States across the country saw changes in their prison admissions and populations due to supervision violations in 2020. But some states were already experiencing reductions in violation admissions and population prior to the pandemic. This snapshot shows available supervision violation data for Pennsylvania from 2018 through 2020.
Admissions
From 2018 to 2020, Pennsylvania saw a 41 percent decline in the number of prison admissions due to supervision violations.
The breakdown
Total Admissions
Violation Admissions
Technical Violation Admissions
2018
19793
8579
4390
2019
18166
8245
4337
2020
10224
5070
2778
Total
2018
2019
2020
Total admissions
19,793
18,166
10,224
Total Violation admissions
8,579
8,245
5,070
Probation admissions
0
0
0
Parole admissions
8,579
8,245
5,070
Total Technical Violation admissions
4,390
4,337
2,778
Probation admissions
0
0
0
Parole admissions
4,390
4,337
2,778
Total New Offense admissions
4,189
3,908
2,292
Probation admissions
0
0
0
Parole admissions
4,189
3,908
2,292
Population
From 2018 to 2020, Pennsylvania saw a 24 percent decline in the number of people in prison due to supervision violations.
The breakdown
Total Population
Violation Population
Technical Violation Population
2018
48353
7525
3022
2019
45875
7226
2372
2020
39493
5739
2271
Total
2018
2019
2020
Total population
48,353
45,875
39,493
Total Violation population
7,525
7,226
5,739
Probation population
0
0
0
Parole population
7,525
7,226
5,739
Total Technical Violation population
3,022
2,372
2,271
Probation population
0
0
0
Parole population
3,022
2,372
2,271
Total New Offense population
4,503
4,854
3,468
Probation population
0
0
0
Parole population
4,503
4,854
3,468
Additional State Notes
For both admissions and population, Pennsylvania did not provide probation violation data. Probation information is not identified in prison data in Pennsylvania, as probation is county operated and funded.
Whether an incarceration is the result of a new offense or technical violation is often difficult and problematic to delineate, even in states with available data. Most states do not consider a supervision violation to be the result of a new offense unless a new felony conviction is present, meaning technical violations may include misdemeanor convictions or new arrests. "Prison" includes county jail if the county was reimbursed by the state for a person’s incarceration, which occurs in some, but not all, states. Supervision violations may include revocations (i.e., unsuccessful terminations of a supervision and completion of a sentence in prison or jail) or short-term sanctions (i.e., probation or parole jurisdiction is maintained and the person is incarcerated for a short period of time in prison or jail). Not all states impose or include short-term sanctions in their count of supervision violations.
