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Safer Supervision Act

The number of adults on federal supervised release has tripled in the last three decades, costing American taxpayers a whopping $500 million each year, and failing to make our communities any more safe or stable.

We have an incredible opportunity to change that by endorsing the Safer Supervision Act.

The federal supervised release system was originally designed to deter future crime in our communities and aid individuals in reentry post-incarceration. 

However, the system has veered far from its original intent and instead has become an obstacle to long-term success, leading to strained resources, overburdened law enforcement, and instability and vulnerability in our communities.  

But it no longer has to be this way. 

We can restore the system to its original purpose to deter future crime and support successful reentry, while reducing wasteful spending and cutting needless bureaucracy so that we all win. 

The Safer Supervision Act is supported across the aisle and by unlikely allies because it makes the system work better for everyone – it ensures our federal supervision system holds people accountable and makes communities safer through policies that work equally well for people on supervision, law enforcement, supervision officers, crime survivors, and the entire nation.

Reduce Unnecessary Orders and Conditions of Supervised Release​
  • Problem: federal supervised release is ordered in nearly every case and no longer serves the intended purpose of specialized transitional reentry support and monitoring.
  • Solution: Individualized assessments, including the factors that make supervised release and the accompanying conditions appropriate in each case, to ensure that the order of supervision advances its intended goals of supporting reentry and deterring crime.
  • The Safer Supervision Act eliminates the presumption of supervised release, while leaving intact mandated supervised release orders that accompany specific charges, thereby restoring judicial discretion to determine if an order of supervision serves the lawful purpose of deterrence and/or rehabilitation in the instant case. Further, if the court determines that supervised release is appropriate in an instant case, the court’s individualized assessment must also inform the specific conditions that accompany the order, thereby ensuring that conditions are tailored to suit the goals of public safety, rehabilitation, and successful reentry, and reducing the opportunity for needless technical violations.
  • Problem: With too few incentives to encourage positive growth, reduce recidivism, and move people off of supervised release when they’ve done well, federal supervised release caseloads have grown as the supervised population has ballooned, leaving officers with significant caseloads that prevent them from focusing resources on the people who need the most assistance, while the continued hurdles of supervision conditions serve as needless impediments to those who have demonstrated a commitment to rehabilitation and reentry success
  • Solution: Incentivize good behavior, personal growth, and community stability by providing an opportunity for safe, early termination:
  • People on supervised release will have a clear roadmap to successful early termination due to the creation of a notification process and a presumption of early termination if they have demonstrated good conduct and compliance while under supervision, and if early termination will not jeopardize public safety. Prosecution will have the opportunity to argue against early termination at the proceeding and to present evidence, which the defendant may rebut.
  • People who have already proven their rehabilitation during their time in prison will no longer be barred from earning early termination before the 1-year mark of their supervision term.
  • Courts will also be able to increase socioeconomic equality and safeguard due process protections through a provision that allows for the appointment of counsel to assist in early termination and probation modification proceedings.
  • Problem: Technical violations and mandatory revocation policies send far too many individuals on supervised release unnecessarily back to prison, destroying families and disrupting the economy without benefit to public safety.
  • Solution: Restore judicial discretion by reducing mandatory revocations for minor substance abuse violations and allowing judges to make individualized determinations based on the facts of the case.
  • People struggling with addiction will benefit by having a chance to receive treatment and demonstrate continued progress in the community rather than being automatically locked up during a relapse.
  • People won’t be unfairly punished for not complying with drug testing requirements when the failure isn’t willful–for example, if they had a transportation issue.
  • Families, businesses, and defendants benefit when technical violations are dealt with through alternative sanctions rather than automatic revocation and incarceration.
  • Problem: Taxpayers are financing $500 million dollars in supervision costs each year, without any checks on what services are being funded and where, and how effective these resources are in reducing recidivism and advancing community stability and safety.
  • Solution: Require the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to publish a thorough report detailing current supervision programming and funding sources, types of services most needed and communities most in need, workforce and education assessments, and the process of transitioning a person from custody to community supervision.
  • A thorough assessment of how the $500 million is being used each year will allow us to better allocate resources to the most successful programs and services and ensure that communities most in need have the resources required to support returning citizens.

ENDORSED BY:

Americans for Prosperity
Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC)
Prison Fellowship
Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA)
National District Attorneys Association (NDAA)
Right on Crime
Texas Public Policy Foundation
Major City Chiefs Association
U.S. Conference of Mayors
Futures Without Violence
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
The Sentencing Project
Faith and Freedom Coalition
Drug Policy Alliance
Tzedek Association
Vera Institute for Justice
Catholic Charities USA
Catholic Prison Ministry Coalition
National Hispanic Christian Leadership Coalition
National Latino Evangelical Coalition
National Association for Public Defense
REFORM Alliance
Due Process Institute
R Street

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Improve The Federal Supervision System!

We can restore the system to its original purpose to ✅ deter future crime, ✅ support successful reentry, ✅ reduce wasteful spending, and ✅ cut needless bureaucracy!

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