The Salt Lake County District Attorney has joined prosecutors across the nation in advocating for reducing the number of people on probation and parole in the United States.
Noting a growing trend of Americans who are under supervision, Sim Gill and 44 other current and former prosecutors signed a statement with five recommendations to reduce the number of people who are being supervised.
Gill told The Salt Lake Tribune on Thursday that he believes the probation system is leading to mass incarceration in Utah and elsewhere. Criminal defendants are often put on probation instead of jail, he said, but technical violations — like breaking curfew or skipping a drug test — leads them to a prison sentence anyway.