NCJ Number
230514
Date Published
December 2008
Length
65 pages
Annotation
This study examined the parole decisionmaking process in Pennsylvania.
Abstract
Results found that the sanctioning of offenders whose behavior could have been processed as criminal was common, but that the criminal violations dealt with through parole procedures (rather than formal court processing) were generally of a less serious nature. This study examines three aspects of parole decisionmaking: the degree to which the Violation Sanction Grid (VSG) is being used by parole officers to assign sanctions that are equal with the seriousness of violation behavior; the degree to which technical parole violations include behavior that would have been considered criminal if detected by police; and the factors that are associated with the reimprisonment of parolees, including a better understanding of the role of parole surveillance in the reimprisonment outcome. The research team, in conjunction with an advisory board, initiated a longitudinal study gathering data from several sources containing information on offender violations and parole officer sanctioning decisions. The resulting dataset covers all offenders released to parole in Pennsylvania between September 1, 2006 and June 30, 2007, a total of 8,267 cases. Tables and appendixes