Since 2019, Indiana University and the Monroe Circuit Court Probation Department have served as an Action Research Team to participate in the Reducing Revocations Challenge from Arnold Ventures and City University of New York Institute for State and Local Governance. The challenge intends to create a deeper understanding of the factors and behaviors that contribute to revoked probations.
Researchers used multiple methods to identify how and why probations were revoked, completing systematic reviews of supervision policy and procedures. They analyzed administrative records for more than 4,300 clients ordered to probation in Monroe County, Indiana, between 2014 and 2019.
Findings indicate that Monroe County’s violation and revocation rates are shaped by client characteristics—which precede court decisions of probation supervision sentences—and multifaceted combinations of client, probation officer, and system behaviors while clients are under supervision.
