ABSTRACT
Community supervision of convicted offenders is controversial, with concerns raised about its effectiveness and fairness. Some believe that community supervision is contrary to the interests of individual offenders. Others argue that increased use of community supervision may mean the community is not adequately protected. Growing demands have resulted in changes in the financing, management, and practices of community supervision. State legislation now often encourages community supervision through payment of incentives to agencies for keeping offenders out of prison, and financial conditions are sometimes imposed on probationers and parolees. Justice reinvestment programs seek to redirect monetary savings resulting from diversion to various victim services and assistance to law enforcement and community corrections agencies. Attempts are made to differentiate clients on the basis of risk and need, and to assign clients to different levels of supervision and assistance based on these assessments. Two important technological advances that have affected community supervision are substance abuse testing and electronic monitoring.
