Post-Conviction Supervision — Judicial Business 2022

Persons serving terms of supervised release on that date following release from correctional institutions grew 1 percent from the previous year to 109,781 (up 849 persons) and amounted to 89 percent of all persons under supervision.

Cases of persons under supervision in the 12-month period ending September 30, 2022, that involved probation imposed by district and magistrate judges declined 1 percent to 12,252 from the previous year and accounted for 10 percent of all persons under post-conviction supervision. The number of parole cases open at the end of 2022 dropped 15 percent to 605 (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 2022 rose 8 percent to 58,507. The number of persons released from correctional institutions and received for supervised release rose 9 percent to 51,759. For persons entering the system this year, probation cases went up 7 percent to 6,131, and parole cases (including cases involving special parole, military parole, and mandatory release) fell 12 percent to 220.

Forty-three percent of persons under post-conviction supervision had been convicted of drug offenses. Fourteen percent had been convicted of property offenses. Seventeen percent had been convicted of firearms offenses. These percentages have changed little in the last five years.

The number of post-conviction supervision cases closed (including those involving transfers out of districts and deaths) increased less than 1 percent to 57,947. The proportion of post-conviction cases terminated successfully decreased 3 percent to 67 percent. Of those cases closed successfully, 25 percent were closed by early termination, up 4 percent from the previous year.

Technical violations led to 68 percent of the 16,972 revocations of post-conviction supervision reported, up 1 percent from the previous year. New offenses accounted for the remaining revocations and for 11 percent of all 52,095 supervision cases terminated (excluding transfers out and deaths).

Comparing data for the last days of fiscal years 2018 and 2022 reveals that the number of persons under post-conviction supervision was 1 percent greater in 2022. Offenders under post-conviction supervision who had been convicted of drug offenses dropped from 47 percent of the total to 43 percent. Those convicted of property offenses fell from 18 percent to 14 percent of the total. Those convicted of firearms offenses increased from 14 percent to 17 percent of the total. Persons serving terms of supervised release following release from a correctional institution fell 3 percent over the past five years. In 2022, they represented 89 percent of all persons under supervision, up from 87 percent in 2018.

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 increased 17 percent to 63,716. Ninety-eight percent of the reports (62,445) 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 1 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 less than 1 percent of investigative reports (259).

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 reflects only judiciary-funded substance abuse treatment and excludes costs associated with substance abuse testing.

Of the 69,026 offenders under supervision with court-ordered substance abuse treatment conditions, 21,009 received judiciary-funded treatment (down 373 offenders from 2021). The federal Judiciary spent an average of $1,420 per offender (down $45) for a total of $25.2 million (down $1.3 million). Nationwide, 30 percent of offenders with conditions requiring substance abuse treatment received judiciary-funded treatment, down from 31 percent in 2021.

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