Supervised Release Law and Legal Definition
Supervised release is a sentencing option adopted in addition to the sentence of imprisonment given by the state, provincial or federal court to the guilty. This was created by the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 as an alternative to parole and probation for federal offenders. The supervised release starts after a person is released from prison. Following his or her release, an offender is sentenced to a period of supervision in the community. The offender is put under direct supervision, and monitoring regarding his/her prohibited and mandated behaviors. Supervised release does not replace a portion of the sentence of imprisonment, like parole. A supervised release is given in addition to the time spent in prison.
The offender released on supervised release is supervised by the U.S. probation officers. The offender must report regularly to his or her assigned probation officer. Sometimes the offender is submitted to random drug testing and sometimes he/she will require a permission to leave certain area or geographic region.
