Almost half of prison admissions nationwide stem from violations of probation or parole for either new offenses or technical violations according to research from the Council of State Governments Justice Center. Some states have put into statute explicit definitions for violations of community supervision.
Many of these definitions relate specifically to technical violations. Generally, a technical violation means that a person did not comply with a condition of their supervision, such as missing a check-in with their supervision officer or failing a drug test.
At least 16 states have specific definitions in statute for what constitutes a violation. In 11 of those states, violations related to parole are defined and 13 states define violations related to probation.
Using the Database
Learn more about probation and parole violations definitions by expoloring the 50-state statutory database.
The database can be navigated by using state and subtopic filters. Text searching is available for statutory language contained in the database. The map is also interactive and allows you to more quickly select multiple states to review―just hold down the control key to select more than one state. Use the clear all filters button to reset and start a new search.
Note that this database only contains statutory provisions that address each policy area. Case law, regulations or agency policy may further impact the current state of the law in each state. This database also does not address policies adopted by local jurisdictions.