Performance Audit of the Implementation of Control Release Supervision Administered by the Florida Parole Commission and Department of Corrections

• NCJ Number: 151512
• Author(s): S L Lipner
• Date Published: 1994
• Length: 70 pages
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; Florida Office of the Auditor General; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This audit of the implementation of control release supervision by the Florida Parole Commission and the Florida Department of Corrections (DOC) revealed that control release increased the percentage of inmates who were supervised after their release from prison and the average duration of supervision.

Abstract

For inmates placed on control release supervision, the term of control release supervision itself represented an increasingly significant portion of the total amount of time some criminal offenders remained under DOC jurisdiction. In comparison with other forms of community supervision, control release supervision provided a minimal level of surveillance for offenders released from prison into the community. Parole officers were only required to make one personal contact with the offender each month, regardless of the offender's criminal history or supervision term. As a result, it was determined that control release may not adequately protect public safety. About 60 percent of offenders returned to prison in fiscal year 1991-1992 were reincarcerated for violating control release terms and conditions that did not involve the commission of new crimes. The audit found that the DOC has not formally identified transition assistance resources and services that control release offenders need to facilitate their re-entry into the community. Further, the availability of such services is limited due to resource constraints. The DOC needs to determine the extent to which supervision resources should be used to provide transition assistance services and develop strategies for providing such assistance. The DOC should also develop alternatives to the reincarceration of offenders whose control release supervision has been revoked. The reincarceration of offenders who have not committed additional crimes may work against the primary purpose of control release which is to selectively release offenders from prison to maintain the State prison population within lawful capacity. Appendixes contain additional information on the Florida Parole Commission and DOC's response to the audit. 13 footnotes and 6 exhibits