"[The report] finds that supervision -– probation and parole -– drives high numbers of people, disproportionately those who are Black and brown, right back to jail or prison, while in large part failing to help them get needed services and resources. In states examined in the report, people are often incarcerated for violating the rules of their supervision or for low-level crimes, and receive disproportionate punishment following proceedings that fail to adequately protect their fair trial rights."--Publisher website.

The purpose of this study was to determine if shock probationers would have been recommended by selected probation and parole officers for either probation or imprisonment had shock probation not been an available sentencing alternative.

Shock probation is a mixed sentencing alternative; incorporating features of both probation and parole. It was instituted to give judges an optional sentence for use primarily with young naive offenders. Shock probation is purported to give felons sufficient experience with prison to deter them from future crimes without risking 'prisonization' and its accompanying effects. The purpose of this study was to investigate characteristics of felons released under this statute, determine an accurate recidivism rate and ascertain the effects of a short period of incarceration.