Support SB 4: Pass Probation Reform Now
Act Now
The United States incarcerates its citizens at a rate higher than any other country in the world. Delaware’s incarceration rate, while dropping, is still higher than all of its neighboring states, including Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.
Senate Bill 4, sponsored by Sen. Marie Pinkney and Rep. Melissa Minor-Brown, aims to eliminate systemic barriers that prevent those recently released from prison from successfully rejoining society. Over 10,000 Delawareans are subject to the extreme obstacles that the state’s current probation system presents. Achieving the basic stability of safe housing and a steady job are often insurmountable challenges for those who have been released from Delaware’s prisons.
As proposed, the new probation reform bill would:
- 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. Please join us in asking Delaware’s leaders to pass SB 4 and transform our broken probation system from surveillance and punishment to support, guidance, and true rehabilitation.
To read the full report on our broken probation system from the Delaware Campaign for Smart Justice and the ACLU of Delaware, check out PeopleNotProbation.com