NCJ Number
189639
Journal
Federal Probation Volume: 65 Issue: 1 Dated: June 2001 Pages: 3-8
Date Published
June 2001
Length
6 pages
Annotation
Nearly 600,000 inmates re-enter communities throughout the country each year, released from State and Federal prisons and secure juvenile facilities; this paper identifies the complicated parole supervision issues raised by this situation, especially when it is compounded by reduced money for rehabilitation programs that might help offenders stay out of prison.
Abstract
Most parolees have been released to parole systems that provide few services and impose conditions that almost guarantee parolees' failure. Monitoring systems are getting better, and public tolerance for failure is decreasing. A rising tide of parolees is back in prison, putting pressure on States to build more prisons, which in turn takes money away from rehabilitation programs that might help offenders stay out of prison. Parolees will continue to receive fewer services to help them deal with their underlying problems, assuring that recidivism rates and returns to prison remain high and public support for parole remains low. As spending on parole decreases, then caseloads increase, services decline, and even parolees who are motivated to change have little opportunity to do so. In 2001, the United States is likely to have two million people in jails and prisons and more people on parole than ever before. If parole revocation trends continue, more than half of those entering prison in the year 2001 will be parole failures. Given the increasing human and financial costs associated with prison as well as all of the collateral consequences parolees pose to families, children, and communities, investing in effective re-entry programs may be one of the best investments our society can make. 33 references