COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a unique part of the United States in which to examine the structure and changing policies of community corrections. With a large population, varied geographic regions and demographic profiles, and statutes that differ markedly from comparable states, the approach taken to community supervision in Pennsylvania is unlike virtually any other in America. The following chapter examines this distinctive setting with a particular focus on changes wrought by the coronavirus pandemic, and how the numbers of offenders under non-institutional supervision have changed in recent years. In particular, the impacts of a concerted statewide effort to reduce the size of its incarcerated population on how community supervision is now administered are discussed. The chapter concludes with a summary and set of recommendations emanating from a number of observers both inside and external to Pennsylvania, and provides a template for how a new gubernatorial administration could approach probation, parole, and other aspects of community corrections going forward.