Parole Administration in the United States

Abstract

The success of parole programs is perceived as dependent upon administrative organization, qualifications of parole board members and parole officers, parole granting policies, caseload size, and costs. A survey of these factors in the United States shows wide variation among jurisdictions. Some jurisdictions have no specified qualifications for parole board members, while others require several years of responsible correctional service. Qualifirations required of parole officers were found to be, in general, neither high nor rigid. Caseloads were found to range from twenty-four to 167, with a median of approximately seventy-seven. The median cost of parole supervision was found to be $.47 per day per parolee.