Custodial Aspects of Federal Parole

Abstract

Federal parole procedures begin when the sentence is imposed. The first step secures information to show to what community the prisoner belongs and what is known about him and his family. Through this procedure what is known about the family, their means of livelihood, who are their associates, how will they live during their member's imprisonment, who are relatives and friends of the family, are determined. When this information is at hand steps are taken to secure a suitable private or public agency or a reputable lay citizen to serve as advisor to the family and be of such help to them as their situation may require. This step provides a useful measure in the constructive program of parole but is also an important step from the point of view of custody. If the family is well established in the community the prisoner, at his return, will have a reasonably favorable family situation to hold him to the community. The active reputable citizen (one for each parolee) is a community representative who has free access to the official supervisor for such assistance as he may need and to report for a warrant if necessary. During the incarceration this early information is confirmed; where incomplete it is completed; as the current situation changes the records show the change and the prisoner is kept advised. An educational program deliberately seeks to affect the prisoner's attitude to the end that he will wish to live in an acceptable manner. The medical service helps in its way to correct what is correctible, and the social unit uses its facilities not only in the assembly of records but also to search out the factors in the case which are subject to social manipulation. The parole service coordinates the work of these services and those of the community. The record of the case development is kept on a Calendar card which later becomes the Supervision Card. From the custodial point of view all this work gives a clear and complete identification of the prisoner. The detailed information acquired during the institutional period when added to the fingerprint record, and the other records of prosecution, provide the basis