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Prisoners' understanding and experiences of parole
Author(s) -
Kelly Lynn,
McIvor Gill,
Richard Karen
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
criminal behaviour and mental health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.63
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1471-2857
pISSN - 0957-9664
DOI - 10.1002/cbm.2178
Subject(s) - prison , psychology , politics , government (linguistics) , criminology , transparency (behavior) , process (computing) , social psychology , political science , law , computer science , linguistics , philosophy , operating system
Background In Scotland, as elsewhere, there has been growing political and public interest in the function and process of parole accompanied by a lack of empirical research on the operation and effectiveness of parole. Aims Against the backdrop of a Scottish Government review of parole aimed, among other things, at improving the transparency of the process, the aim of the study was to explore the experiences of prisoners seeking early release on licence. Methods In conjunction with the Scottish Prison Service a national survey was conducted of 197 long‐term prisoners who had experience of seeking early release on parole. Findings The survey revealed that prisoners did not have a clear understanding of parole and often did not feel fully engaged in the process. Conclusions It is argued that better support for prisoners prior to, during and following parole hearings might foster their increased engagement and alleviate some of the anxiety associated with the parole process.