Building Leadership and Organizing Capacity Training June 2024

Connecticut’s Probation System Is Broken

Probation was designed to be an alternative to incarceration, but instead, it has become a direct pathway into the prison system, creating an endless cycle of supervision and incarceration.

Today, more than 30,000 people are on probation in Connecticut – three times the number of those incarcerated.

Cultivating Justice

Join Cultivating Justice at our Action Day at the LOB on Thursday, May 29th!

CAF Capitol Action Day flyer 5.29.25.jpg

Cultivating Justice is organizing to

Explain the proposed probation reform bill in House Bill 6361
Hold local meetings led by people directly impacted by probation and supervision
Meet people we can build community power with for criminal justice reform.

The Connecticut probation system perpetuates cycles of incarceration and systemic inequality through the following issues.

Problematic Facts

Mass Supervision

Connecticut’s probation population is alarmingly large, with over 30,000 individuals under supervision and approximately 1,700 entering probation each month. Hundreds end up incarcerated due to non-criminal violations of probation, revealing critical shortcomings of the system.

Non-Criminal Technical Violations

Technical violations, such as missing an appointment or failing to pay supervision fees, can result in incarceration, disrupting lives and causing catastrophic consequences. A 2017 Yale report found that 79% of individuals awaiting probation revocation lost their jobs, and nearly half lost their housing.

Racial Disparities

Communities of color face disproportionate rates of probation and heightened surveillance, perpetuating systemic inequalities within Connecticut’s criminal legal system

Pathway to Incarceration

Instead of operating as an alternative to incarceration, probation acts as a direct pipeline to prison. Supervision violations are the primary driver of incarceration in Connecticut, with one in ten individuals in state prisons incarnated due to a probation violation.

Financial Burden

Probation imposes financial strain on individuals, including a $200 supervision fee and other costs. These expenses disproportionately burden low-income individuals, increasing the likelihood of incarceration for those who cannot pay.

Drawing from the 2023 report by Katal and the Prison Policy Initiative, Representative Joshua Hall has introduced HB 6361, a bill to eliminate incarceration as a sanction for noncriminal technical probation violation. New York adopted this approach in its parole system under the Less Is More Act of 2021.

Our demands for probation system changes are led by families and people directly impacted by probation

Bolster Due Process

Guarantee timely hearings, neutral locations, and the right to counsel for individuals accused of probation violations. New York adopted this approach in its probation system under the Less Is More Act of 2021.

Eliminate Financial Barriers

Remove supervision fees and other financial obligations that disproportionately impact low-income individuals. In 2020, California and Oregon eliminated probation and parole supervision fees to ease economic strain and support successful integration.

Issue Written Notices

Replace automatic detention with written notices for non-criminal violations, reducing the trauma of arrest.

Restrict Incarceration for Non-Criminal Violation of Probation

Eliminate incarceration as a sanction for non-criminal technical violations and implement proportionate, non-custodial consequences such as suspension of earned time credit. New York adopted this approach in its probation system under the Less Is More Act of 2021.

Apply Earned Time Credit

Introduce earned time credit to shorten probation sentences for compliance, incentivizing success and reducing caseloads. New York adopted this approach in its probation system under the Less Is More Act of 2021.

Join The Fight

Sign Up to get action alerts and updates about Probation reform in Connecticut.
Email the organizer Jaymiah about the campaign Jaymiah@chicksahoyfarm.org
Register for the monthly Cultivating Justice meeting to plan action and share data

Contact

For more information, towards changing the probation system.

Please e-mail Jaymiah@chicksahoyfarm.org for more information.

Connecticut’s Probation System Is Broken

Cultivating Justice is organizing to

Explain the proposed probation reform bill in House Bill 6361

Hold local meetings led by people directly impacted by probation and supervision

Meet people we can build community power with for criminal justice reform.

The Connecticut probation system perpetuates cycles of incarceration and systemic inequality through the following issues. Problematic Facts

Join The Fight​

Contact

The Connecticut probation system perpetuates cycles of incarceration and systemic inequality through the following issues.

Problematic Facts

Join The Fight