parole, supervised conditional release from prison granted prior to the expiration of a sentence.
In French parole means “word,” and its use in connection with the release of prisoners was derived from the idea that they were released on their word of honour that they would commit no further crimes. The practice of allowing prisoners to be released from prison before serving their full sentences dates to at least the 18th century. In England at that time, nearly all serious crimes (felonies) were punishable by death, though relatively few offenders were actually executed. The king granted the majority of those sentenced to death a pardon on the condition that the offender agree to be transported to a penal colony (e.g., Australia or America for English convicts; Africa, New Caledonia, or French Guiana for French convicts). Eventually the courts were given the power to pronounce sentences of transportation themselves, usually for a period specified in the sentence, though most sentences of transportation were modified by executive action. England developed a system of “ticket of leave,” in which convicts detained under a sentence of transportation were allowed a measure of freedom or the right to return to England in return for good behaviour. England abolished the sentence of transportation in the mid-19th century (French penal colonies continued to operate into the mid-20th century) and replaced it with penal servitude, which incorporated a similar procedure under a different name, “release on license.” Through good behaviour in custody, a convict sentenced to penal servitude could earn release from a penitentiary. However, release was conditional on good behaviour outside prison; if another offense was committed, the convict could be returned to prison to serve out the rest of his sentence (known as the remanet).
An essential feature of parole is the supervision of the convict during the remaining part of the sentence after release from prison. Convicts who have been released on parole normally are required to observe various conditions, which may be quite restrictive and which may address such matters as where they live and work; they may also be required to undergo medical or psychiatric treatment and drug testing. Failure to comply with these conditions can lead to the revocation of the parole and a return to prison. Enforcement of the conditions, as well as the provision of assistance and counseling, is usually the responsibility of a probation or parole officer, to whom the paroled convict is required to report at stated intervals. In many countries the decision of the supervising officer or the parole board to return a convict to prison is not subject to appeal or judicial review. However, there usually are regular due process procedures that must be followed to ensure a minimal level of fairness.
Early release from sentences of penal servitude in England was a standard practice by the late 19th century, with the result that virtually all prisoners were released after serving a fixed and predetermined portion of their sentences. During the 20th century parole in England underwent a number of changes, culminating in the Criminal Justice Act of 1991. Under this law (and subsequent revisions), all prisoners sentenced to less than four years were automatically released after serving half of their sentences. Those who were convicted of a new offense could, at the judge’s discretion, not only receive a sentence for the new offense but also be required to serve the unserved portion of the sentence for the first offense. Prisoners sentenced to more than four years were eligible for parole after serving half their sentences; those sentenced to more than 15 years could be granted parole by the home secretary upon the recommendation of the parole board.
In the United States the principle of “indeterminate” sentencing became widely accepted in the 19th century and eventually formed the basis of the sentencing laws of many jurisdictions. In this type of sentencing, judges did not sentence convicts to fixed periods of imprisonment but instead set maximum and minimum periods of confinement. The actual date of release was then determined by the parole board, which also had the power to revoke parole and return a convict to prison.
Indeterminate sentences have a number of rehabilitative and administrative advantages. They provide an incentive for a convict still in prison to improve his behaviour in order to convince the authorities that he is ready for release; by the same token, they also are a powerful disincentive against misbehaviour. After a prisoner is released, the parole board monitors his behaviour and attitudes and is thus able to determine whether they have changed for the better. Finally, indeterminate sentences enable authorities to compensate for disparities in the sentences imposed by judges (often believed to be a source of friction and discontent among prisoners) and to impose limits on the prison population.
Beginning in the 1980s several U.S. states abolished parole in favour of “determinate” sentences with a fixed release date. To retain the rehabilitative advantages of parole, however, several of these states strengthened “good-time” provisions, whereby a convict’s period of imprisonment could be reduced in consideration of good behaviour in prison. Many of the states that retained parole passed so-called “truth-in-sentencing” laws, which generally required that a prisoner serve more than 85 percent of his maximum sentence before becoming eligible for parole (the percentage enabled states to qualify for federal funds to build or expand correctional facilities). Partially as a result of such restrictions on the granting of parole, the United States experienced a quintupling of its imprisonment rate (i.e., the proportion of the general population in prisons) in the last two decades of the 20th century.
In the 1990s Portugal made similar revisions to its penal code, with the result that its imprisonment rate increased by about 50 percent; by the turn of the 21st century, Portugal, with the United Kingdom, had among the highest rates of imprisonment in western Europe. Other countries, meanwhile, continued to use parole extensively. In Canada prisoners are eligible for parole after serving one-third of their sentences or after serving seven years of a life sentence; more than four-fifths of Canadian prisoners eventually secure release on some type of parole. In Japan prisoners are eligible for parole after serving one-third of their sentences or after serving 10 years of a life sentence; about two-fifths of prisoners in Japan are released on parole. In France first-time offenders usually are paroled after serving one-half of their sentences; recidivists are eligible for parole after a longer period of imprisonment.