Parole: Contributing to Public Safety (Continued)

4. Defining Parole

Q.  What is parole?

A.  Parole is a carefully constructed bridge between incarceration and return to the community. It is a form of conditional release that involves a thorough review of information and assessment of risk. This requires that Board Members review the facts of a case and decide whether or not an offender may be permitted to return to the community before the end of the sentence of incarceration.

Parole allows some offenders to continue to serve the balance of their sentence outside of the institution. Parole does not mean that offenders are completely free, without supervision. It does mean that they have an opportunity, under the supervision and assistance of a parole officer, to become contributing members of society, providing they abide by the conditions of their release. If the conditions of parole are not met, the Board has the power to revoke the parole and return the offender to prison.

Q.  What is the purpose of parole?

A.  Canada, like many countries, has made conditional release programs part of its criminal justice system. Most offenders in our country are serving definite sentences and will eventually return to the community. A definite sentence means that there is an end or completion date to the sentence, known as a warrant expiry date. Offenders must be released when they complete their sentence. Some offenders, however, are serving indeterminate or life sentences that never end.

Rehabilitative efforts, leading to a gradual and controlled release, in most cases, provide a more effective way of protecting the public than would a more sudden release of offenders, at sentence expiry, without assistance and supervision.

Q.  What are the principles guiding parole?

A.  The Corrections and Conditional Release Act (CCRA) lists six principles that apply directly to boards of parole:

1. Protection of society is the most important consideration in any conditional release decision.
2. All relevant information must be considered.
3. Parole boards enhance their effectiveness through the timely exchange of relevant information among criminal justice components and by providing information about policies and programs to offenders, victims, and the general public.
4. Parole boards will make the least restrictive decision consistent with the protection of society.
5. Parole boards will adopt and be guided by appropriate policies and Board Members will be given appropriate training.
6. Offenders must be given relevant information, reasons for decisions, and access to the review of decisions to ensure a fair and understandable conditional release process.

Previous | Table of Contents | Next