The Role of Parole in Criminal Justice
*
The Role of Parole in Criminal Justice
Loren Martin
Kelli Callahan
CRJ 305
April 25, 2011
* The Role of Parole in Criminal Justice * What is parole and why are we interested in something that most Americans have little knowledge of? Does the American society understand what parole is or do they assume that parolees fit the general criminal stereotype? Is this a system even something that is worth the time invested or are we “beating a dead horse” by continuing it? * The history of parole goes back as far as the state of NY in 1817 when they created a system of “good time law”. In 1876, New York State passed a law that created a system of "indeterminate" sentences that set a minimum and maximum term and permitted parole release of those who had served their minimum sentence. The prisoners selected by prison officials for parole were required to report monthly to citizen volunteers known as Guardians (History of Parole, n.d.).
I recently had the privilege of interviewing Parole Officer Kristina Vessar from the Missouri Department of Corrections District 5 in a past class about the pros, cons, ins and outs of the parole system. According to her (personal interview, February 18, 2011) the parole system is used as “a dangling carrot” for incarcerated offenders. If they behave, meet the parole board’s requirements and show that they have been rehabilitated they have a chance at parole. If they in some way do not show that they are willing to become a productive member of society by bettering themselves and showing that they have changed; they lose that chance of supervised freedom. The Parole system has been put in place by the government to encourage good behavior for incarcerated offenders and to give them a chance at freedom.
In our textbook we studied the crime triangle and how it shows the 3 things necessary for crimes to be committed. (Champion, 2007, page 420) Parole in a sense takes care of one side of the triangle and in some
The Role of Parole in Criminal Justice
Loren Martin
Kelli Callahan
CRJ 305
April 25, 2011
* The Role of Parole in Criminal Justice * What is parole and why are we interested in something that most Americans have little knowledge of? Does the American society understand what parole is or do they assume that parolees fit the general criminal stereotype? Is this a system even something that is worth the time invested or are we “beating a dead horse” by continuing it? * The history of parole goes back as far as the state of NY in 1817 when they created a system of “good time law”. In 1876, New York State passed a law that created a system of "indeterminate" sentences that set a minimum and maximum term and permitted parole release of those who had served their minimum sentence. The prisoners selected by prison officials for parole were required to report monthly to citizen volunteers known as Guardians (History of Parole, n.d.).
I recently had the privilege of interviewing Parole Officer Kristina Vessar from the Missouri Department of Corrections District 5 in a past class about the pros, cons, ins and outs of the parole system. According to her (personal interview, February 18, 2011) the parole system is used as “a dangling carrot” for incarcerated offenders. If they behave, meet the parole board’s requirements and show that they have been rehabilitated they have a chance at parole. If they in some way do not show that they are willing to become a productive member of society by bettering themselves and showing that they have changed; they lose that chance of supervised freedom. The Parole system has been put in place by the government to encourage good behavior for incarcerated offenders and to give them a chance at freedom.
In our textbook we studied the crime triangle and how it shows the 3 things necessary for crimes to be committed. (Champion, 2007, page 420) Parole in a sense takes care of one side of the triangle and in some
References: Champion, D. J. (2007). Crime prevention in America . Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall. Division of Youth Services. (n.d.). Missouri Department of Social Services. Retrieved April 20, 2011, from www.dss.mo.gov/re/pdf/dys/dysfy08.pdf Hawkin, A. (n.d.). HOPE for Probation: How Hawaii Improved Behavior with High-Probability, Low-Severity Sanctions. The Institute on Global Drug Policy and Practice :: Volume 5, Issues 1 - Spring 2011. Retrieved April 25, 2011, from http://www.globaldrugpolicy.org/4/3/3.php History of Parole in New York State . (n.d.). New York Division of Parole. Retrieved February 20, 2011, from https://www.parole.state.ny.us/introhistory.html Langan, P., & Levin, D. (n.d.). Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) - Recidivism of Prisoners Released in 1994. Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) . Retrieved April 25, 2011, from http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=1134 Missouri — Right on Crime. (n.d.). Right on Crime —. Retrieved April 20, 2011, from http://www.rightoncrime.com/reform-in-action/state-initiatives/missouri/ Reinhart, C. (2008, February 8). COST OF INCARCERATION AND COST OF A CAREER CRIMINAL. Connecticut General Assembly . Retrieved April 22, 2011, from http://www.cga.ct.gov/2008/rpt/2008-R-0099.htm Slayter, E. (1994, November 15). Valley Interview : Parole System Still Makes a Cost-Effective Impact, Leader Says - Los Angeles Times. Featured Articles From The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 17, 2011, from http://articles.latimes.com/1994-11-15/local/me-62946_1_parole-agent Wiley, K. (2009, December 17). Results in on Hawaii 's Opportunity for Probation with Enforcement (HOPE). Prison Fellowship. Retrieved April 25, 2011, from https://www.justicefellowship.org/news-and-events/13882-evaluation-of-a-community-supervision-strategy-reveals-promising-results