Mass Probation
Probation, a court-ordered sanction for misdemeanor and felony-level offenses in which individuals are supervised in the community is the largest form of criminal justice supervision. At its peak in 2007, 1 in every 53 adults (and 1 in 12 Black men) were on probation. Yet this form of punishment is typically neglected in sociological research, understating the reach—and mischaracterizing the form—of penal control. In my research, I define mass probation and explain its causes and consequences.
Ongoing work in this area is under my Mass Probation & Health project.
My Mass Probation & Health team, pictured here with special guest speaker Bruce Western.
ARTICLES
Phelps. 2020. “Mass Probation Across the U.S.: States’ Control Regimes from 1980 to 2016” in Criminal Justice Theory: Explanation and Effects, Cecilia Chouhy, Joshua C. Cochran, and Cheryl Lero Jonson (Eds.). New York, NY: Routledge.