Parole (early release from prison) is often referred to as the back door to the US corrections system. The concept of parole dates back to the establishment of the Elmira Reformatory. The goal of the Elmira Reformatory was to rehabilitate and reform the criminal instead of following the traditional method of silence, obedience, and labor. Parole was originally set up to encourage prisoners to do well, keep their noses clean, and become model prisoners. Once a prisoner had shown rehabilitation and reform they were released prior to the execution of their full sentence.
Before a prisoner can be released on parole he/she must meet before a parole board. Each prison with a parole system is set up with one of two types of parole services.
…show more content…
The job of these members is to determine whether or not the inmate up for parole is suitable for release.
Before an inmate comes before the parole board there are procedures that must happen. The first thing that happens is the inmate’s name will appear on a computer-generated list. The victims will be notified of the possible parole. The list of names is sent to the Transitional Planning Department. At the TPD a case manager will be assigned to interview the inmate and find out his/her plan for parole. This plan is filed and is sent to the parole board. The parole board then interviews the inmate and will vote on the case. If parole is granted the prison officials will prepare the inmate for release. However if parole is denied the inmate will be given a conditional release date which is usually within one to three years where the process will start all over.
In order to determine whether or not the inmate is suitable for parole the board will review his/her record. This record has past convictions, education obtained, prior employment, and behavior in prison among other things. The way that the system is set up only those who have been reformed and rehabilitated and serve as no threat to society will be released. In theory this is an excellent system if used right.
However in today’s society we do not have the resources or facilities to use this system properly. We would like to think that we are drawing from the concepts set
However, all offenders eligible for parole are not automatically granted a release (Latessa & Smith, 2015, p. 106). Parole must be approved by the state or federal parole board which reviews the offender’s prison record to determine if they are safe to release back into society.
First off, parole is “the conditional release of a prisoner, prior to completition of the
Inmates that have been incarcerated for long periods of time, have a hard time adjusting to parole because of several different reasons. To be locked up for extended periods of time, they are used to being told what to do, when to do it, having things done for them, and things given to them. Because they haven’t had to make any of their own decisions or work for anything. Also coming back into the community is hard to a newly released felon. That label of being a felon, doesn’t give them many job options if any. I have noticed that they are stuck in the time that they were arrested in, technology has passed most of them by.
Parole is for the conditional release of prisoners or offenders in certain cases before they complete the term sentenced.
Parole is the release of a prisoner by the decision of a paroling authority (Mackenzie, 2002). The offender is then required to remain under the observation of a parole officer who monitors the offender 's obedience with rules of conduct that are imposed by the parole board (Mackenzie, 2002). Parole is actually regarded as a back-end program that works in conjunction with the community (Mackenzie, 2002). Parole is actually similar to probation in that it follows a term of incarceration (Mackenzie, 2002). There are specific conditions which parole can be applied. Violations of these rules may result in re-imprisonment forced to return to prison to serve out the length of their original sentence from the date of release (Mackenzie, 2002). There are currently over five million people who are being supervised by the criminal justice system in the United States (Bureau of
The Victorian Government's parole system is managed and administered by Corrections Victoria. All aspects of parole are set out in the Parole Manual to guide Parole Board Members in their decision making to promote transparency and accountability (Adult Parole Board Victoria, 2015). Parole is determined and administered in three stages (see appendix 2). (1) The presiding sentencing Judge may enforce a non-parole period thus allowing the offender to be released on parole toward the conclusion of the sentence. (2) The adult parole board makes a determination as to the suitability to be released on parole in conjunction with the sentence and conditions imposed by the Court. (3) The offender is released into the community under the supervision of Community Corrections Officers.
After a long term sentence has been served many parolees have a hard time reintegrating back into a normal society. They has limited resources upon release, face problems with receiving benefits from the state, receiving housing, employment, and everything that factors into a normal lifestyle. Most inmates are released back into their communities in which they came from.
Once a parolee have served a minimum of a percent of their sentence they would put in for a parole hearing. An inmate may be granted freedom if the parole board determines so When it comes down to making a decision for a parolee, the decision is made on wheatear or not to release or not to release someone back into society. The second responsibility is that all parties must come to the agreement that the individual is ready for discharge providing supervision for the offender. This mean that the inmate is judged suitable for community release. This profound group of people that the community is relying on to make this decision is called the parole board. Which is made up of a group of qualified individuals who is either comes from the community
Parole is unlikely if you had bad behavior in prison and/or had previous offenses or close relationships with people who also have a criminal history. If you were released early on parole, and had those certain factors, you are more likely to be a danger to society and commit those crimes, or others, again and shortly after release. Also, it has been shown that supervision after release, such as from a parole officer had little to no impact on the rate of recidivism, which is discouraging considering the fact that their main goal is to help the criminal get their life back on track and be a good citizen (Impact of Prison Experience on Recidivism”,
When considering whether an inmate is released from prison, several factors are taken into consideration. Factors such as behavior while in prison, taking advantage of services offered to him/her, and completion of those services (GED completion). Completion of services or treatments is an indication to the sincerity of the inmates desire to change behavior. The board also reviews the prospective parolees parole plan, where is the person is going to
Under discretionary release, an inmate is released from prison but is under supervision by the parole board. The parole board uses information about the inmate such as behavior and the inmates participation in rehabilitative programs to determine the inmates future behavior. By doing so, this gives the parole board to determine if the prisoner is ready for release. Mandatory release is another way that inmates are released into the community. Under mandatory release, the inmate is released after serving his or her total sentence. Mandatory release takes the place of the parole board to decide if the inmate is ready to be released. Bookkeeping on the inmate is apart of mandatory release to make sure that the prisoners time is accurate and that he or she has served the right amount of time. After the inmate is released, he or she is released under parole supervision for the rest of their sentence. Probation release is the most common release for inmates. Most inmates who are on probation release are first time offenders and have to do a minimum sentence. Probation release takes place when a judge allows the inmate to spend a certain period of his or her sentence in the community under probation supervision. Probation release can include anything dealing with the community such as cleaning up highways, removing graffiti, and other things that can be beneficial to the community. Many prisons have become overcrowded which has
They have to fill out and sign an application the happens to be furnished by a case manager. If the criminal does not complete the application then the offender is provided the waiver to the application. After that, the caseworker the will notify the criminal when his parole hearing is to take place. The parole hearing is an opportunity for the criminal to present their case and why they think they should be able to receive parole. The commission determines if the person is eligible for parole according to the type of sentence the criminal recieve when he was convicted. The earliest time the criminal can be parole is called the parole eligibility date. If the criminal is granted parole they must wait to be released until on or after the parole eligibility date (Frequently Asked Questions). If granted parole the parolee will then be recieve back into the community. Only 15 states do not use the parole system today while the rest of the 35 states do. The first state to use the parole system was New York. “In 1910 Congress established the U.S. Parole Commission and gave it the responsibility of evaluating and setting the release dates for federal prisoners”( Parole). Also those of a very serious crime must complete eighty-five percent of their original sentence before they can be released from prison and sent back into the real world.
The function of the parole board, generally appointed by the governor, and serving terms of 4 to 6 years with renewable terms in most states, in addition to assisting with the establishment of jurisdictions and policies, the board is responsible for the management of the parole release processes and determining the termination of parole supervision. It is noteworthy to mention that while this board is responsible for enforcement of laws and implementation of policies, in many jurisdictions no professional minimal qualifications exist (2012).
a reception and classification process. This process evaluates the inmate's case file to see where they should be sent. This process can take up to 120 days. The committee members that evaluate the files try to place an inmate in a facility near their family but that is not always possible. During this process and inmate is also unable to receive any phone calls or packages. However, they are able to receive letters and writing supplies. They are also eligible for visitation from family and friends after a certain number of days and if they are behaving well. After the process is completed they are given an overall score. This score determines the security level
Based on the available information they must then make a recommendation for release or retention. That decision is monumental and can have massive consequences in both the life of an offender and society. If a murder is released and goes on to commit another murder the loss of life is in effect a failure of the system. If a different murder is released and makes a beneficial contribution to society then the system is considered justified. A Bureau of Justice Statistics 2005 study monitored 404,638 prisoners in 30 states after their release from prison. It was found that of the released inmates, 56.7 percent were rearrested by the end of the year. Roughly two-thirds of the total of those released, 67.8, were rearrested within three years. An overwhelming majority, 76.6 percent, had re-offended and again been taken into custody within five years of their 2005 release. The study also details the percentages of recidivism among offender types. Non-violent criminals comprised 82 percent of the group and violent offenders 71 percent. (National Institute of Justice, 2014) These are big numbers and highlight why caution should be heavily applied to any early release decision.