Parole officers
Parole officers, also known as parole agents in some jurisdictions, play a crucial role in supervising individuals who have been granted parole, allowing them to complete their sentences outside of prison. Their primary responsibility is to ensure that parolees adhere to the conditions set by the parole board until their final discharge. The qualifications for becoming a parole officer can vary significantly from state to state, with some requiring advanced degrees, while others may accept candidates with just a high school diploma and some training. Parole officers often have backgrounds in law enforcement, social work, or counseling, as they are tasked with both monitoring and assisting parolees in their reintegration into society.
This transition can be particularly challenging for former inmates, who may face stigma from the community and barriers to employment. Parole officers provide support by offering counseling, job training, and connecting parolees with specialized programs that address issues like substance abuse or mental health. In addition to their supportive role, many parole officers also have law enforcement responsibilities and undergo similar training to other police personnel, given that they may supervise individuals with a history of serious offenses. In some states, the roles of parole and probation officers are combined, while in others, they are distinctly separate functions. Overall, parole officers strive to facilitate a smooth transition for former inmates into productive community members while ensuring public safety.
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Parole officers
SIGNIFICANCE: Parole officers, or parole agents as they are called in some states, are responsible for ensuring that parolees, or criminals who have been allowed to serve the remainder of their sentences outside prison, abide by the conditions stipulated at the time of their release. The number of people on parole or probation in the United States has been steadily declining in the 2020s, falling 23 percent from 2012 to 2022.
It is the duty of the parole officer to ensure that the parolee abide by the conditions of parole, as dictated by the parole board, until final discharge is granted. The requirements for employment as a parole officer vary considerably. Some states require that parole officers have graduate degrees in appropriate fields. Others expect that parole officers have only a high school diploma or a general equivalency diploma (GED) and limited training. Persons interested in becoming parole officers often study law enforcement, social work, or counseling. Parole officers must acquire expertise in all these areas of study, because they are responsible for supervising, assisting, and monitoring the persons assigned to them. In their role as counselors, parole officers assist convicted felons under their supervision who try to reenter society from prison.
Parole officers offer counseling and help parolees find employment and job training, if needed. Many persons released from the prison system, as well as their families, find the transition very difficult. Persons are often reluctant to accept ex-convicts into the community, and many employers will not hire convicted felons. The transition is sometimes made more difficult in some states by legislation requiring that communities be notified when a parolee moves into the area. Some states have special units and programs that focus on specific problem areas complicating the transition, such as alcoholism, drug addiction, and unemployment. Mentally ill and developmentally challenged offenders often require special programs as well.
It is the goal of the parole officer to smooth a former convict’s transition from being a prisoner to being a productive member of society. Although assisting with the transition to life outside prison is a primary concern, parole officers are also required to police the activities of those under their supervision. Parole officers are recognized as armed law-enforcement officers in many states and are required to undergo the same training as other law-enforcement personnel. Such training is often necessary, as parolees tend to be dangerous offenders who have been imprisoned for long periods of time. In Delaware and South Carolina the responsibilities of the parole officer and probation officer are performed by the same individual. Other states, however, make a clear distinction between these two law-enforcement functions.
Bibliography
Abadinsky, Howard. Probation and Parole. 13th ed. Boston: Pearson, 2017. Print.
Kaeble, Danielle. "Probation and Parole in the United States, 2022." Bureau of Justice Statistics, May 2024, bjs.ojp.gov/library/publications/probation-and-parole-united-states-2022. Accessed 8 July 2024.
Johnson, Ida. "Women Parolees' Perceptions of Parole Experiences and Parole Officers." American Journal of Criminal Justice Dec. 2015: 785–810. Print.
Petersilia, Joan, ed. Community Corrections: Probation, Parole, and Intermediate Sanctions. New York: Oxford UP, 1998. Print.
Travis, Jeremy, and Sarah Lawrence. Beyond the Prison Gates: The State of Parole in America. Washington, DC: Urban Inst., 2002. Print.