Parole -Should it be Used?

For those who do not know, parole is a program that is used to allow criminal offenders early release from the prison system.  It is designed to reflect prolonged periods of 'good behavior' and reform and rehabilitation, although it has come under a great deal of criticism at many different levels for allowing criminals to roam free before serving their time.  Parolee's are not given a free pass into public however; a parole officer monitors them at all times during their free time to ensure their behavior is appropriate and to ensure no further criminal activity is being undertaken.  The parole officer is essence acts as the guards did in prison monitoring the behavior and movements of the offenders, with the difference being that the offender is allowed to integrate back into society on a graduated basis to avoid the chance of reoffending and any potential danger to the public.  In this article, we will look at some of the key arguments for and against parole as a method of rehabilitating and reintegrating prisoners back into society.

Some argue that releasing inmates early is a hazard to the safety of society.  Others argue that there should be stricter guidelines in place to determine, who is eligible for parole.  This has been a very touchy issue with several states in setting up specific guidelines that determine parole eligibility.  Many victims are upset to find out that their attacker is eligible for parole; this causes great stress to the victims who were already attacked once and now feels as if they are being attacked again.  Although this is clearly an understandable situation, it is also naturally important to consider the rights of the prisoner, and to reflect true reform and rehabilitation in a steady and progressive manner, thus ensuring they manage to find their way back into society after serving time without facing too many problems.

Many states toss the responsibility of the parole board between the District Attorney's office, the Corrections Department, and the Judicial Department.  Each department handles the topic of parole quite differently.  They each tend to have different standards of what is acceptable eligibility, and what is not.  What happens is many times someone is released onto parole that should have never been permitted release.  

How does the release off offenders who are not parole material affect society?  It tends to affect society by being directly responsible for rises in crime rates.  Many of those who are released onto parole are people who society as a whole should be protected from.  Many wonder, how do dangerous people actually manage to be granted parole.  

Many do not realize that sometimes there is no specific criterion for determining parole eligibility.  Some states determine parole eligibility once the prisons are over filled.  They start looking to release inmates on parole once they have too many inmates, which means it is not a very careful selection process to select the inmates released.  

There are some good benefits to parole; such as being able to release inmates who have served the majority of their sentence and show no signs of being repeat offenders.  There are many who learned their lessons and emerge from the prisons with a goal of integrating into society and making themselves good standing members of society.  Not all parolee's aim to commit crime again, there are some who use the early release as an opportunity to rebuild their lives, and those inmates have learned from their mistakes.  

While the ideals of parole are seated in good intentions, there must be better standards of determining eligibility across the country to ensure the safety of society.  Society and the inmates must both benefit from the decision to release inmates into the parole programs.  With the correct supervision, many inmates make wonderful parole candidates, and the program should continue, but with good supervision, careful screening and a dedicated staff of parole officers. 

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