Probation and Parole in the United States, 2017-2018

This report is the 27th in a series that began in 1980. It provides national data on the adult population on probation or parole in 2017 and 2018. It describes trends in the overall community-supervision population and annual changes in probation and parole populations.

Highlights

• In the United States, the adult population on probation or parole declined from 4,508,900 at the end of 2017 to 4,399,000 at the end of 2018, a decrease of 2.4%.
• The total community-supervision population in 2018 was at its lowest level since 1998.
• The portion of adults on community supervision fell 1.5% from 2016 to 2017, 3% from 2017 to 2018, and 22% from 2008 to 2018.
• In 2018, the portion of adults on community supervision was at its lowest level since 1990.
• An estimated 1 in 58 adults in the U.S. were under community supervision at the end of 2018, down from 1 in 45 in 2008.