Community-based corrections in Mainland China has undergone great practical development over the past two decades. Notwithstanding this progress, academic research on this subject remains limited, primarily because of restricted access to fieldwork opportunities and relevant data sources. This study provides a brief overview of the development and innovations in Chinese community corrections, followed by an analysis of existing English-language scholarly literature. It then introduces available data sources that could facilitate future research. While acknowledging the inherent challenges of conducting criminological research in the Chinese context, this paper emphasizes the critical need for greater academic attention to community corrections, an area intrinsically reliant on evidence-based practice. The paper concludes by offering recommendations concerning data accessibility, suggesting potential research directions to further advance scholarship in this field.
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