NCJ Number
149869
Date Published
1994
Length
25 pages
Annotation
Certain changes related to sentencing, correctional philosophies, the organizational structure of correctional services, the size of correctional populations, and parole supervision effectiveness have led to a more complex environment in which parole supervision is provided; in response to the changes, policymakers have experimented with various parole supervision strategies.
Abstract
Following a review of the historical evolution of parole supervision, the authors examine three major forces considered to be responsible for changing parole supervision patterns: (1) the organizational restructuring of correctional agencies; (2) the pronounced attack on rehabilitation over the past 20 years and related questions of whether parole supervision achieves purposed utilitarian aims; and (3) the explosion in correctional populations which has increased experimentation with community-based sanctions. Published data illustrating these forces are presented. Attention is paid to parole reform in New York, Texas, Maine, Florida, California, and Illinois. Parole supervision in New York and Texas exemplify how States that have not abandoned discretionary parole release but continue to face bulging parole populations and fiscal distress have responded to public demands for offender accountability. Maine and Florida illustrate how the adoption of determinate sentences and the abolition of parole supervision have created functional equivalents to parole supervision. California and Illinois indicate how determinacy and the formal abolition of parole have resulted in label changes (mandatory supervised release or conditional supervised release). 47 references, 3 tables, and 4 figures