Probation
Definition
A community sentence served under supervision instead of custody. The offender remains in the community subject to conditions: regular reporting, curfews, attendance at programmes, and abstaining from further offending. Breach triggers a return to court and often a custodial sentence.
Related terms
- Incapacitation
- The justification for imprisonment that focuses on preventing crime during the sentence by removing the offender from society, regardless of whether their...
- Parole
- Conditional early release from a custodial sentence after a portion has been served. The released person remains under supervision and subject to...
- Recidivism
- The tendency of a person who has been convicted of a crime to reoffend. Measured differently across jurisdictions: by reconviction, by reincarceration,...
- Restorative justice
- A process in which the victim, the offender, and relevant community members meet with a trained facilitator to discuss the harm caused,...
- Throughput
- The flow of cases or persons through successive stages of the criminal justice system. Throughput analysis tracks how many people enter at...
Explained in
- Corrections and the Criminal Justice System as a WholeA community sentence served under supervision instead of custody. The offender remains in the community subject to conditions: regular reporting, curfews, atte...