¶ … Parole
List and explain the goals and purposes of parole.
Parole is the conditional early release from prison or jail, under supervision, after a portion of the sentence has been served. This practice assumes that the offender successfully demonstrated conformity to the rules and regulations of the prison environment and shows an ability to conform to society's norms and laws.
During the 1870s Zebulon Brockaway is credited with the passage of the first indeterminate sentencing law in the United States as well as introducing the first good time system to reduce inmates' sentences. However, providing adequate supervision once release had been granted proved to be a problem. By 1913, it was clear some independent body was required to supervise inmates in the community and by 1930 Congress formally established a United States Board of Parole. It appeared that initiatives and programs were developing that could make parole a viable...
In 1929, the Great Depression hit the United States. An immediate result was a sharp increase in prison populations. The high cost of maintaining prisons as well as a lack of available personnel to staff them made new construction prohibitive and contributed to the popularity of parole. While alleviation of the overcrowding problem is often cited as a secondary goal, the reality is that as a back-end solution, parole is vital to the maintenance of the correctional system (Cengage, 2003).
The fact that parole involves some incarceration suggests that the average parolee has committed a more serious crime than the average probationer and, hence, poses a greater risk to the community. Therefore, primary goals of parole must include crime deterrence and offender control. Given that most offender s will eventually return to the community, a rival goal is reintegration, or the facilitation of an offender's…
