In a bicameral, bipartisan effort, federal lawmakers recently introduced the Safer Supervision Act, proposing changes to the federal supervised release system to improve oversight, reduce recidivism and raise the bar for early termination provisions.
“The widespread usage of supervised release has resulted in probation officers becoming overwhelmed and unable to provide proper oversight to those who need it most,” said U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), one of the cosponsors of the bill, S. 2681, which was introduced by U.S. Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE). “This legislation will ensure resources are used where they are needed most and provide better outcomes to protect public safety and reduce recidivism,” Tillis said.
Supervised release, as originally designed, was meant for those who need it, according to the U.S. Supreme Court, but the lawmakers here state that supervised release is now used in nearly every case. The result is a system with more than 110,000 people under supervision at any time, and nearly 50,000 people moving through the system annually. That, lawmakers fear, had made for a counterproductive system, where high-risk individuals are not given the supervision they need, while low-risk individuals face more burdens to their reintegration efforts.
To that end, the Safer Supervision Act would mandate supervision be based on the facts of individual cases, requiring courts to conduct individualized assessments and state their reasons for the record. It would also create a presumption favoring early termination when individuals show they have served 50 percent of their term – or two-thirds for violent offenses – and demonstrated both good conduct and that termination would not jeopardize public safety.
On the other hand, courts would be given discretion to determine how to assess minor controlled substance possession violations. Supervision could in turn be revoked for violations of supervision conditions, and revocation/reimprisonment would be made mandatory for certain situations, such as possession of any controlled substances. However, courts would be given some leniency to decide if reimprisonment or treatment and rehabilitation would be the best approach for minor misdemeanor possession offenses where no intent to distribute is involved.
Beyond Congressional halls, the bill was backed by the Conservative Political Action Conference, Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, National District Attorneys Association, Americans for Prosperity, Futures Without Violence, Faith and Freedom, R Street Institute and various other organizations.