Federal Offenders

This report discusses trends in the number of federal offenders serving terms of community supervision during fiscal years 1990 through 1996. At the end of fiscal year 1996, there were almost as many convicted offenders serving terms of community supervision as there were inmates in federal prisons. The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts contends that offenders serving terms of postprison supervision pose more problems for probation officers and present a greater risk to the community than do those on probation. This report discusses trends in (1) the growth of the supervision population and changes in the composition of that population by type of supervision; (2) the number of offenders who had special conditions imposed on their terms of supervision, such as home confinement or drug treatment; and (3) the number of persons who were removed from supervision for violating the terms of their supervision.

GAO noted that: (1) the total population of federal offenders under community supervision rose 10 percent during fiscal years 1990 and 1996; (2) the most notable change in the mix of this population occurred in the percentage of offenders serving a term of community supervision following a prison term; (3) specifically, the probation population decreased about 35 percent, while those on postprison supervision rose 94 percent; (4) the increase in the postprison supervision population is entirely due to the large increase in the number of offenders on supervised release; (5) during fiscal years 1991 through 1995, the number of offenders sentenced with serious criminal histories grew at a significantly greater rate than did those with less serious criminal histories; (6) further, available data suggest that inmates released from the Bureau of Prisons prisons in fiscal years 1997 through 2001 may include a greater number of high-risk offenders than did the population released through fiscal year 1996; (7) the total number of offenders with special conditions remained relatively stable between fiscal years 1992 and 1996; (8) in addition, the total number of offenders removed from supervision for violating their terms of supervision increased by nearly 18 percent between fiscal years 1990 and 1996; (9) to the extent that the trends continue in the: (a) mix of offenders under federal supervision; (b) number of offenders sentenced with more serious criminal histories; and (c) number of offenders removed from supervision due to violations, the workload of probation officers would likely increase; and (10) if the trend in the number of offenders with special conditions remains stable, it would not likely affect the workload of probation officers.