Background              Key Findings             Solutions 

Background:

Probation revocations contribute to as many as a third of prison admissions annually. The cause for these high levels of revocation lies in the often misdirected purpose of probation programs across the state: they are generally tailored to monitor compliance with court mandates rather than to promote rehabilitation and reduce recidivism. In fact, probation departments receive little resources, and current funding structures – which depend heavily on probationers’ fees as a means of income – create incentives to keep probationers on probation too long.

Another problem: inefficient supervision causes high levels of recidivism and revocation. Because risk-level diagnostics are used inconsistently, probationers are routinely given improper levels of supervision: those who should be supervised for shorter periods are supervised for longer periods, and those who should be supervised for longer periods abscond.[i] But high rates of revocations also stem from bureaucratically-designed technical violations (non-criminal violations of probation rules), the penalties for which are extremely punitive and ultimately contribute to Texas’ over-incarceration crisis.  

A final factor leading to high recidivism rates among probationers is the decentralized administration of probation statewide, which inhibits accountability and efficiency. No effective, verified measures have been set to ensure departments’ proper use of best practices. Likewise, scientifically-validated instruments are not routinely used, since judges set their own criteria in each district. This is just one more problem that causes low-risk offenders to consume prison beds badly needed for dangerous criminals, which in turn necessitates the building of costly new prisons.

Key Findings

Solutions

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