Tables show the number of offenders who either began supervision during 1991 or were receiving supervision on December 31, 1991; figures for earlier years are also provided. The summaries, charts, and tables in subsequent chapters provide more detail on particular types of supervision, reports written, number of officers, their caseloads, and probation costs. The number beginning probation fell 5 percent to 44,000 in 1991, having risen in each of the previous four years. The proportion that had previously served a custodial sentence rose between 1981 and 1991. Statutory aftercare commencements continued to decline, decreasing 8 percent between 1990 and 1991 to 23,100; voluntary aftercare commencements rose by 1 percent, having decreased in each of the previous three years. There was a 2-percent decrease in the number of persons receiving supervision in the community between 1990 and 1991. Between 1990 and 1991 the number of probation officers increased by 4 percent, and the average criminal caseload per maingrade officer continued to decrease in 1991, reaching 22.4 compared to 23.6 in 1990. The cost of a completed probation order increased by over 16 percent between 1989/90 and 1990/91. Extensive tables and figures