*Revocation for Technical Violations

  The cost of standard federal probation is about 3,800 a year. Federal incarceration, on the other hand, cost almost 33,000 a year. In 2011, the National Institute of Corrections reported that the most likely reason for prison incarceration of probation violators is technical violations. Are our prisons being filled with technical violators, leaving no room for the more violent offenders? Are we using sensible violation policies and practices? If you were working in the field of corrections, what would you do with offenders who violate the technical conditions of their probation? Should there be alternatives to revocations for persons who violate the technical conditions of probation?