The number of offenders being supervised in the community on probation or parole increased 3.4 percent during 1996, compared to the 3.3 percent annual average since 1990. As of last December 31, 2.8 percent of the U.S. adult population, or about one in every 35 adults, were incarcerated or on probation or parole. An additional 704,709 adults at year-end 1996 were on parole, which is conditional, supervised release following a prison term.
Parolees are subject to re-incarceration for rule violations.
Three-quarters of probationers and parolees maintained regular contact with a supervisory agency. Texas had the largest number of adults on probation and parole with more than 538,000 under supervision, followed by California with 389,000. At the end of 1996, 3.9 percent of all adults in Texas were on probation or parole. Fourteen states reported that fewer than 1 percent of their adult populations were on probation or parole. Women represent a growing percentage of the probation and parole populations nationwide.