Post-Conviction Supervision - Judicial Business 2016

Persons serving terms of supervised release on that date following release from a correctional institution rose 3 percent to 118,242 and amounted to 86 percent of all persons under supervision.

Cases of persons under supervision in the 12-month period ending September 30, 2016, that involved probation imposed by district and magistrate judges fell 6 percent to 17,914 from the previous year and accounted for 13 percent of all persons under post-conviction supervision. The number of parole cases open at the end of 2016 dropped 8 percent to 1,103 (parole is not available for persons sentenced for federal offenses committed on or after November 1, 1987).

Excluding transfers, the number of persons received for supervision during 2016 rose 2 percent to 61,994. The number of persons released from correctional institutions and received for supervised release increased 4 percent to 52,874. For persons entering the system this year, probation cases decreased nearly 7 percent to 8,173, and parole cases (including cases involving special parole, military parole, and mandatory release) fell 10 percent to 330.

Forty-nine percent of persons under post-conviction supervision had been convicted of drug offenses. Twenty percent had been convicted of property offenses. Thirteen percent had been convicted of firearms offenses. These percentages have changed little since 2012.

The number of post-conviction supervision cases closed (including those involving transfers out of districts and deaths) rose 3 percent to 59,965. The proportion of post-conviction cases terminated successfully dropped 1 percent to 72 percent. Of those cases closed successfully, 21 percent were closed by early termination, up 1 percent from the previous year.

Technical violations led to 70 percent of the 15,484 revocations of post-conviction supervision reported, up from 69 percent in 2015. New offenses accounted for the remaining revocations and for 8 percent of all 54,842 supervision cases terminated (excluding transfers out and deaths).

Comparing data for the last days of fiscal years 2012 and 2016 reveals that the number of persons under post-conviction supervision was 4 percent higher in 2016. Offenders convicted of drug offenses rose from 48 percent to 49 percent of persons under post-conviction supervision. Those convicted of property offenses fell from 22 percent to 20 percent of the total, and those convicted of firearms offenses increased slightly from 12 percent to 13 percent of the total. Persons serving terms of supervised release following release from a correctional institution have climbed 9 percent over the past five years. In 2016, they represented 86 percent of all persons under supervision, up from 82 percent in 2012. These increases likely stemmed from earlier growth in criminal defendant filings.

For data on post-conviction supervision, see Table 8 and the E series of tables. 

Investigative Reports

The number of full presentence reports prepared by probation officers changed little, decreasing less than 1 percent to 65,077. Ninety-two percent of the reports (59,856) were presentence guideline reports, which are comprehensive investigative reports prepared in felony or Class A misdemeanor cases for which the U.S. Sentencing Commission has promulgated guidelines. Modified presentence reports, which are less comprehensive, represented 7 percent of total presentence investigative reports. Non-guideline reports, which are prepared for felony and Class A misdemeanor cases for which the U.S. Sentencing Commission has not promulgated guidelines, constituted 1 percent of investigative reports (96).

Substance Abuse Treatment

Federal offenders receive substance abuse treatment from a variety of sources—state programs, local programs, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, and judiciary-funded substance abuse treatment services. The data presented here reflect only judiciary-funded substance abuse treatment and exclude costs associated with substance abuse testing.

Of the 78,639 offenders under supervision with court-ordered substance abuse treatment conditions, 26,356 received judiciary-funded treatment (up 3,060 offenders from 2015). The Federal Judiciary spent an average of $1,500 per offender (up $6) for a total of $32.4 million (up $5.2 million). Nationwide, 34 percent of offenders with conditions requiring substance abuse treatment received judiciary-funded treatment, up from 30 percent in 2015.

For additional information on judiciary-funded substance abuse treatment services in the federal probation system, see Table S-13.