Probation
Although it receives little public attention, probation is the leading form of correctional control in the United States. More than half of the people under the control of the criminal justice system are on probation. And while it sounds like a light sentence compared to incarceration, probation often sets people up to fail.
Punishing Poverty:
The high cost of probation fees in Massachusetts
by Wendy Sawyer
December 2016
Press coverage and editorial support
- Probation comes at high price for the poor, by Emily Cutts, The Recorder, December 20, 2016
Wendy Sawyer on The Bill Newman Show, WHMP (MA), December 16, 2016
Probation fees pose an undue burden, by The Boston Globe editorial board, December 13, 2016- State probation fees need reform, by the Daily Hampshire Gazette editorial board, December 13, 2016
- Probation Fees Hit Poor MA Communities the Hardest, by Mike Clifford, Public News Service, December 12, 2016
- Poverty, Punishment, And Probation: A Toxic Brew, by Daniel Medwed, WGBH News, December 8, 2016
- Probation fees hit poor the hardest, says report, by Michael Jonas, Commonwealth Magazine, December 7, 2016
- Nonprofit encourages elimination of probation fees, by Shira Schoenberg, MassLive, December 7, 2016
Wendy Sawyer on The Bill Newman Show
Probation fees pose an undue burdenRecommended Reading:
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Events
- June 19-22, 2025:
Wanda Bertram, the Prison Policy Initiative’s Communications Strategist, will be at the Investigative Reporters & Editors conference in New Orleans. To connect with Wanda at the conference, reporters can email her directly at wbertram@prisonpolicy.org.
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