Parole And Revocation

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introduction The factors and conditions that lead to prisoner reentry were discussed in Chapter 12. In this chapter, we discuss what it is like to be on parole. Parole is a form of community supervision of offenders. Therefore, as with probation, supervision conditions are an integral part of parole. Parole conditions imposed determine the amount of freedom versus restrictions a parolee has. The main goal of parole is societal protection, which is accomplished by enforcing parolee restrictions and providing services that assist in community reintegration while at the same time maintaining public confidence in parole (Williams, McShane, and Dolny 2000a). Whatever may be the primary goal behind parole release, conditions imposed play a big role in achievement and often determine whether the parolee succeeds or fails. Prisoner Perspectives on Getting Out Few studies have examined the prisoner’s perspective while on parole. Most researchers conduct studies about inmate life experiences inside prison, primarily because institutional prisoners make captive audiences. An exception to this is research conducted with prisoners recently released from prison. Craig Hemmens supervised a research team that interviewed 775 former inmates as they were waiting for the bus within a few minutes to a few hours of release for prison. Hemmens (1998) found that as prisoners found that as prisoner’s age, their apprehension about reentry decreased. Less reentry apprehension also applied to prisoners who served sentences of three years or less compared with those who served sentences longer than three years. Because this study was cross-sectional, none of the prisoners were tracked to see if they succeeded. Prisoners generally have good intentions and plan on staying out of prison. Many prisoners do attempt to live a legitimate life by finding employment after release, but prisoners

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