Parole Release Should parole release be abolished?

Parole Release

Should parole release be abolished? This is one of the most talked about topics in the criminal justice field today. Many people feel it is time to do away with parole, while others are fighting to keep it around. There are pros and cons to both sides of the argument, all of which are very convincing.

One of the strongest arguments against the parole system is the overpopulation problem in most prisons. Between 1986 and 1991, prisons have seen a 41% increase in the population of violent offenders, for drug related offenses the number has risen three-fold. One would see parole as a way to control this overpopulation problem, right? Well, not exactly. Inmate populations continue to grow, and spaces to put them are limited, in some prisons there is actually a waiting list. When one prisoner leaves prison another immediately takes the vacant spot. Looking at it this way you can see that parole release is not the answer to this problem, and creates new ones due to the increase in the operations costs.

Prison Industrial Complex #occupysanquentin

US correctional population timeline-zh-hant

US correctional population timeline-zh-hans

This was shown between 1976 and 1984, 10 states passed new laws that included the abolition of parole. Only one state, Indiana, had an increase in inmate population. In fact, Minnesota and Washington state both had a major reduction in their prisoner populations. The other ten states did not show any change in their inmate population.

Another agreement against parole release; is the effect parole has on the success of a released inmate. Most studies show that unfortunately there is a negative impact on the success of the inmate returning to the community. In a study performed by the Bureau of Prisoners (BOP) in 1987 40% of parolees that had been released were either re-arrested or had their parole revoked. In another study...