Interviewing a Prisoner - Essay Example

Number] Criminology Being a parole agent, it is the duty to assess the offenders who are eligible of getting a placement order. It is important to know whether the offender is ideal for a conditional release before their sentences have been completed or not. To know this and to create a report and present it to the courts, I need to interview the offender who is proposed for placement. The system would provide the complete data regarding the offender and so I can know the history of the offender as to why was he imprisoned, what was his case about and what was the sentence to which he was encountered. During the career a parole agent got the opportunity to conduct many interviews of the prisoners and every interview give him a different type of experience. The essay aims to present the process of taking interview of a prisoner as a parole agent. The parole agents are required to ask different types of questions from the prisoners to get detailed information about the case and incident due to which they have been imprisoned. The interview decides the eligibility of the prisoner to get the parole and sometimes the interview also ends up with the identification of new aspects of the case. I was also ordered to take interview of a prisoner and for this I made my plan to conduct the interview with the prisoner and scheduled it with the respective authorities. The parole officer has to choice to make for the selection of the interviewee and it depends upon the orders for interview. Hence, I also went to take the interview of an offender who was imprisoned with the charges of robbery at a local jewellery shop. The offender was African American of 35 years of age. He was imprisoned for the first time in his life and there was no official record of his criminal activities present at the police station. He possesses an expired driving licence and some other documents that tell about his residence at a remote area of the city. The interview has to be conducted to decide the severity of the crime committed by the person. If the crime is very serious there are little chances of parole whereas some less severe crimes like robbery with no casualties, theft and driving rules breach are usually subjected to the approval of the parole. In this case also, I was expecting that the parole would be granted to the prisoner because he was charged with the allegation of robbing a jewellery shop during which he didn’t killed or injured any person but locked them in a small room inside the shop and then collected all the cash and precious jewellery. He was caught while he was on his way to get away from the shop after taking all the things. The arrest took place after the information about the robbery was sent to the police by a neighbouring shopkeeper. The prisoners who will be merited for parole will be those who have obeyed the prison rules and responded to the therapy programs. We have to make sure that the offender that we are interviewing has a good history at the prison. He should have been following the prison rules, he should be doing the prison jobs well, and he should be responding positively to the rehabilitation processes and therapies done with the prisoners to make sure that they are improving in their behaviour and realizing their offense. The board then chooses these prisoners who they consider have passed in all the institutions. The offender who is assigned will be interviewed to find out how his performance has been throughout the period of his sentence. The information that I will be seeking will be that the offender has been behaving well under the prison rules and has been chosen by the board to be considered to grant placement. I will have to make a report for the parole board in which they will be given the information about the direct thoughts and observed behaviour of the offender in prison. I will give a brief account of his behaviour that I will observe myself throughout the time period. Once the behaviour is positive and acceptable, I will further access towards the prisoner’s state of mind since it is the most important aspect about the offender’s proposal of placement. To grant access to the state of mind of the offender to the board who has chosen him, I will make sure that the report contains an analysis of his state of mind which will be by asking him questions straight away and judging his answers. This information is important for the board to consider him as to allow rehabilitation or not. I will try to achieve as much information as possible regarding his intentions and further aims. I will assess his opinions on different things and how he thinks about everything around him. These things would help me get into his state of mind and understand what his nature is about his surroundings and have they changed since they first were when he entered prison. During this session, I also have to assess the overall life of the offender during the incarceration and what it was before it. Moreover, I have to achieve information about the offender’s family and know how the family will respond to his rehabilitation and what will the affect be on them. I will find out what the job opportunities are for the offender after he is released and whether he can get back to his old life or not. Sometimes an offender can get back to his old life but sometimes because of the unethical aspects of the crime, he may be degraded in society and would be forced to find a new living for himself. This information is important for the board to decide which offenders are to be released and it has great impact upon the decision related with the future of the prisoners I would be seeking the detailed information to fulfil the basic aim of a parole agent which is to protect the public. It is our responsibility to make sure that the ex-offenders are returning to their normal lives and are able to adjust in it. They should be able to live freely in the community and given their rights as a citizen and as a human being. It is the duty of the parole agents to perform investigations pre-sentence and post sentence of the clients that are assigned to us. This duty is given by the courts and thus, we have to seek information through interviews. There are other responsibilities assigned by the laws and they involve making arrests, performing searches, seizing evidence and arranging the drug testing. I would work with the Federal Justice Department and report to the parole board about the supervision of the client. I would also develop plans and recommendations for my client before he is released to make sure that his life is worked out well after he has contributed to his sentence. Through this information, I can provide the board with my recommendations and take the responsibility of the client and his behaviour. This information will also help me to assess the needs of my client after he is released, and so I will arrange services for him such as employment, housing, education, social activities and medical care. The specific questions that I would ask my client are how he feels during his therapy, does he talk to any other prisoners, does he wish to go to the outside world again, what does he miss the most, how does he see his life in the future, what has been his dream since childhood, why has he been so efficient during his sentence, what does he dislike the most in prison. Other questions may also include general information to understand the mind of the client which are what one thing would you like to change in prison, how do you like the food here, do you like the therapy session, do you think it bought a change in you, are you happy about it etc. These questions will assess how much the offender is into this life and how badly he wants to go back to his previous life. This shows his state of mind and the true picture of his thoughts. I will be able to understand better what he thinks about h is surroundings and how he would behave in the outer world if given a chance to be released earlier. This will also tell how effective the therapies have been and to what extent has it affected the way the offender used to think and thinks now. These questions will also make it easier for me to create a report about the offender and his state of mind during and before going to prison. The most important part about the interview is the way it has to be conducted. This interview is of an offender, a criminal who has been imprisoned. This makes it an extremely delicate case to deal with. The parole agent, thus, has to be a criminologist or a psychologist so that he is able to deal with the psychopath mind of the offender. However, the way in which the interview will be conducted has to be a very respectful way. If we respect them, they will respect us. I have to make sure I show my goals to them which are to help them gain a better life and a better future with their families. I have to show my client that I am not the person who is trying to lock him up, in fact that who is trying to set him free according to what he deserves. Moreover, I have to be calm and considerate so that I am not being lied to, and also I cannot be too lenient otherwise he might take advantage of me. I always have to keep the friendly attitude and prove to him that I am actually trying to help him. Taking the interview of this prisoner was a great experience. I learnt many things from this interview. It gave me opportunity to understand the conditions of the people living in the prison and how they want the other people to look towards their matters. The role of laws and acts is also very important in this regard that I came across while taking the interview. Read More

 

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