The Parole Process, Essay Example

Parole is a controversial topic. Some people consider it as a fair practice that shows humanity of the state legislation, while others refuse to accept or understand the principles of the decision when a prisoner is being released “for good behavior”.  Parole is a release of a criminal from jail before the completion of his/her sentence.  It is a practice when, even being freed, the prisoner is still serving the term and can be jailed if he/she fails to meet the expectations or reoffends.

When the parole decision is being made, it undergoes certain procedures and examinations. It is a very careful and rational choice. Many people believe that parole is an efficient process because a criminal is a human being and his/her rights must be reconsidered. Having successfully served particular time of the term, prisoner is being released but must constantly stay in touch with the parole officer.

In order to improve the parole process, it is necessary to conduct a careful and thorough analysis whether or not the prisoner is capable of repeating the crime. Statistics shows that a big percentage of people released go back to the criminal world. Therefore, when the decision is made upon a certain individual, authorities and psychologists must pay close attention to the aspects that influence their conclusion. It is important to expand the list of factors when analyzing if criminal can reoffend. It can be a good practice to increase the time of term that must be served before individual is being released. For instance those who commit a property theft can serve less time than those who do violent crimes. At the same time it is necessary to prepare strong programs and procedures that a released individual must undergo after being freed. “New community supervision strategies and technologies need to be strengthened and expanded, not scaled back”.  (Crary, 2009) We are all humans but when it comes to an aspect of paroles, it is necessary to do a double check and make thorough prediction the prisoner is not dangerous for the society.

References

Crary, David. (2009). “5 million in U.S. now on parole and probation”. The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 5 March, 2009 from <http://www.philly.com/inquirer/world_us/40631897.html>.