Excessive, Unjust, and Expensive: Fixing Connecticut’s Probation and Parole Problems. Published by the Katal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice, and the Prison Policy Initiative in May 2023, co-authored by Leah Wang and gabriel sayegh. The report examined the full system of correctional control – incarceration, probation, and parole – and found that Connecticut has a mass punishment rate that is higher than conservative states like Kansas, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia, and Utah.
In Excessive, Unjust, and Expensive, we document the impact of probation and parole in Connecticut. In the United States, where mass incarceration is widespread, the number of people under the surveillance of probation and parole systems is nearly twice the number of those behind bars. In Connecticut, it was even higher – nearly three times as many people were on probation and parole as were incarcerated in state prisons and jails. In Connecticut in 2023, nearly 35,000 people were under probation or parole. Of that number, more than 30,000 people statewide – almost 1% of the entire population — were on probation. The report offers recommendations for how to reduce the use of probation and parole in the state, while improving public safety.
The report was widely covered in the press, including in CT Insider, NPR, and Connecticut News Junkie.
See the press release from the Katal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice.
Download the report below, or find the report on the website of the Prison Policy Initiative.
