Giving Compass' Take:

· Ashley Winstead and Jake Horowitz share their opinions on the changes needed to improve America's criminal justice system, starting with a shift in mindset and policy reforms to transform both probation and parole. 

· What are some common concerns with the US criminal justice system? How are probation and parole handled now? 

· Read about criminal justice reforms to watch in 2019.

The scale of American incarceration has been in the news recently, with growing bipartisan agreement that this challenge needs to be addressed. Yet a related issue continues to operate below the radar: The number of people on probation or parole supervision in the United States, which has tripled in the past three decades.

Although it might seem counterintuitive, this rapid growth in supervision can serve to increase jail and prison populations — an outcome that should concern policymakers and taxpayers alike.

While about half of the nearly 4.5 million people on probation or parole will successfully complete their sentences, onerous supervision requirements can become a tripwire, resulting in incarceration. In 2016, for example, 350,000 people exited supervision by entering a jail or prison — often for violating rules such as failing a drug test or missing a required meeting, rather than for a new criminal offense.

In an effort to transform community supervision and shift the focus from punishing failure to promoting success, the Laura and John Arnold Foundation and The Pew Charitable Trusts recently announced an initiative to work with leading experts on community supervision policy, practitioners at the state and local levels, and advocates and stakeholders such as victims’ family members, to adopt evidence-backed reforms.

Read the full article about probation and parole by Ashley Winstead and Jake Horowitz at The Hill.