THE DATA ARE FROM A LARGER SURVEY OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE RESEARCH, WHICH WAS DESIGNED TO PROVIDE A STANDARD PROCEDURE FOR ACCUMULATING EXISTING INFORMATION SO THAT RESEARCH FINDINGS CAN BE BROUGHT TO BEAR ON POLICY DECISIONS. ALL INSTANCES IN WHICH RECIDIVISM RATES HAD BEEN DETERMINED FOR GROUPS OF OFFENDERS IN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA WERE SORTED ACCORDING TO RECIDIVISM CRITERION (NEW ARREST, NEW CONVICTION, RETURN TO PRISON). MEAN RECIDIVISM RATES BY EACH CRITERION WERE ESTABLISHED FOR OFFENDERS RELEASED TO PAROLE SUPERVISION AND FOR OFFENDERS RELEASED DIRECTLY TO THE COMMUNITY, WITHOUT SUPERVISION (PRIMARILY THOSE RELEASED AT THE EXPIRATION OF THEIR PRISON TERMS). A TABLE PRESENTS THESE COMPARISONS OF MEAN RECIDIVISM RATES, TOGETHER WITH INDICATIONS OF MAJOR VARIABLES DELIMITING THE STUDIES FROM WHICH THE RATES WERE DRAWN (E.G., SUBJECTS FROM SPECIFIC RACE OR AGE GROUPS, STUDIES INVOLVING SPECIFIED FOLLOWUP PERIODS). OF A TOTAL OF 80 COMPARISONS BETWEEN SUPERVISED AND NONSUPERVISED RELEASEES, THE MEAN RECIDIVISM RATE IS LOWER FOR THE SUPERVISED RELEASEES IN 74 CASES. SUCH EVIDENCE INDICATES THAT ABOLITION OF PAROLE SUPERVISION WOULD BRING SUBSTANTIAL INCREASES IN ARRESTS, CONVICTIONS, AND RETURNS TO PRISON. THE FINDINGS ALSO REAFFIRM THE IMPORTANCE OF DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN PROBLEMS WITH PAROLE DECISIONMAKING AND PROBLEMS WITH PAROLE SUPERVISION IN ANY ASSESSMENT OF THE INSTITUTION OF PAROLE. (LKM)