In recent years, Utah has passed legislation to reduce the prison population while preserving public safety and saving taxpayer dollars. While its efforts are praiseworthy, these changes have exposed another problem-prone area: community supervision.
Fortunately, Gov. Gary Herbert has announced a task force charged with looking into probation and parole — the two primary community-based alternatives to incarceration.
Far more people are on probation and parole than are involved in any other part of the system. This is partly the result of reforms passed in 2015, which helped divert people away from incarceration and toward community supervision.