The data indicate that 33 percent of the sentences imposed for indictable offenses were community sentences, compared with 23 percent of the sentences in 1992 and 32 percent in 2001. The number of presentence reports and specific sentence reports prepared in 2002 was 3 percent higher than the number in 2001. The number of presentence reports remained generally the same, but the number of specific sentence reports increased by 31 percent. The number of offenders who began community sentences under the supervision of the Probation Service (n=127,500) showed a 4-percent increase from 2001. The number of offenders who started drug-treatment-and-testing orders increased from 4,400 in 2001 to 5,800 in 2002, a 30-percent increase. A total of 50,500 offenders began either prerelease or postrelease supervision during 2002, a 3-percent increase from 2001. Of the 394 serious incidents reported in the course of probation supervision during the year, 156 resulted in convictions, with 81 cases continuing and 76 cases awaiting trial. There were 17,300 probation personnel at the end of 2002, a 4-percent increase from the previous year. An average caseload of 21 probationers were being supervised per officer as of December 31, 2002. The 2-year recidivism rate (reconviction) for all probationers who began supervision in 1999 was 56 percent. Most offenders under community supervision were not reconvicted for the same type of offense as the previous conviction. A section of the report provides legislative background pertinent to probation.