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| Report calls for efficiencies in parole system |
| By idahoreporter.com |
| Published: 02/25/2010 |
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A new investigative report from the Idaho Legislature says that the Idaho Commission of Pardons and Parole (ICPP) should improve its training, communication, and work environment to help release more offenders eligible for parole. Avoidable delays in parole releases cost the state $6.7 million from January 2007 to September 2009, according a report from the legislative Office of Performance Evaluations (OPE). The report also suggests that lawmakers look at making the parole commission an independent state agency, instead of part of the Idaho Department of Correction (IDOC). The ICPP makes decisions on when Idaho inmates can be granted parole – the corrections department has no control over the entry and exit of offenders for parole. The five parole commissioners either grant or deny parole during hearings, which usually occur six months before an offender’s parole date. More than 2,300 hearings were held for offenders in 2008. If they grant an early release, ICPP hearing officers work with IDOC case managers and parole officers to make sure offenders finish required education and planning programs, which include listing where they will work and live when released from prison. That planning must be finished before an offender is released. The $6.7 million the OPE report identified in spending on delayed parole releases came mostly from offenders not finishing their planning on time. The report said better communication between ICPP and IDOC staff dealing with offenders’ planning could lead to more timely releases. Parole commissioner Mark Funaiole of Boise said the speed of releasing offenders shouldn’t be the only way to judge the ICPP. “I just don’t think that efficiencies in looking at how quickly we can process an offender through prison… is where we want to concentrate,” he said. “I don’t think it’s an effective measure.” Rather than looking at the timeliness of parole releases, Funaiole said it’s important to look at other goals of parole, like public safety and recidivism, which is whether offenders commit crimes after their release. Gov. Butch Otter made a similar statement in a written response to the report. Read More. |
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