The author points to factors that contribute to the excellence of the system, including its resources for substance abuse and mental health treatment, as well as for employment training and job placement, the quality and professionalism of the officers who serve in the system, and the training available to them through the Federal Judicial Center. The article explains why supervising offenders in the community is a more prudent choice than incarcerating so many of them. More than 20 percent of the offenders currently in Federal prisons are described by the Bureau of Prison officials as first-time, nonviolent offenders. These offenders should be punished locally and supervised by probation and pretrial services officers at a fraction of the costs of imprisonment. Two changes must occur for the system's effectiveness to be improved further, one external and one internal. The external change must come from State and national law makers. They must understand that local punishment and supervision is not equated with being "soft on crime," but is rather a cost-effective means of reducing recidivism. The Federal probation and pretrial services system must also make changes. It must first agree, internally, on its vision and what resources to use to support this vision. The system must plan how to implement its vision throughout the country. 3 figures and 20 references