Sentencing guidelines commission votes to impose five-year limit on probation in Minnesota Monday, January 13, 2020
MinnPost
The Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission has done what the state Legislature was unable to do. On an 8-3 vote Thursday, it placed a limit of five years on the length of probation for people convicted of crimes.
The decision comes in response to concerns raised by advocates — and some in the criminal justice system — who say Minnesota’s lengthy probation terms do little to enhance public safety or keep those convicted of crimes from reoffending.
The state has the nation’s fifth highest percentage of residents on community supervision: 2,450 out of every 100,000 adults. And while 82 percent of current probation terms are five years or less, another 13 percent on felons received probation terms of up to 10 years, while the rest are sentenced to probation terms of 15-to-40 years.