Private Probation Costs, Compliance, and the Proportionality of Punishment: Evidence from Georgia and Missouri

Probation is the most commonly imposed correctional sanction, often accompanied by supplementary costs, and can be operated state or private companies. Private probation a unique sanction used in lower courts, for misdemeanor offenses, managed third-party actors. We focus on documenting process costs of probation, including rituals compliance proportionality punishment. use data from interviews with individuals local criminal justice officials as well evidence court ethnographies Georgia Missouri. For payment monetary sanctions crucial way demonstrating compliance. Yet financial burden added supervision monitoring creates substantial challenges.