Prison Conviction Population Declines

More than a decade ago, a Democratic-majority New Hampshire Legislature passed a short-lived effort to reduce the number of people jailed for violating their parole.

Now, amid new data showing high proportions of parole violators behind bars, some lawmakers are considering revisiting that model.

The number of annual prison admissions due to new convictions fell by more than 50 percent from 2016 to 2020.

But the number of admissions due to parole violations fell by only 33 percent over the same time period, a key reason why New Hampshire has a higher proportion of parole violators behind bars than other states.