Citizen Legislature: Legislative Votes and Information
Fact Sheet on Community Corrections
While the bulk of the money spent by the State on corrections is for the incarceration of prisoners, three-quarters of convicted offenders each year are returned to the community for their punishment.
Based on the most recent annual data:
- Of the nearly 190,000 convictions each year,* approximately 137,000 criminal offenses are punished with sanctions that include no active jail or prison time. Of these, 83,000 receive neither active time nor a supervised probationary sentence (34,000 are low-level misdemeanants).
- Approximately 45,000 convictions result in active jail or prison sentences; another 8,000 receive split sentences – a “quick dip” active sentence followed by probation (split sentences are considered “supervised” in chart).
- All misdemeanants and at least some felons with Class E or lower felony convictions can be given non-active sentences:
- 25,000 felony convictions could have received non-active sentences in 2006-07; 18,000 (71%) actually received non-active sentences.
- All 161,000 misdemeanant convictions could have received non-active sentences; 127,000 (78%) actually received non-active sentences.
- When given the choice, judges impose active sentences (jail or prison) about 39% of the time for felonies and 28% of the time for misdemeanors.