ATLANTA (AP) - The Georgia Council on Criminal Justice Reform is recommending changes to felony probation in the state.
In a report submitted to the governor Monday, the council notes that Georgia has the highest felony probation rate in the country.
The council says there are two main reasons for that. First, probation is widely used as a sentence instead of imprisonment and in combination with imprisonment. Second, the state imposes relatively long felony probation terms.
The council's recommendations include:
- using probation, programming and treatment to reduce recidivism for first-time or non-violent offenders;
- reducing long probation sentences as an incentive for good behavior;
- focusing more supervision on people early in their probation terms.
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This version has been corrected to show that the report was presented to the governor on Tuesday, not Monday.
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