Parole;The Consumer's Perspective

Abstract

With the dominance of rehabilitation currently being evaluated, this study sought to learn from the consumers of correctional policies in one state, the effect of parole on their lives. A questionnaire was administered to a sample of the inmates in Connecticut's maximum security facility to learn about the effects of sentencing and parole policies while incarcerated as to ascertain their preferences should reforms be undertaken. The research found that most prisoners reject the idea that rehabilitation can be achieved in prison, find indeterminate sentences a source of frustration, and view the Parole Board as an unauthorized agent of punishment. Given the absence of fixed release dates, the inmates spend much of their time speculating on what they can do to impress the Parole Board. There was a high degree of agreement that participation in treatment programs and having job prospects impressed the Board. These consumers of the rehabilitative philosophy believe that you must "play the game" in order to win release.