Parole supervision does little to lower re-arrest rates

The report noted that parolees often get little attention from overworked parole officers.
LOS ANGELES TIMES
WASHINGTON -- The parole system is ineffective in helping convicts avoid re-arrest after they are released, according to the results of an Urban Institute study questioning whether parole supervision is a successful tool in reducing crime.
Using federal Bureau of Justice Statistics data on prisoners released in 15 states in 1994 -- the most recent detailed multistate information available -- the study, to be released today, found similar re-arrest rates among convicts on parole and those released unconditionally after completing their full sentences.
There are two types of parole: discretionary release, in which a convict is screened by a parole board to determine readiness to live outside confinement; and mandatory release, which occurs when a convict has served his or her original sentence, minus time for good behavior, and completes the balance of the sentence in the community. Both put the convict under the supervision of a parole officer.
Rates
Of those convicts released unconditionally -- meaning they served their full term and walked out the door with no further supervision -- 62 percent were arrested again.
By comparison, 61 percent of parolees who left prison under mandatory release were re-arrested; of those released at the discretion of a parole board, 54 percent were re-arrested.
The Urban Institute, a nonpartisan social-policy organization in Washington, called the difference between the re-arrest rates "surprisingly small" -- particularly since discretionary parolees are thought to be more likely to succeed since they must meet a parole board's standards for attitude, motivation and preparedness prior to release.
"Quite frankly, I don't think parole should carry the whole burden of reforming people," said Amy Solomon, the study's lead researcher. "At the same time, supervision should be a contributor to successful re-entry, and right now, it's not living up to that role."
The 15 states involved in the study were Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Texas and Virginia.
Demographics
The success of parole can vary by demographic, the study found.
The likelihood of a re-arrest for women on parole, either discretionary or mandatory, was 16 percentage points lower than for women released unconditionally.
Male parolees who had been convicted of drug, property or violent crimes -- who made up about 80 percent of the sample studied -- were more likely to be re-arrested despite being under supervision. In some cases, convicts on mandatory parole had higher rates of re-arrest than those on unconditional release or discretionary parole, most likely because of increased surveillance and drug testing.
The report noted that supervision of parolees is often minimal, with individual parole officers sometimes managing as many as 70 parolees. In addition, parole officers may be located away from where their parolees live and may not always have the best understanding of their parolees' home areas.
Daniel Macallair, executive director of the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice in San Francisco, said he was not surprised by the results. "People think that parole has a rehabilitative function, but that's not the case anymore," he said. "The fact is that parole is so underfunded, there aren't any resources to facilitate re-integration. ... The system is set up to fail."
Solomon expressed similar beliefs about the reforms necessary to change parole systems. "Supervision should also include a mix of treatment and surveillance, not surveillance alone -- as is more typical these days," she said.