NCJ Number
156755
Date Published
1994
Length
105 pages
Annotation
The new Scottish parole dossier system adopted by the Scottish Prison Service and piloted at HMP Perth was evaluated with respect to the practical implications of operating the new system and the quality of the three new reports in the dossier.
Abstract
Form PRX provides background, PRX(U) presents changes in the information on Form PRX, and Form PRQ is a composite focusing on the prisoner's behavior and progress. The evaluation revealed that most procedural problems were resolved in the early stage of the pilot project. Personal officers reported difficulty in finding enough uninterrupted time to interview parole candidates and prepare reports. Most prisoners found it easy to discuss the contents of their parole officers and believed that their interviews with personal officers were more useful than those conducted by social workers, although they worried that personal officers would not consider their discussions analysis. Together the PRX and PRQ reports samples were significantly shorter than the previous comprehensive reports; the number of categories of information dropped by 40 percent at Perth and 50 percent at Glenochil after the introduction of the pilot. The members of the parole board and local review committees had positive responses to the new reports as well. Figures