Adults Under Probation Supervision

A sentence to probation allows individuals convicted of crimes to remain in the community under conditions mandated by the court and monitored by probation departments in 57 counties and New York City. Judges also may impose a split sentence, which is a term of local jail incarceration followed by probation supervision. 

New York State regulates and funds Probation Departments, however, supervision of individuals is a local responsibility.

In New York State, adult probation is a court-ordered sentence of community-based supervision imposed after a criminal conviction. The length of probation supervision is ordered by the court. This sentence is an alternative to incarceration, although some individuals are ordered by the court to serve what is known as split sentence: a short jail sentence followed by probation supervision upon release from incarceration.

Adults sentenced to probation are supervised by probation departments in New York City (Bronx, Kings, New York, Queens and Richmond counties) and in each of the 57 counties outside of the five boroughs.

The data presented represent the number of unique individuals on probation, not the number of probation sentences. Adults on probation are shown by the county where they are currently supervised; this information is reported to the state by county probation departments.

Adult is defined as an individual who is 18 years old or older at the time of crime. Data presented prior to 2020 includes a small number of individuals who were 17 or younger at the time of the crime; these individuals had been considered adults prior to full implementation of the state’s Raise the Age law.

Adults Under Supervision

The number of adults under probation supervision as of December 31 of each year, shown annually for the last five years. Data are also shown by the following categories for the most current year:

• Conviction Type – The number of adults under supervision categorized by the most serious conviction type: felony, misdemeanor or other/not reported.
• Sex – The number of adults under supervision by sex as reported at probation intake.
• Race – The number of adults under supervision by race/ethnicity as reported at probation intake: White, Black, Hispanic, Asian, and Other. Individuals of Hispanic ethnicity are included in the Hispanic category, regardless of race. The Other category includes individuals who are American Indian/Alaskan Native, Other, and those whose race/ethnicity was not reported.

Counts include a small number of individuals on interim supervision and individuals transferred to New York from other states, for which conviction type is not available.