

---------------------------------------------------
Highlights

Highlights figure.  Number of Federal offenders
under community supervision

                               Supervised 
Year     Probation     Parole  release

1987       53457       17904
1988       54487       19784
1989       54635       22121      844
1990       53754       25770     5277
1991       46491       26788    11344
1992       46947       21852    18932
1993       45539       16351    25930
1994       41596       13551    33063
1995       36881       10470    39085
1996       34668        9002    45662


* The number of Federal offenders under community supervision
increased on average 2.5% annually, from 71,361 at midyear 1987
to 89,332 at midyear 1996.

* Offenders required to comply with at least one special
condition of  supervision increased from 67.3% of entrants
during 1987 to 90.7% during 1996.

* The number of entrants to probation and parole decreased 34%
and 83%, respectively, between 1987 and 1996.  These decreases
were offset by the increase in the number of entrants to
supervised release.

* The number of offenders on probation decreased 35% from 53,457
at midyear 1987 to 34,668 at midyear 1996.

* The decrease in probation corresponds to the increase in
prison sentences: between 1987 and 1996, the rate of
imprisonment increased from 53% of those convicted to 68.5%.

* The number of those serving a term of post-incarceration
supervision increased from 17,904 at midyear 1987 to 54,664 at midyear 1996.

* Between 1987 and 1996 the number of offenders on parole decreased by 
8,902 while the number on supervised release increased by 45,662.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------


Following the implementation of the Sentencing Reform Act of
1984, which took effect on November 1, 1987, Federal community
supervision underwent two major changes: 

(1) a greater proportion of defendants convicted of a Federal
offense were sentenced to a term of imprisonment as opposed to
probation

(2) offenders sentenced to prison, while no longer eligible for parole, 
were required to serve a defined term of supervision following release from prison.  

Additionally, the Sentencing Reform Act required the adoption
and use of sentencing guidelines.  The Federal sentencing
guidelines, which also took effect on November 1, 1987,
established sentencing ranges for each offense category.  Many
offenses for which probation was the typical preguideline sentence,
particularly  property and regulatory offenses, 
under the guidelines routinely result in sentences to prison.

As a result of these changes to Federal sentencing policy,
between 1987 and 1996 the number of entrants to probation decreased 
34% from 22,762 to 14,959: two-thirds of this decrease occurred since
1990.  The number of entrants to parole decreased 84% from 10,664 to 1,737, 
while the number of entrants to supervised release increased to
21,107.  Entrants are those offenders receiving supervision for
the first time on a sentence and do not include persons
reentering active supervision after either a period of inactive
supervision or a reincarceration following a supervision
revocation.

Other aspects of Federal community supervision also changed as a
result of the Sentencing Reform Act.  Between 1987 and 1996 the
proportion of offenders required to comply with at least one special 
supervision condition increased from 67.3% of entrants to 90.7%.  
More than twice as many offenders were required to serve a term of 
community confinement, to undergo drug treatment, or to submit to 
periodic drug testing.  

Sentences of imprisonment imposed following probation
revocations decreased from 13 months, on average, to 8.9 months.
Throughout the period, sentences of imprisonment following
supervised release revocations were considerably shorter than
those following parole revocations.

----------------------
Offenders supervised
----------------------

The number of offenders on Federal community supervision
increased 2.5% annually, on average, from 71,361 at midyear 1987
to 89,332 at midyear 1996 (table 1).  In addition to the
overall increase in the number of offenders on Federal
community supervision, the composition of the supervised
population changed considerably: 

----------------------------------------------------------
Table 1.  Number of offenders under Federal community 
supervision, by type of supervision, 1987-96

                                  Post-incarceration
                                               Supervised
Year    Total  Probation     Total    Parole   release

1987    71361    53457       17904    17904        I
1988    74271    54487       19784    19784        I
1989    77600    54635       22965    22121      844
1990    84801    53754       31047    25770     5277
1991    84623    46491       38132    26788    11344
1992    87731    46947       40784    21852    18932
1993    87820    45539       42281    16351    25930
1994    88210    41596       46614    13551    33063
1995    86436    36881       49555    10470    39085
1996    89332    34668       54664     9002    45662

Note:  Counts represent offenders under active Federal community 
supervision on  June 30 of each year.
INo offenders were serving a term of supervised release. 

Data source:  Administrative Office for the U.S. Courts, 
Federal supervision data file, annual.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

* The number of offenders serving a sentence of probation
decreased 35% from 53,457 to 34,668;

* With the elimination of parole for most persons sentenced
after November 1, 1987, the number of offenders on parole
decreased to 9,002 at midyear 1996 from the high of 26,788 at
midyear 1991. 

* In place of parole supervision, supervised release became the
primary form of community supervision for offenders released
from Federal prison:  at midyear 1996, over 80% (45,662) of
former prisoners under community supervision were serving a
sentence of supervised release.

The changes in the supervised population were largely
attributable to the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984
and related legislation.  The Sentencing Reform Act abolished
parole in the Federal criminal justice system.  In lieu of
parole most offenders are required to serve a term of supervised
release following release from Federal prison.  During 1996,
98.2% of those sen- tenced to prison pursuant to the Sentencing
Reform Act were also sentenced to serve a term of supervised
release (not shown in a table). 

Between 1987 and 1996 the proportion of defendants sentenced to
prison increased from 53% of those convicted to 68.5% (figure
1).  Approximately 30% of those sentenced during 1996 were
subject to a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment (not shown
in a table). 

----------------------------------------------------------
Figure 1: Percent of defendants sentenced to prison 
by U.S. district courts, by most serious of conviction, 1987-96
 
            Most serious offense of conviction

                                             Public
Year     Total  Violent  Property   Drug     order 

1987     53.0     82.0     43.4     75.9     36.6
1988     53.8     81.0     42.6     79.2     37.0
1989     58.5     86.8     44.1     84.2     40.6
1990     60.3     87.2     43.3     86.4     43.6
1991     62.4     89.9     45.8     86.5     45.6
1992     65.6     90.9     46.1     88.9     50.0
1993     65.2     87.1     47.3     84.8     51.8
1994     64.9     83.5     49.0     83.7     52.9
1995     66.9     84.7     50.0     84.1     59.6
1996     68.5     86.2     50.7     86.7     60.1
 
Source:  Bureau of Justice Statistics, Compendium of Federal 
Justice Statistics, annual.
----------------------------------------------------------------


Defendants convicted of public-order offenses -- weapons,
immigration, and regulatory offenses -- had the greatest
increase in the likelihood of imprisonment.  Between 1987 and
1996 the proportion sentenced to prison among those convicted of
public-order offenses increased from 36.6% to 60.1%.  Those
convicted of regulatory or weapons offenses were the most
affected: the proportion of defendants convicted of regulatory
offenses who were sentenced to prison rose from 32.5% to 43.9%,
and the proportion of defendants convicted of a weapons offense
who were sentenced to prison increased from 68.7% to 90%
***Footnote 1. BJS, Compendium of Federal Justice  Statistics,
annual (table 4.1).***

Defendants convicted of property and drug offenses were more
likely to be sentenced to prison under guideline sentencing
practices than under preguideline practices.  The proportion
of convicted property offenders sentenced to prison increased
from 43.4% to 50.7% between 1987 and 1996, and the proportion of
drug offenders sentenced to prison increased from 75.9% to 86.7%.


Probation

Corresponding to the increase in the proportion of offenders sentenced to
prison, between 1987 and 1996, the number of entrants to probation
decreased by more than a third from 22,762 during 1987 to 14,959 during
1996 (table 2).  As a result of the decrease in entrants, the number 
of offenders on probation decreased from 53,457 at midyear 1987
to 34,668 at midyear 1996 (table 1).
 
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Table 2.  Number of offenders entering Federal community supervision,  
by type of supervision, 1987-96
 
                           Post-incarceration
                                              Supervised
Year    Total   Probation*  Total    Parole   release

1987    33426    22762      10664    10664        I
1988    34386    21935      12451    12451        I
1989    35320    20471      14849    12449     2400
1990    38454    20295      18159    11251     6908
1991    35669    15862      19807    10702     9105
1992    34108    15822      18286     6228    12058
1993    34365    15583      18782     3887    14895
1994    34837    14614      20223     3048    17175
1995    35373    14412      20961     2227    18734
1996    37803    14959      22844     1737    21107

Note:  Excludes offenders reentering active supervision after a period 
of inactive supervision. 
INo offenders were serving a term of supervised release. 
*Includes offenders serving split or mixed sentences of probation 
following incarceration.  

Data source:  Administrative Office for the U.S. Courts, 
Federal supervision data file, annual.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------


Property offenders accounted for approximately half of the decrease in
the total number of offenders serving a sentence of probation:  between
1987 and 1996, the number of property offenders serving a
sentence of probation decreased from 26,094 to 16,898 (figure 2).

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Figure 2:  Number of Federal offenders serving a sentence of probation, 
by most serious offense, 1987-96 
                        
               Number on probation
Year   Violent  Property  Drug     Public Order

1987     1359    26094     9605    16396
1988     1458    26557    10209    16259
1989     1418    26800    10018    16396
1990     1343    26563     9330    16516
1991     1177    23423     7255    14634
1992     1174    23466     7479    14824
1993     1196    22526     7331    14483
1994     1047    20595     6939    12960
1995      956    18247     6266    11300
1996      978    16898     5974    10677
 

Note:  Counts represents offenders on Federal community supervision
on June 30 of each year.
Data Source:  Administrative Office for the U.S. Courts, Federal probation
and supervision, data file, annual.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Post-incarceration supervision

The number of entrants to post-incarceration supervision (parole
and supervised release) more than doubled between 1987 and 1996 from
10,664 to 22,844 (table 2).  As a result of the increase in
entrants, the total number of offenders under post-incarceration
supervision increased from 17,904 at midyear 1987 to 54,664 at
midyear 1996 (table 1).

Parole --  With the elimination of parole in the Federal system,
the number of offenders released on parole decreased considerably after
peaking at 12,451 during 1988 (table 2).  In 1996, 1,737
offenders were released on parole, an 86% decrease from the peak
in 1988.  As a result of the continued decrease in entrants, the
total number of offenders on parole fell from the high of 26,788
at midyear 1991 to 9,002 at midyear 1996 (table 1).

Supervised release -- The increase in the number of offenders on Federal 
community supervision was primarily attributable to the supervised release 
requirement of the Sentencing Reform Act.  During 1989 the first cohort of
2,400 offenders was released from Federal prison to serve a term
of supervised release (table 2).  During 1996, 21,107 offenders
were released on supervised release.  

Supervised release has become the primary form of Federal
community supervision.  Since the implementation of the
Sentencing Reform Act of 1984, the number of offenders serving a
term of supervised release at midyear has increased to 45,662 at
midyear 1996 (table 1).  During 1994 the number of entrants to
supervised release surpassed the number of entrants to
probation.  At midyear 1995 the number of offenders on
supervised release surpassed the number on probation.  At
midyear 1996 more than half of all offenders on Federal
community supervision were serving a term of supervised release.

--------------------------------------------------------
Special conditions of supervision imposed by the courts
--------------------------------------------------------


As part of the supervision order, the sentencing court may
require an offender to comply with certain discretionary 
or special conditions of supervision.  These conditions include 
community confinement, fines, restitution, community service, 
and alcohol and/or drug abuse treatment.  Between 1987 and 1996 
the proportion of entrants to Federal community supervision required 
to comply with at least one special condition of supervision increased 
from 67.3% of all entrants during 1987 to 90.7% during 1996 (table 3).  
This increase was largely attributable to the increase in the proportion 
of offenders required to serve a sentence of community confinement 
as part of the supervision order, to participate in a drug treatment program,
and/or to submit to periodic drug testing.

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Table 3.  Selected special conditions of supervision, 1987-96
 
                        Percent of offenders entering supervision

         Any special Community    Community  Drug       Drug
Year     condition   confinement  service    treatment  testing  Fine  Restitution
 
1987       67.3%        5.5%      13.2%      16.0%       1.6%    27.9%    18.7%
1988       68.5         6.1       12.9       17.4        1.7     28.9     18.6
1989       72.3         8.4       12.4       20.3        1.5       31     18.8
1990       75.4         9.6       12.4       23.3        2.3     31.7     18.9
1991      . . .       . . .      . . .      . . .      . . .    . . .    . . .
1992      . . .       . . .      . . .      . . .      . . .    . . .    . . .
1993       83.3        12.5       13.7       29.1        2.7     29.8     21.2
1994       85.6        12.9       12.9       31.7        2.8     29.4     21.5
1995       82.9        12.6         12         32        3.4       26     20.7
1996       90.7        13.2       11.6         34        4.9     27.8     21.5
 
Note:  Statistics represent offenders entering Federal community supervision 
for the first time on a sentence during the 12-month period ending June 30 
of each year.
. . .Data were not available because of changes in the FPSIS data system.
 
Data source:  Administrative Office for the U.S. Courts,
Federal supervision data file, annual.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The proportion of offenders required to pay a fine, make
restitution, or perform community service as part of their
supervision remained relatively stable between 1987 and 1996. 
On average for the 10 years, 29% of offenders under community
supervision were sentenced to pay a fine; 20%, to pay
restitution; and 12%, to perform community service.

Community confinement

The Sentencing Reform Act and the Federal sentencing guidelines 
formalized and structured the use of community confinement as part 
of a supervision order***Footnote 2.  See, 18 U.S.C. '' 3563, 3583 
and U.S.S.G. '' 5B1.1, 5D1.3(e).*** Pursuant to the Federal sentencing
guidelines, community confinement includes confinement in a
community treatment facility or halfway house, intermittent
confinement nights and weekends in a prison or jail, and home
detention ***Footnote 3.  U.S.S.G. '' 5F1.1, comment 1, and
5F1.2, comment 2.***

In cases where the recommended guideline sentencing range is 10
to 16 months of imprisonment or less, the sentencing court may,
as part of a sentence of supervision, substitute community
confinement for imprisonment on a day-for-day basis.  In other
cases, community confinement may be imposed as part of the
supervision order.

Between 1987 and 1996 the proportion of entrants to Federal
community supervision required to serve a term of community
confinement increased from 5.5% to 13.2%.  During 1987, 7.3% of
probation entrants were required to serve a term of community
confinement compared to 20.6% during 1996 (table 4).  Similarly,
during 1987, 1.7% of parole entrants were required to serve a
term of community confinement compared to 5.3% during 1996.  For
supervised release, the proportion was relatively constant at
approximately 8% of entrants between 1987 and 1996.

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Table 4.  Percent of entrants to Federal community supervision with 
a special condition of supervision requiring community confinement, 
1987-96
 
 
                           Post-incarceration

                                            Supervised
Year     Total  Probation Total    Parole   release
 
1987     5.5%     7.3%     1.7%     1.7%       I
1988     6.1      8.5      1.8      1.8        I
1989     8.4     12.1      3.3      2.5      7.5
1990     9.6     14.0      4.8      3.1      7.5
1991   . . .    . . .    . . .    . . .    . . .
1992   . . .    . . .    . . .    . . .    . . .
1993    12.5     16.2      9.4      5.7     10.4
1994    12.9     18.7      8.7      4.9      9.4
1995    12.6     18.6      7.7      4.9      8.8
1996    13.2     20.6      8.4      5.3      8.6
 
Note:  Statistics represent offenders entering Federal community 
supervision for the first time on a sentence during the 12-month 
period ending June 30 of each year.
INo offenders entered community supervision on supervised release.
. . .Data were not available because of changes in the FPSIS data system.
 
Data source:  Administrative Office for the U.S. Courts, 
Federal supervision data file, annual.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Drug abuse treatment and monitoring 

The proportion of entrants to Federal community supervision
required to participate in a drug treatment program or submit to
periodic drug testing more than doubled between 1987 and 1996:

* The proportion required to participate in a drug treatment
program -- including drug testing -- increased from 16% during
1987 to 34% during 1996.

* The proportion required to submit to periodic drug testing
that was not part of a drug treatment program increased from
1.6% during 1987 to 4.9% during 1996.

Between 1987 and 1996 the proportion of offenders required to be
treated or tested for drugs increased more for entrants to
post-incarceration supervision (19.7% to 48.6%) than for
entrants to probation (16.5% to 24.3%) (table 5).


----------------------------------------------------------------
Table 5.  Percent of entrants to Federal community supervision 
with a special condition of supervision requiring drug treatment 
or monitoring, 1987-96
 
                           Post-incarceration
                                             Supervised
Year     Total  Probation  Total    Parole   release
 
1987     17.6%    16.5%    19.7%    19.7%       I
1988     19.1     16.9     22.8     22.8        I
1989     21.8     17.4     28.0     27.3     31.6
1990     25.6     19.6     32.3     29.5     37.0
1991    . . .    . . .    . . .    . . .    . . .
1992    . . .    . . .    . . .    . . .    . . .
1993     31.8     20.5     41.2     35.1     42.8
1994     34.5     21.9     43.4     36.8     44.7
1995     35.4     22.1     41.1     36.4     45.5
1996     38.9     24.3     48.6     40.7     49.2
 
Note:  Statistics represent offenders entering Federal community supervision
for the first time on a sentence during the 12-month period ending June 30 
of each year.
INo offenders entered community supervision on supervised release.
. . .Data were not available because of changes in the FPSIS data system.
 
Data source:  Administrative Office for the U.S. Courts, Federal supervision 
data file, annual.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------
Termination of supervision
--------------------------------------------------

Active community supervision terminates, at least temporarily,
when an offender is moved to inactive supervision status.  An
offender may be moved to inactive supervision several times
during the course of the supervision period for reasons such as
the offender's being hospitalized or a fugitive.  Active
supervision terminates permanently when (1) the offender
successfully completes the supervision or (2) the offender's
supervision is revoked for cause.  

Active supervision may also terminate for administrative reasons
such as the death of the offender, deportation, or incarceration
for an unrelated offense. During 1996, approximately 3% of
supervision terminations were  for administrative reasons. 
(These administrative terminations are excluded from further
analysis.)

---------------------------------------------------
Figure 3.  State community supervision
 
Percent of correctional population
incarcerated, 1996
 
            Prison     Jail
State        19.3      9.7
Federal      50.4        0

At yearend 1996 more than twice as many State offenders were
serving a sentence of community supervision (71%) as serving a
sentence in prison or jail (29% -- 19.3% in prison and 9.7% in
jail).  By contrast, about an equal proportion of Federal
offenders were serving a sentence of community supervision
(49.6%) as were incarcerated in Federal prisons (50.4%).

The number of offenders serving a sentence of community
supervision increased at both the Federal and State levels
between 1987 and 1996. By contrast to the decrease in the number
of Federal probationers, the number of State probationers
increased from approximately 2.2 million at yearend 1987 to 3.15
million at yearend 1996.  The number of offenders supervised
after release from prison increased from 343,902 
at yearend 1987 to 645,576 at yearend 1996.

Number of offenders under State  community supervision,
by type of supervision, 1987-96
 
 
Year     Total  Probation  Parole
1987    2530678  2186776   343902
1988    2712543  2325398   387145
1989    2898400  2463019   435381
1990    3121726  2612012   509714
1991    3242123  2673236   568887
1992    3383815  2765126   618689
1993    3475093  2854703   620390
1994    3567654  2938713   628941
1995    3670364  3042404   627960
1996*   3791638  3146062   645576
 
*Preliminary.
 
Source:  BJS, Correctional Populations  
in the United States, annual.
--------------------------------------------------


Successful completion of supervision

Overall, approximately three-quarters of the offenders
terminating Federal community supervision between 1987 and 1996
completed their supervision successfully (table 6).  Offenders
on probation successfully completed theirsupervision at the
greatest rate: more than 8 in 10 successfully completed
their supervision.  By contrast, fewer than 7 in 10 on parole or
supervised release successfully completed their supervision.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Table 6.  Percent of offenders terminating community supervision
successfully, by type of supervision, 1987-96
 
 
         Percent of offenders terminating successfully --
                           Post-incarceration
                                             Supervised
Year     Total  Probation  Total    Parole   release
 
1987     75.2%    79.0%    67.6%    67.6%        I
1988     76.1       79     70.5     70.5         I
1989     77.0     80.4     70.3     70.3        --
1990     77.9     83.1     66.8     66.8        --
1991     75.5     85.0     61.6     65.8      46.4
1992     73.9     85.4     58.8     63.2      51.1
1993     75.4     85.3     62.2     68.7      57.2
1994     74.9     85.4     62.9     65.9      61.4
1995     74.5     85.4     63.9     64.4      63.7
1996     74.3     84.8     65.3     63.1      65.8
 
INo offenders terminated a supervised release.
 --Too few cases to obtain statistically reliable data.
 
Data source:  Administrative Office for the U.S. Courts,
Federal supervision data file, annual.
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Between 1987 and 1996 the proportion of probationers who
successfully completed their supervision increased from 79.0% to
84.8%.  The proportion of those on supervised release suc-
cessfully completing their supervision increased from 46.4%
during 1991 to 65.8% during 1996.  The proportion of those on parole
successfully com- pleting their supervision decreased slightly
from 67.6% during 1987 to 63.1% during 1996.

Reasons for unsuccessful termination of active supervision

The proportion of offenders under supervision required to
participate in drug treatment programs or drug testing
consistently increased between 1987 and 1996 (table 3).  The
proportion of offenders whose supervision was terminated
unsuccessfully for drug use has also increased.  Terminations
for drug use increased 47% between 1987 and 1996 from 16.6% of
all unsuccessful terminations to 24.4% (table 7).

--------------------------------------------------------------------
Table 7.  Unsuccessful terminations of Federal community 
supervision, by reason for revocation, 1987-96
 
                      Percent of unsuccessful terminations
        Number of   Technical  Drug  Fugitive  New  
Year    offenders*  violation  use   status    offense

1987     7933        35.8%    16.6%   10.2%    37.4%
1988     8175        38.7     17.8    10.4     33.1
1989     7863        40.7     18.9     8.7     31.7
1990     8335        41.6     19.1     7.7     31.6
1991     8541        40.6     19.9     7.9     31.6
1992     9195        38.9     23.1     8.6     29.4
1993     8200        39.0     19.7    10.3     30.9
1994     8647        34.5     21.2    11.3     33.0
1995     9177        34.8     23.2    11.5     30.5
1996     9454        30.7     24.4    12.2     32.7
 
Note:  Statistics represent offenders terminating Federal 
community supervision during the 12-month period ending June 30 
of each year.
*Includes offenders for whom the reason for the unsuccessful 
termination could not be determined.
 
Data source:  Administrative Office for the U.S. Courts, 
Federal probation and supervision data file, annual.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

The proportion of unsuccessful probationers terminated for
drug use increased from 12.4% of all unsuccessful probation terminations
during 1987 to 19.7% during 1996 (figure 4).  The proportion of
unsuccessful offenders on supervised release terminated for drug
use increased from 20.7% during 1991 (the first year with an
exiting cohort) to 25.0% during 1996.  For parolees, the
proportion increased from 22.2% to 30.8%.

--------------------------------------------------------
Figure 4.  Federal offenders whose parole,
supervised release, or probation was
terminated for drug use, 1987-96
 
Of all Federal offenders with revoked superiv
percent terminated for drug use
 
 
                        Supervised 
Year  Probation Parole  release

1987     12.4%   22.2%
1988     13.1    24.3
1989     13.7    25.6
1990     12.5    24.6
1991     13.7    24.8    20.7
1992     15.5    29.6    23.0
1993     14.6    23.5    21.7
1994     15.4    26.9    22.5
1995     17.8    28.5    24.2
1996     19.7    30.8    25.0
 
Source:  Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts,
Federal probation and supervision data file, annual.
----------------------------------------------------------

Between 1987 and 1996 terminations for new offenses decreased
from 37.4% of all unsuccessful terminations to 32.7%; and
terminations for technical violations decreased from 35.8% 
to 30.7% (table 7).

---------------------------------------------------
Length of revocation period
---------------------------------------------------

An unsuccessful termination of supervision may result in the
revocation of the community supervision and a term of
imprisonment.  For offenders on probation and supervised
release, the revocation sentence is imposed by the court with
jurisdiction over the offender.  With the implementation of the
Sentencing Reform Act, sentences of imprisonment following
revocation are imposed pursuant to Federal sentencing
guidelines***Footnote 4.  See, U.S.S.G. ' 7B1.1 et seq., p.s.***
These revocation sentences are in addition to any sentence to
prison the offender may have previously served for the original
offense.  

For parolees, however, the U.S. Parole Commission makes the
revocation decision***Footnote 5.  28 C.F.R. ' 2.50.***  In
contrast to revocations of probation and supervised release,
offenders with revoked parole are rein-carcerated for the
remainder of the sentence originally imposed.  The Parole
Commission may reparole these offenders***Footnote 6.  28 C.F.R.
' 2.21.***

Revocation sentences imposed

Between 1987 and 1996, sentences of imprisonment following the 
revocation of probation decreased from 21.9 months, on average, 
to 9.2 months (figure 5). Sentences for supervised release violators 
were stable at approximately 13 months.

----------------------------------------------------------------
Figure 5.   Average term of imprisonment imposed for
supervision revocation, by type of supervision, 1987-96
 
                  Post-incarceration
                                    Supervised                  
Year   Probation  Total    Parole   release

1987     21.9     52.8     52.8      n/a
1988     22.2     57.4     57.5       --
1989     20.2     50.4     50.8       --
1990     17.8     51.4     55.1     14.7
1991     16.4     42.0     50.8     12.7
1992     15.1     42.8     58.3     13.4
1993     12.3     37.6     59.6     13.6
1994     11.3     32.3     57.8     14.6
1995     10.3     31.2     63.1     13.4
1996      9.2     30.5     72.3     13.8

Note:  Statistics represent offenders entering Federal prison
following the revocation of Federal community supervision during
the 12 months ending June 30 of each year.
 --  too few cases to obtain statistically reliable data.
Data Source:  Bureau of Prison, SENTRY data file, annual.
-------------------------------------------------------------------


Because parole violators are recommitted to serve the unserved
portion of the sentence originally imposed, sentences for parole
violators were considerably longer than those for probation or
supervised release violators.  While variable between 1987 and
1994, sentences for parole violators have increased from 57.8
months, on average, during 1994 to 72.3 months during 1996. 
This increase may be an artifact of the elimination of Federal
parole.  As offenders eligible for release on parole leave the
Federal criminal justice system, those remaining are more and
more limited to the offenders who had originally received longer
sentences.  As a result, length of imprisonment for parole
revocations will increase.

Time served

For offenders incarcerated for probation and supervised release
violations time actually served by these offenders
followed the same pattern as sentences imposed:

* Time served by probation violators decreased from 13 months, 
on average, for offenders released during 1987 to 8.9 months 
for those released during 1996.

* Time served by supervised release violators was stable at
approximately 10 months (table 8). 

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Table 8.  Average time served after supervision revocations,
by type of supervision, 1987-96
 
         Average number of months released offenders
         served in prison after supervision revocation
 
                  Post-incarceration
                                     Supervised
Year   Probation   Total    Parole   release

1987     13.0 mo   21.9 mo  21.9 mo     I
1988     12.6      21.3     21.3        I
1989     12.1      19.4     19.4       --
1990     12.7      17.8     18.0      8.1
1991     12.8      15.5     16.4      9.0
1992     12.2      15.1     17.1      9.7
1993     10.8      14.2     16.7     10.3
1994     10.3      13.8     17.2     10.3
1995      9.1      13.0     16.8     10.3
1996      8.9      13.1     18.0     10.3
 
Note:  Statistics represent offenders completing a term of 
imprisonment imposed for a supervision revocation during the 
12-month period ending June 30 of each year.
INo offenders on supervised release  were revoked.
 --Too few cases to obtain statistically reliable data.
 
Data source:  Federal Bureau of Prisons, SENTRY data file, annual.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

For offenders incarcerated for parole violations, time served
initially decreased from 21.9 months, on average, for those
released during 1987 to 16.4 months for those released during
1991.  Since 1991, time served has remained stable between 16.7
months and 18 months.

---------------------------------------------------
Federal probation officers, 1987-96

Federal probation officers are responsible for supervising all
offenders under Federal community supervision, whether under the
jurisdiction of U.S. district courts, the U.S. Parole
Commission, or military tribunals.  

As a result of the increased number of Federal offenders under
supervision and the changes brought about by the Sentencing
Reform Act, both the number of offenders supervised and the
proportion with special supervision requirements such as drug
treatment or community confinement increased between 1987 and
1996.  Additionally, in 1991 the Federal Probation Service
implemented a program of enhanced supervision that required
intensive, individualized planning of supervision for each
offender.

Over the 10 years the number of Federal probation officers
increased 84% from 1,903 to 3,495.


        Number of Federal 
Year    probation officers
 
1987        1903
1988        2069
1989        2169
1990        2396
1991        2846
1992        3361
1993        3431
1994        3454
1995        3465
1996        3495
 
Source:  John M. Hughes and Karen S.
Henkel,  "The Federal Probation and Pretrial
Services System since 1975:  An Era of
Growth and Change, "Federal Probation,
pp. 103-111 (March 1997).
---------------------------------------------------


---------------------------------------------------
Methodology
---------------------------------------------------

Data sources

The source of data for tables presented in this report is the
BJS Federal Justice Statistics Program (FJSP) database (ICPSR
9296).  The FJSP database is constructed from source files
provided by the Executive Office for the United States
Attorneys, the Administrative Office of the United States
Courts, the United States Sentencing Commission, and the Federal
Bureau of Prisons.  

The Administrative Office of the United States Courts also
maintains data collected by the Federal probation offices.  The
Federal Probation Supervision Information System (FPSIS)
describes offenders on probation, parole, and supervised release
who are supervised by Federal probation officers.  Data
tabulations, except where otherwise indicated, were prepared
from contractor analysis of the source agency datasets.  Data
presented in this report do not include defendants on pretrial 
supervision, supervision following adjudication by military tribunals, 
and organizational defendants.

In the FPSIS data file, each record corresponds to a person-case
that resulted in a period of supervision  during the reporting
period.  An offender was considered under active supervision
if the offender was regularly reporting to a probation officer
during the reporting period.  An offender on inactive
supervision was not reporting to a probation officer for reasons
such as the offender had been hospitalized for an extended time,
the offender was a fugitive, or the offender was incarcerated
either on the current sentence or another sentence.  

Counts of entries into active supervision represent offenders
initially received under active supervision.  The counts do not
include offenders entering supervision following revocation. 
Counts of removals from active supervision represent the sum of
offenders moved from active supervision to inactive supervision
and all closures of active supervision.  Counts of entries and 
removals represent activity during the 12-month period ending June 30 
of each year.  

Counts of stocks are based on the last event recorded prior to
the end of the reporting period.  If the last action recorded
was a receipt, activation, or reinstatement into active
supervision, the offender was considered part of the supervised
population.  If the last action recorded was a removal from
active status or a closure of an active case, the offender is
not considered part of the supervised population.  Stock counts
represent the supervised population as of June 30 of each year.

The offense categories used in this report are based primarily
on the offense codes established by the Administrative Office of 
the United States Courts.  The Compendium of Federal Justice Statistics 
provides a detailed description of the United States code titles and
sections included in each offense category.

------------------------------------------------------------
Comparability with statistics reported by the Administrative
Office of the United States Courts
------------------------------------------------------------

The statistics in this report differ in several ways from
similar statistics reported by the Administrative Office:

* In this report counts of actions are based on the date for
which a particular event actually occurred.  For 1987-95 counts
of actions reported by the Administrative Office were based on
the date a particular event was posted to the data system. 
Beginning in 1996 the Administrative Office switched to an
event-based system.

* Because of the inherent posting lags, extracts from several
years were used to compile complete information describing the
processing of a particular offender.  For those cases for which
a posting date was recorded without a corresponding action date,
the posting date was used as a proxy for the action date.  In
these cases subsequent action dates were adjusted accordingly to
accommodate any illogical date sequences that might have
resulted from the action date proxy.

* Transfers from one jurisdiction to another are not considered
actions.

* Offenders on supervision following adjudication in a military
tribunal are not included.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Bureau of Justice Statistics 
is the statistical agency of the 
U.S. Department of Justice.

Jan M. Chaiken, Ph.D., is director.

BJS Special Reports address a specific topic in depth from one
or more datasets that cover many topics.

William P. Adams and Jeffrey A. Roth of the Urban Institute with 
John Scalia of the Bureau of Justice Statistics wrote this
report.  William J. Sabol of the Urban Institute provided statistical 
review.  Tom Hester produced and edited the report.  Marilyn Marbrook,
assisted by Yvonne Boston and Jayne Robinson, administered final production.

August 1998, NCJ 168636
----------------------------------------------------------------------------



----------------------------------------------------------------
Data from the Federal Justice Statistics Program (ICPSR 9296)
can be obtained from the National Archive of Criminal Justice
Data at the University of Michigan, 1-800-999-0960.  The
archive, as well as the report and supporting documentation, is
also accessible through the BJS web site:
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/
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END OF FILE, tld, 9/2/98