Prison as a Return Address

California should not be surprised that a new study shows that felons recently placed on probation are committing more serious crimes than before. The state is asking many of its probation officers to handle tougher cases with fewer resources for supervising them, or even keeping track of them.

The study, by the Rand Corp., starts with ways in which the nature of probation has changed. At first, probationers were first offenders, petty thieves, drug users and others who were not major threats to society. Now such minor crimes often go unpunished, and probationers are more likely to be felons. Rand’s research shows that 65% of this new class is arrested while on probation, 51% of those are convicted and 34% are sentenced to prison for new crimes--often for acts of violence.

One place to start reversing this trend is in reducing probation caseloads. As Joan Petersilia, director of the Rand study, points out, in 1984 California courts increased by 11% the number of people on probation, but there was virtually no increase in probation budgets. In Los Angeles County adult caseloads averaged 300 per probation officer last year.

Legislation pending in Sacramento would authorize a $16-million pilot study in two counties to determine the effectiveness of reducing probation caseloads. Gov. George Deukmejian vetoed similar legislation last year, but the new Rand report argues persuasively for second thoughts. If, as specialists argue, cutting caseloads, screening candidates more carefully and reining in clients before they are in serious trouble would work, the pilot program would give the Legislature the data that it needs to make basic changes.

As matters stand now, the Rand report says, probation officers “can do no more than hand their charges a stack of postcards to be mailed in at specified intervals.” There’s not much point in probation supervision by postcard if the return address turns out to be prison.