Video: SDARJ Special Forum on Probation Reform

The Southern Delaware Alliance for Racial Justice presented a Special Forum on Probation Reform in Delaware on February 9, 2023 from 7-8:30 p.m. via Zoom. The present probation system in Delaware is costly, inefficient, and does not assist offenders in re-entering society, resulting in a return to prison for technical violations, not new crimes. The current one-size-fits-all system does not tailor probation to the offender’s needs and does not assist the offender in acquiring the services that are ordered, such as addiction treatment.

Legislation proposed by Senator Marie Pinkney would end incarceration for technical violations; enable the customization of probation conditions to individual needs; require the collection and publication of data on probation and people on probation; invest in community-based reentry programs; limit probation terms for most crimes to one year; and eliminate probation for minor convictions.