Annual Surveys of Probation and Parole (ASPP), 2015-2018

The ASPP are two separate data collections, independently referred to as the Annual Probation Survey and Annual Parole Survey. Since 1980, the ASPP have collected aggregate data on the number of persons supervised on probation or parole (i.e., post-custody community supervision), together referred to as the community supervision population. The ASPP obtain aggregated data from administrative records maintained by state probation and/or parole agencies; local agencies (municipal, county, or court); and the federal system. The ASPP are core BJS data collections and are the only national data collections that describe the size, change, movements, outcomes, and characteristics of the community supervision populations at the national, federal, and state levels. Together with data from the National Prisoner Statistics (NPS) Program, which collects counts of persons incarcerated in federal and state prisons, and data from the Annual Survey of Jails, which collects counts of persons held in local jails, ASPP data are used to estimate the total number of persons supervised by the adult correctional systems in the United States. Collectively, these data collections are also critical for tracking the level and change in the correctional populations over time and enhancing the understanding of the flow of offenders through and eventually out of the criminal justice system.