ABSTRACT
The use of community supervision (e.g. probation and parole) is a common practice in North America as well as in many European countries. The number of offenders who are supervised in the community is significant. For example, in the US there are nearly six million individuals supervised on probation and parole, representing approximately 70 per cent of the country’s entire correctional population (Glaze, 2010); and, in Canada, approximately 120,000 are supervised in the community (Public Safety Canada, 2012). In England and Wales, statistics show that the probation services supervised over 234,000 clients in 2012 (Ministry of Justice, 2012). Seen as a less expensive and seemingly more efficient method of offender sanctioning, there has been an increased interest in the potential of community supervision to reduce reoffending and satisfy the ultimate goal of public safety.
