One of every 13 Georgia adults are in prison or on probation
Associated Press
Mon March 2, 2009
The number of people on parole and probation across the United States has surged past 5 million, and Georgia leads the way, according to a new report.
One of every 13 Georgia adults are in prison or under community supervision according to the Pew Center on the states report.
The Georgia Department of Corrections said the number might be inflated by double-counting of some offenders, who may be listed under both state and local supervision because the systems are separate.
But it has previously acknowledged that its probation population is the highest per capita in the country, and that the large number of Georgians on probation means that the state's probation officers have had a caseload far higher than the national average.
Nationally, the number of people on probation or parole nearly doubled between 1982 and 2007. Including jail and prison inmates, the total population of the U.S. corrections system now exceeds 7.3 million.
The Pew Center on the States report, released Monday, said states can save money in the long run by investing in better supervision of these offenders.
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