How to Find Information on the Benefits of the Parole System
A person who is paroled is released from a correctional institution to serve the remainder of his or her sentence working in the community. Some major benefits of the parole system are that it frees up space in prisons and gives offenders a chance to give back to the community they wronged in the first place.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
Find Information on the Benefits of the Parole System
-
1
Check your local library or the library of your correctional facility. There are thousands of books on parole law, from highly technical volumes filled with legal jargon to books that seek to answer the most basic questions in a clear, easy-to-understand manner.
-
2
Talk to your attorney. As a parolee, you may qualify for certain types of programs or assistance and your attorney can help you understand your rights and obligations during your parole.
-
-
3
Contact your parole officer. No one knows better the ins and outs of the parole system, and there is no better day-to-day support system than your appointed parole officer.
-
4
Find a job. One of the major benefits of the parole system is that it enables offenders to be gainfully employed rather than wasting away behind bars.
-
5
Call an advocacy group such as the ACLU (see Resources below) if you believe you are being unlawfully discriminated against because of your parole status.
-
6
The parole system is not just designed to help offenders. Victims and witnesses have rights, too, and the same advocacy groups that help parolees (such as the ACLU) provide information and support to victims and witnesses.
-
7
Do not contact victims or witnesses directly unless instructed to do so by a judge or parole officer, but use your parole as a time to make positive contributions to your community and society in general.
-
8
Follow up with an appeal to the National Appeals Board if you are denied parole.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Never misrepresent yourself. However, it may not always be in your best interest to advertise your parole status to those who do not need to know.
The parole system does have major benefits, but you should know ahead of time that you may encounter resistance in the community. Some people are hesitant to hire parolees, so you may have difficulty finding a good job and will have to work extra hard to prove to others the value of the parole system.
