NCJ Number
131426
Date Published
1990
Length
23 pages
Annotation
The US Parole Commission, an independent agency within the Department of Justice, has parole authority over all Federal prisoners and continuing supervisory jurisdiction over those who are released on parole or on mandatory release.
Abstract
The Parole Commission has developed explicit parole release guidelines in order to promote fair and consistent decisionmaking. The guidelines indicate the customary range of time to be served before release for various combinations of offense and offender characteristics. The Parole Commission also develops and supervises several innovative programs aimed to manage the growth in both the Commission's workload and the Federal prison population. These programs include special curfew parole, the community control project, and the intensive supervision project. The Parole Commission has been involved in legal activity resulting from class-action litigation. The Parole Commission's research activity has focused on projects defining the impact of current policies and procedures, exploring the consequences of possible modifications to these policies, and evaluating other actors or agencies in the criminal justice system. Data presented in nine tables relate to hearing examiner workload, parole grants, individuals under supervision and warrants issued, guideline usage, presumptive date pre-release reviews, results of panel recommendations, representation, national appellate decisions, and original jurisdiction considerations. 9 tables