The main argument is that the widespread use of back-end sentencing, which is defined as the practice of sending paroled offenders back to prison for parole violations, has had a significantly negative impact on communities, particularly poor communities of color. Imprisonment for often administrative parole violations, followed by short periods of prison confinement with few services or discharge planning, has the undesirable effect of damaging or disrupting prosocial ties to the community, to families, and to employment. The result is often a former parolee whose level of anger and cynicism has been increased and, as a result, is even less inclined to obey the law. The authors submit that it is critically important that the practices of back-end sentencing be subjected to empirical and legal study. The authors make their argument by showing that while the prison population increased fourfold between 1980 and 2000, the number of parole violators sent back to prison for violations of their parole increased from 27,000 to 200,000. Despite these significant numbers, little is known about the practice of sending parole violators back to prison. Researchers have uncovered the fact that at the local level, incarceration as a response to crime has mainly been concentrated in poor communities of color that are already struggling with substantial economic deprivation. State efforts to analyze and guide back-end sentencing are reviewed and reveal important variations at the State level that include significant differences in revocation rates over time within the same State. Footnotes