Policy of Releasing Parolees From Prisons Essay

Introduction

Parole is universally defined as “releasing a prisoner before the jail term expires and then keeping an eye on the prisoner. The prisoner agrees to abide by certain terms and conditions for a specified period,” (Cole and Smith 521).

Prisoners who are granted the parole status usually have good records and potential for growth and rehabilitation during the term of their imprisonment. Historically speaking, Captain Alexander Maconochie, an administrator of British penal colonies in Tasmania and elsewhere in the South Pacific was an important personality in developing the concept of parole in the nineteenth century. Maconochie acknowledged that prisoners could pass through stages of increasing responsibility and freedom (Cole and Smith 521).

Main text

Contemporarily speaking, parole was introduced in England and Wales in the 1967 Criminal Justice Act. Up until the mid-1980s, the philosophy of releasing prisoners before the end of sentence remained generally unchanged. All prisoners would have remission and their sentence reduced by one third on beginning their custodial sentence. Also, “prisoners could be released on parole for part or all of the middle third of their sentence and until the end of that period they would have supervision in the community,” (Ellis and Marshall 300-301). The 1986/7 Carlisle Committee recommended major changes to the system and most of the Committee’s recommendations were incorporated into the 1991 Criminal Justice Act. This Act was implemented in October 1992 and thus, a new system of early release was established.

Globally, parole is practiced in many countries. The philosophies are very different, dictated by many varying racial and cultural aspects. When paroles are implemented, there are a number of advantages that could be realized for the mutual benefits of both the prisoner and the society. Overcrowding in prisons is manageable due to reduced population of prisoners. General trends indicate that the prison population has grown during most years.

Since the Second World War, the rate of growth rose “from an average of 2.5% per year between 1945 and 1995 to an average of 3.8% per year since 1995” (Ministry of Justice Statistics Bulletin 4). By the beginning of 1995 the number of prisoners stood at 49,500 and by January 2009, this number had increased to 82,100 inmates. The increase in the rate of growth resulted in a 66% increase in the prison population.

Other benefits of parole include among others, the reduction of incarceration costs. Successful rehabilitation programs of parolees are likely to reduce crimes and correct the criminal behaviour. Reintroduction of parolees back to society is possible and if she or he is able to maintain good behaviour, then normal life can continue. The parolee is an independent person that is able to earn a living. This way, dependence on others and the state is reduced or eliminated.

This is a contribution to the economy. Many parole programs include trainings for the prisoners to acquire or enhance their skills. This has a positive trickling impact to both the society and the economy. If the parolees are able to employ themselves by participating in income earning activities, the country’s unemployment level is reduced. Parolees who regain acceptable social behaviour can be examples to other prisoners who would learn from them and in turn become corrected in their wayward criminal activities. This reduces supervision burdens on parole officers (Carter 60).

Whether parole is effective, that is, “does it work or not?” remains unanswered, as evidenced by moves to abolish or limit it in various jurisdictions. For example, England and Wales has legislation on its statute books which to all intents and purposes abolishes parole. Antipodeans jurisdictions have also considered this. Although to date none has yet abolished it, discretionary early release regularly comes under critical scrutiny.

There is a small, but consistent, effect in favour of parole, on a number of outcome measures (Ellis and Marshall 300). Nevertheless, persons released from prison face a multitude of difficulties. They remain largely uneducated, unskilled, and usually without solid family support systems – to which are added the burdens of a prison record. Not surprisingly, most paroles fail, and rather quickly- re-arrests are most common in the first six months after release.

Parolees with the highest rates of reoffending are mostly “robbers, burglars, larcenists, motor vehicle thieves, those in prison for possessing or selling stolen property, and those in prison for possessing, using, or selling illegal weapons” (Wilcox 245).

Ironically, those who might be considered the most dangerous criminals – murderers and rapists – have the lowest recidivism rates. It may come as no surprise that the characteristics of those who violate parole and return to prison include maintaining criminal peer associations, carrying weapons, abusing alcohol, and harbouring aggressive feelings. In contrast, parolees who get gainful employment opportunities, live in stable family structures, and receive medication or intervention for their alcohol or substance addiction problems are more likely to complete their parole terms successfully (Siegel 639).

The 54 probation services in the United Kingdom employ 15,000 staff and supervise 180,000 offenders in the community. Smith, Her Majesty’s chief inspector of probation, suggested that a unique opportunity presented itself to his office in the late 1990s. The local probation services could be used as a laboratory to test the introduction of “what works” programming to a large population of offenders. The project consists of four stages, and only the first stage is completed. During the first phase of the project, the plan was to survey the achievements of probation services operating since October 1992. Based on this analysis, the project team then examined the more promising programs, looking for effective designs. The first result was the development of a best practice guide for use in assessing programs.

The principles of effectiveness identified by the project team were to implement practices based on evidence; use designed methods; commit to learn and develop practices; work for quality and consistency; commit to evaluate; use cognitive and behavioural perspectives; engage offenders in a change process; develop personal and social responsibility; work for community integration; emphasize staff’s personal impact. The survey also revealed what is needed to enhance program effectiveness. Effectiveness of community supervision rests on creating an agenda to develop supervision programs and basing that agenda on the principles of effectiveness (Evans 124).

Conclusion

In conclusion, parole has been in existence since the sixteenth century and originated from England and Wales, France and Spain, just to mention a few countries. A parole system was devised by a British called Alexander Maconochie in the nineteenth century. Although, initial purpose was to decongest the overpopulated prisons, other economical and social benefits were anticipated to be reaped from this system of parole. To a certain extent, few benefits have been achieved on isolated cases largely because of various methods applied to paroling prisoners. Programs are in place, funded and sponsored by various governmental bodies to study and give comprehensive reports and analytical data related to the “effectiveness of parole” in modern societies.

Works Cited

Carter, Judy Shaen. Rethinking What Works with Offenders. The British Journal of Forensic Practice, 7.4 (2005): 59-62.

Cole, George, and Christopher Smith. The American system of criminal justice. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth, 2007.

Ellis, Tom, and Peter Marshall. ‘Does parole work? A post-release comparison of reconviction rates for paroled and non-paroled prisoners.’ The Australian and New Zealand journal of criminology, 33.3 (2000): 300-301.

Evans, Donald. “What works” in the United Kingdom Corrections Today, 60.4 (1998): 124.

Ministry of Justice Statistics Bulletin. Story of the prison population 1995 – 2009 England and Wales. London: Ministry of Justice, 2009.

Siegel, Larry. Introduction to criminal justice (12^th ed.). Belmont, CA: Cengage learning, 2009.

Wilcox, Claire. ‘The report of the Pennsylvania state parole commission.’ Criminal Justice in America, 1-2 (1974): 245.