The Administrative Office of the Courts and Probation (AOCP) participated in two 2021 research projects confirming positive outcomes of felony probation supervision and post-release supervision. 

The first report: Predicting Recidivism for Post Release Supervision Releases, completed by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Law/Psychology Program, examined the strongest predictors of recidivism for all release types and identified a Post-Release Supervision recidivism rate of 27%. This study also focused on the efficacy of cognitive-behavioral programming offered through Reporting Centers across the state and determined that engagement in Reporting Center programming led to decreased recidivism for individuals under Post-Release Supervision. This factor was so significant that the author concluded that attendance at Reporting Center programming offsets some of the effects of prior criminal history, one of the most powerful predictors of recidivism.

A second study, An Assessment of Community Supervision Incarceration Responses in Nebraska and Utah by the Urban Institute, analyzed Nebraska’s implementation of justice reinvestment initiatives ushered in by 2015’s LB605, including Probation now supervising more individuals with felony convictions (50% increase) and those with a higher risk of recidivism. A key takeaway from this study was that after the implementation of custodial sanctions not only was there an increase in successful completions of supervision but also a measured reduction in revocations for technical violations. Despite the population of high-risk probationers growing due to legislative changes, the number of violations resulting in incarcerations decreased.

Read the reports:

• An Assessment of Community Supervision Incarceration Responses in Nebraska and Utah 
• Predicting Recidivism for Post Release Supervision Releasees