Basic Services Provided by a Parole Agency - Essay Example

Running head: Parole Parole Introduction Parole is a conditional release of a criminal, allowing the criminal to stay in the society under certain conditions and the supervision of the parole officer. Parole is a testing process in which the sentenced criminal will be analysed with respect to his behaviour during the parole period in the society. This paper analyses the basic services provided by a parole agency, Responsibilities of an institutional parole officer, differences between probation violation procedures and parole violation procedures, various forms of executive clemency and the conditions under which they are granted etc. Three basic services provided by a parole agency Three basic services of a parole agency are; to prepare and help offenders to become good members of the society; to provide help to the victims and the courts; and to protect public trust in the law and order conditions of the country. Nobody was born as criminals. The surroundings and the circumstances make a person criminal. For example, poverty is a great cause for ones transformation from a normal citizen to a criminal. So, basic objective of every criminal justice system is to transform a criminal into a good citizen rather than denying him another opportunity to rectify his criminal nature by severely punishing him. The second objective of the parole agency is to provide assistance to the victims and the court. Victims need help from a governmental agency in order to get proper justice for the sufferings they faced due to the criminal activities of a person. For example, in some cases, the criminals might have destroyed the wealth of the victim. In such cases the parole agency will provide the necessary help to the victim to get compensation from the authorities or the criminals. Court also needs the feedbacks of the parole agency in order to decide whether to extend the parole of a criminal or not. Sustainment of the public trust in criminal justice system is the third objective of a parole agency. Public often lose trust in criminal justice system when they witness the liberties, less serious punishments and freedom given to the criminals. In such cases, the parole agency should take necessary steps to keep the public trust in criminal justice system intact. Responsibilities of an institutional parole officer The main responsibilities of an institutional parole officer are; verifying offender related information, processing status letters that inform offenders whether or not they were approved for parole, answering offenders’ written and verbal questions, contacting offenders for acceptable residential plans, conducting parole orientations for new offenders, responding to inquiries from the public and providing District Parole Officers with offender information (Institutional Parole Officer)  The accurate information about the offender is important for the court to decide upon the nature of the crime and also to decide up on the punishment. For example, if the offender has criminal backgrounds, then the court will normally impose a severe punishment whereas new criminals or the circumstantial criminals will get the benefit of doubt or small punishments. Another important responsibility of the parole officer is the processing of all the paper works related to the criminal’s parole, probation or his jail terms. He is the bridge between the court and the criminal for the to and fro information interchange. For example, if the criminal needs some medical assistance, he can request it to the parole officer and the parole officer let the court know about it. The details about the rectification process of the criminal also will be informed to the criminal by the parole officer. Another important duty of the parole officer is to provide the necessary information to the public and other governmental agencies about the criminal statistics. Differences between probation violation procedures and parole violation procedures A criminal will get probation, if the judge thinks so, when he is sentenced. Probation is a process of allowing the criminal to stay in the community for a specified period in order to watch his behaviour. The judge after reviewing the whole nature and circumstances of the crime and the criminal behaviour will decide whether to send the criminal to jail or to test him further with giving him probation. In most of the cases, if the criminal happens to be a new one without any previous criminal history, the judge will be tempted to give him probation. “A violation of probation gives rise to a hearing on whether or not probation should be revoked. The standard of proof is lower than a criminal trial and you have no speedy trial right or right to a jury trial” (Kaman) Parole is granted at the end of a prison term and is a form of conditional liberty. If you violate the terms of your parole you could be sent back to prison to serve more time. Moreover the US Supreme Court says; if you violate the terms of your parole the US Supreme Court says you have constitutional rights that a probationer would not have. (Kaman) Persons who violate parole or probation terms will get severe punishments and they will be sent back to the jail again. Various forms of executive clemency and the conditions under which they are granted Executive clemency is a type of pardon or forgiveness extended towards a criminal. It is normally granted by the head of a state. Clemency is mostly associated with the lessening of the penalty of the crime without forgiving the crime itself. Executive clemency is an extra ordinary measure which is rarely granted. It can be of three types; pardon, commutation and reprieve. (Executive Clemency information) Pardon is a form of executive clemency which restores all the personal rights of a criminal which were lost due to the punishment. Pardon never erases the crime records of the criminal, but it allows the person to stay away from punishment. Commutation is another form of executive clemency which allows the criminal to shorten his jail terms. For example, if the criminal has been punished 10 years each, of imprisonment in two different cases, commutation allows the criminal to stay only 10 years in the jail instead of 20 years. Reprieve is the suspension of the punishment for a specific period. The criminal needs to complete the sentence at a later stage. “It applies only to persons currently serving a sentence. Reprieves are extremely rare” (Executive Clemency information) Executive clemency is granted after analysing the seriousness of the crime, the applicant’s criminal record, the length of time since the crime was committed, the applicant’s personal development and progress since the crime was committed, community or other civic service performed by the applicant etc. (Executive Clemency information) Independent model and the consolidated model for administering parole I prefer independent model of parole because of the less chances of corruption in administering it compared to consolidated model of parole. “The Independent Parole Board model is less likely to be corrupted by the corrections culture because it is not under the jurisdiction of any state agency. By being independent of state agencies, this type parole board can make judgments based on the potential parolee’s life before the crime, the circumstances of the crime, his/her time in prison and whether there were problems there and other factors” (Shadow) Consolidated model of parole on the other hand is governed and administered by some kind of governmental agencies which might result in corruption and malpractices. The parole board cannot take any decisions about the parolee’s future life if he has been granted consolidated parole. Only the state agency will be able to take decisions about parolee’s future life if he has granted consolidated parole. State agency officials are corrupted more compared to the parole board members and hence in my opinion, independent model of parole is better compared to the consolidated model of parole. Conclusions Parole is a process of giving the criminal an opportunity to rectify his mistakes by living in a society under certain conditions. Parole agencies concentrate; to prepare and help offenders to become good members of the society; to provide help to the victims and the courts; and to protect public trust in the law and order conditions of the country. Executive clemency is a type of forgiveness given to the criminals under certain conditions. Pardon, commutation and reprieve are the major forms of eexecutive clemency. References 1. Executive Clemency information, Retrieved on 9 September 2009 from http://docs.google.com/gview?a=v&q=cache:7vU8lTZsFCoJ:www.wi-doc.com/PDF_Files/Doyle%2520Pardon%2520Packet.pdf+Various+forms+of+executive+clemency&hl=en 2. Institutional Parole Officer, 2009, Retrieved on 9 September 2009 from http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/vacancy/hr-home/parole-ipo.htm 3. Kaman John M. What are the difference between probation violation procedures and parole violation procedures? Retrieved on 9 September 2009 from http://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/what-are-the-difference-between-probation-violatio-100995.html 4. Shadow Marillyn, 2009, The Independent Parole Board-Probation or Parole Officer’s Job, Retrieved on 9 September 2009 from http://socyberty.com/work/the-independent-parole-board-probation-or-parole-officer%E2%80%99s-job/ Read More