Deck 8: Reentry and Community Supervision

Question 1

Suppose that you have been asked to decide whether the department of corrections or an independent agency should have authority over release decisions. Where would you place that authority? Why?

Answer 1

Decision of an individual over the authority of parole board:
There are two arguments about the parole board regarding the independency of authority. Some of the people argue that parole board organized inside the department of corrections (consolidated). Some other people reveal it is an independent agency (autonomous) of government.
If the parole board is a consolidated agency, then it can properly implement correctional needs with the reference of different areas of department of corrections. However, in the consolidated agency system the influence of correctional staff will be high and it will drastically affect the discretionary power of parole board to take the decisions.
The autonomous authority of parole board will be better to take independent decision and it would be unbiased from the influence of department of corrections. At the same time, as an autonomous body parole board will face difficult to obtain information about prisoners and also the information provided by the correctional staff may be biased.
Hence, cooperation of department of corrections is vital factor for the parole board decision. In this situation, parole board has to build a special independent team for obtain and examine the information related with the conduct of prisoner.
While comparing the above information of both consolidated and autonomous body, autonomous body is more independent and also almost free from bias. Therefore, an individual decision supports parole board as an autonomous authority.

Question 2

Given the current public attitude toward criminals, what do you see as the likely future of parole release?

Answer 2

Future of parole release based on the current attitude of public towards criminals:
Commonly, society shows punitive attitude towards the criminals. It again creates a chance for isolate offenders from the common public. Hence, release of a prisoner to the public face ineffectiveness due to the unfavorable attitude of the public towards the prisoner. It also encourages recidivism among prisoners for engage in repetitive crimes.
Hence, the attitude of public has an enormous effect towards release. However, nowadays department of corrections conducts certain programs for prisoners before sanction their release. This program clearly focused to cop-up and improve the cohesiveness of prisoners with public.
Thereby, it helps prisoners to reduce their isolation from the common society. Therefore, future of parole release will be effective than the current situation, because there are tremendous effort took by department of corrections to change attitude of public towards prisoners.

Question 3

Imagine that you have just been released from prison after a five-year term. What are the first things you will do? What problems do you expect to face?

Answer 3

Situation:
Mr. X has been released from prison after the five-year period of sentence.
The things done by Mr. X after being released from prison are as follows:
Mr. X will meet his family and friends whom he missed when he was behind the bars. He will try to prove the society that he will have a clean start of his life. He will try hard to accomplish him dreams and duties. He will change his behavior and will become a good person, free from all sorts of crime.
The problems faced by Mr. X:
There are many societal and community obstacles to be faced by Mr. X. The clean start by Mr. X will not be possible in the view of society. Mr. X will have to face too many difficulties in his life every day. There will be a legal problem in the job offer and in the employment opportunities of Mr. X.
Conclusion:
Long absence from friends and family will create a distance between them. Society will always fail to accept them as normal people.

Question 4

are some parole officers reluctant to ask that a client's parole be revoked for technical violations? What organizational pressures may be involved?

Question 5

does mandatory release affect the corrections system? How will corrections adjust to this harnessing of the discretion of parole boards and judges?

Question 6

factors should a parole board consider when it evaluates a prisoner for release?

Question 7

Suppose, as a parole board member, you are confronted by a man who has served 6 years of a 10- to 20-year sentence for murder. He has a good institutional record, and you do not believe him to be a threat to community safety. Would you release him to parole supervision at this time? Why or why not?