The Urban Institute recently released an assessment of the outcomes from changes made to the Supervision Revocation Policy in 2011. The report examines outcomes for individuals on probation, post-release supervision, and parole supervision before and after the changes were implemented.
In 2010, North Carolina’s prison population was projected to increase 10 percent by 2020 after increasing by 30 percent the decade before. Revocations, or the retraction of parole or post-release violations, were a major contributor to this growth. In response, a bipartisan group of state leaders studied the correctional system in order to recommend ways to reduce prison populations. Then-governor Bev Perdue signed the Justice Reinvestment Act (JRA) in June 2011, adding options for supervision violations and reducing revocations to prisons.
“The state created Confinement in Response to Violation (CRV) centers to detain people subject to the 90-day cap on revocation time and to provide structured cognitive behavioral and substance use interventions,” said Ashlin Oglesby-Neal, Robin Olsen, Megan Russo, and Brian Elderbroom, associates at the Urban Institute and authors of the assessment. “The law prioritized substance use treatment for people with the greatest need, ensured supervision for those exiting prison, and made several improvements to the probation system.”
The new report evaluates the impact CRV terms have had on supervision terms, including responses to violations, the types of violations, and different treatment between those on probation and on post-release supervision, from 2010 to 2017.