The Impact of SCF Sanctions for Probation and Parole Violators in Shelby Co. (Tenn.)

The Public Safety Act of 2016 enacted by the Tennessee General Assembly authorized the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) to implement a system of administrative sanctions of probationers and parolees for many of what had been termed technical violations of supervision conditions.
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The assessment reveals certain apparent disparate impacts of the system depending on the type of supervision. After implementation of the system in Shelby County, the percentage of probationers with revoked supervisions was significantly lower. For parolees, though, the percentage with revoked supervisions resulting in re-incarceration was slightly higher after implementation of the system. At the same time, the percentage of probationers who were successfully discharged from supervision but who subsequently returned to probation supervision was much higher after the system’s implementation. That was not the case for discharged parolees, though. Under the sanctions system, it took more time for probationers to be either successfully discharged or revoked from supervision. A system with step-by step sanctions may have the impact of keeping individuals under supervision for longer periods of time without reducing the likelihood that they return to probation supervision once discharged.