Millions of Americans are serving some form of criminal probation at any given time. But what that looks like, and how it is administered, in many places, boils down mostly to the way things have always been done. A new study, conducted by the Iowa Department of Corrections, is challenging some of the assumptions — and suggests that easy and inexpensive tweaks to probation could significantly reduce repeat crime and incarceration. The project involved tweaks to the standard terms of probation — rules applied to all probationers such as requiring they maintain housing and employment and abstain from drugs and alcohol. Starting in 2021, the department changed many of those rules in two judicial districts covering 27 counties, including the Des Moines metro. Tap the link in our bio for more on this story. #Iowa #DOC #prison #probation