IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/anname/v701y2022i1p8-25.html

From Supervision to Opportunity: Reimagining Probation and Parole

Author

Listed:
  • David J. Harding
  • Bruce Western
  • Jasmin A. Sandelson

Abstract

Across a variety of measures of safety and rehabilitation, our current systems of parole and probation are failing. Research shows that community supervision fails to reduce crime; traps its subjects in cycles of criminal justice involvement; is excessively punitive; and creates widespread harm to individuals, families, and communities—all while failing to significantly contribute to the social and economic integration of those under its control. We argue for a wholesale reform of community supervision, including the abandonment of current monitoring and control functions, and the repurposing of resources into systems of support for the hundreds of thousands of people leaving prison and jail every year. We also provide an overview to the articles assembled for this volume, which chart the challenges facing those on community supervision and offer a roadmap of potential policy solutions for improving the life chances of formerly incarcerated and justice-involved people.

Suggested Citation

  • David J. Harding & Bruce Western & Jasmin A. Sandelson, 2022. "From Supervision to Opportunity: Reimagining Probation and Parole," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 701(1), pages 8-25, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:anname:v:701:y:2022:i:1:p:8-25
    DOI: 10.1177/00027162221115486
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00027162221115486
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/00027162221115486?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David J. Harding & Jessica J. B. Wyse & Cheyney Dobson & Jeffrey D. Morenoff, 2014. "Making Ends Meet After Prison," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(2), pages 440-470, March.
    2. Jessica T Simes & Jaquelyn L Jahn, 2022. "The consequences of Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act for police arrests," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(1), pages 1-15, January.
    3. Rucker C. Johnson & Steven Raphael, 2009. "The Effects of Male Incarceration Dynamics on Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome Infection Rates among African American Women and Men," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 52(2), pages 251-293, May.
    4. Will Dobbie & Jacob Goldin & Crystal S. Yang, 2018. "The Effects of Pretrial Detention on Conviction, Future Crime, and Employment: Evidence from Randomly Assigned Judges," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 108(2), pages 201-240, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sirois, Catherine, 2020. "The strain of sons' incarceration on mothers’ health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 264(C).
    2. Akcigit, Ufuk & Alp, Harun & Diegmann, André & Serrano-Velarde, Nicolas, 2026. "Committing to grow: Employment targets and firm dynamics," IWH Discussion Papers 17/2023, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH), revised 2026.
    3. Christopher Muller & Daniel Schrage, 2014. "Mass Imprisonment and Trust in the Law," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 651(1), pages 139-158, January.
    4. Hjalmarsson, Randi & Machin, Stephen & Pinotti, Paolo, 2024. "Crime and the labor market," Handbook of Labor Economics,, Elsevier.
    5. Bakx, Pieter & Wouterse, Bram & van Doorslaer, Eddy & Wong, Albert, 2020. "Better off at home? Effects of nursing home eligibility on costs, hospitalizations and survival," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    6. Fahmy, Chantal, 2025. "Self-reported offending and drug use after prison release: The pernicious role of stress during reentry," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    7. Andrew Leigh, 2020. "The Second Convict Age: Explaining the Return of Mass Imprisonment in Australia," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 96(313), pages 187-208, June.
    8. Johanna Lacoe & Brett Fischer & Steven Raphael, 2025. "The Effect of a Pre-Arraignment Legal Representation Pilot on Pretrial Release and Criminal Case Outcomes," Journal of Quantitative Criminology, Springer, vol. 41(2), pages 269-291, June.
    9. Francisca Vargas Lopes & Pieter Bakx & Sam Harper & Bastian Ravesteijn & Tom Van Ourti, 2022. "The effects of supported housing for individuals with mental disorders," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(S2), pages 115-133, October.
    10. Michelle Yin & Garima Siwach & Dajun Lin, 2023. "Vocational Rehabilitation Services and Labor Market Outcomes for Transition‐Age Youth with Disabilities in Maine," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 42(1), pages 166-197, January.
    11. Megan T Stevenson, 2018. "Distortion of Justice: How the Inability to Pay Bail Affects Case Outcomes," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 34(4), pages 511-542.
    12. Alexis J. Harper & Irene Quinones, 2025. "The Role of Release Recommendations in Judicial Decision-Making Regarding Personal Recognizance Bond Issuance and Court Conditions for Compliance," SAGE Open, , vol. 15(3), pages 21582440251, September.
    13. François Bonnet, 2025. "Less Eligibility, Welfare, and Punishment: The Econometric Evidence," Post-Print halshs-05165960, HAL.
    14. Anthony Bald & Eric Chyn & Justine Hastings & Margarita Machelett, 2022. "The Causal Impact of Removing Children from Abusive and Neglectful Homes," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 130(7), pages 1919-1962.
    15. repec:jdm:journl:v:17:y:2022:i:6:p:1176-1207 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Navneet Kumar Singh & Nikee Silayach & Rajeev Kumar Ray & Devi Prasad Dash, 2025. "Institutional Effectiveness and Economic Development: A Machine Learning Approach With Empirical Modelling," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 84(5), pages 713-728, November.
    17. Christian Dippel & Dustin Frye & Bryan Leonard, 2020. "Property Rights without Transfer Rights: A Study of Indian Land Allotment," NBER Working Papers 27479, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. DeJante EATON & Jack PHAN, 2023. "Examining Bias-Sentencing and Recidivism of Minorities in South Texas: A Case Study Data Analysis," RAIS Journal for Social Sciences, Research Association for Interdisciplinary Studies, vol. 7(1), pages 21-28, June.
    19. Sofia Amaral & Gordon B. Dahl & Victoria Endl-Geyer & Timo Hener & Helmut Rainer, 2023. "Deterrence or Backlash? Arrests and the Dynamics of Domestic Violence," NBER Working Papers 30855, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    20. Anna Mikusheva & Liyang Sun, 2022. "Inference with Many Weak Instruments," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 89(5), pages 2663-2686.
    21. Emily Owens & CarlyWill Sloan, 2023. "Can text messages reduce incarceration in rural and vulnerable populations?," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 42(4), pages 992-1009, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:anname:v:701:y:2022:i:1:p:8-25. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.