Unions: good for workers or bad for business?

[Caliga]

Anyway, I see no point in belittling what Strix does.  Obviously he does an important job.  However, it doesn't mean that he doesn't get overpaid for it.

I'm waiting for a meaningful description of what he does before passing judgment.

[Berkut]

So people get parole for murder and rape?

Yep.  In Georgia, until very recently, the "life without parole" sentence was only available for a murder where the death penalty was sought (but, obviously, not granted).

Even if life without parole is an option, it's not always going to be the sentence.

Strix isn't in Georgia though.

And I am not talking about sentences of life with or without parole, I am talking about just regular old sentences and whether it is common to get parole for violent crimes, in New York.

[Berkut]

Anyway, I see no point in belittling what Strix does.  Obviously he does an important job.  However, it doesn't mean that he doesn't get overpaid for it.

But nobody has belittled what he does.

Just belittle him, and his uber macho, wanna-be Chuck Norris image of himself.

I have great respect in general for law enforcement. Most of the ones I know would find his posturing (especially as a parole officer) rather amusing.

[ulmont]

Strix isn't in Georgia though.

NY is not known for having a harsher criminal justice system than Georgia, though.

And I am not talking about sentences of life with or without parole, I am talking about just regular old sentences and whether it is common to get parole for violent crimes, in New York.

440 murderers and attempted murderers were paroled in 2004-07.
http://www.pressrepublican.com/homepage/local_story_084065137.html/

[Berkut]

Strix isn't in Georgia though.

NY is not known for having a harsher criminal justice system than Georgia, though.

And I am not talking about sentences of life with or without parole, I am talking about just regular old sentences and whether it is common to get parole for violent crimes, in New York.

440 murderers and attempted murderers were paroled in 2004-07.
http://www.pressrepublican.com/homepage/local_story_084065137.html/

Right, and that was pretty controversial at the time, and even now. For some time (and I thought this was still largely the case - apparently I was wrong) A1 offenders were not paroled.

From that article:

Alexander said boards are making safe decisions and his agency released parole data as evidence. The return rate for violent felons committing a crime within three years was 1.6 percent from 1999 through 2003. Division records show none of the 456 A1 felons released from 2004 through 2007 were returned to prison for a new crime, including the 440 murderers and attempted murderers in that group.

Pretty impressive that Strix has had 2 murderers already, and some rapists, since in a three year period there were none were returned to prison in the entire state. I guess maybe it has gotten a lot worse this year, or perhaps they give all the really tough ones to Strix.

Or is the next paragraph the answer?

Those figures do not include parolees sent back to prison in that time for technical violations

[Strix]

Question: what exactly does a parole officer do?  I really have no idea. 

In NYS, we are sworn peace officers. This means we are armed and have police powers of arrest. The major difference is that we cannot arrest people for misdemeanors unless they are committed in our presence.

In NYS, a felon is anyone who receives a sentence of a year or more that they serve in prison while a misdemeanor is a year or less served in jail. A felon can be released from prison early and this is called parole. He/she isn't finished their sentence but it was determined by the parole commission to be in the best interests of society to let them out early. There is also a type of felon (usually violent) that finishes 4/5th of their sentence that get placed on Post Release Supervision. This is a set period of time (usually 3-5 years) where they fall under the supervision of parole.

Upon release, the new parolee reports to his supervising officer. The parolee is given a certificate of release with various conditions he/she must obey at his releasing facility. He/she is than given a list of special conditions that he/she must obey from his/her officer upon arrival at their area office.

Parolee's are required to report once per week to their officers at the area office. After 4-5 months on parole this can be changed to bi-weekly, and after a year it can be changed to monthly depending on the parolee's progress.

Parolee's are given a seven days a week curfew. Initially it is usually 8pm to 8am but some officers choose to go with a 9pm to 7am curfew. After a year on parolee it can be adjusted by an hour or so if the officer feels inclined. The curfew can also be adjusted to be more strict e.g. 6 to 6 , 7 to 7, etc, and so on.

Parolee's depending on their crime will periodically have their curfew checked and they will periodically be visited at their homes. Officers check to make sure that curfews are being obeyed, that the residences are free of contraband, and that random searches of the residence and parolee are conducted. The number and frequency of checks are governed by a national standard. So, basically officers will show up at their houses between 8pm and 8am on any given day.

Parole Officers will also conduct community preparations for parolee releases. They check on the residence to make sure it is suitable or they arrange for housing if the parolee is undomiciled coming out of the facility.

Parole Officers are also required to arrange treatment programs for various issues (mental health, substance abuse, domestic violence, anti-anger/anti-aggression, and so on) and monitor the progress of the parolee.

Parole Officers are also required to help arrange for jobs and/or academic/vocational training. We find them jobs, get them in training programs, etc, and so on, and than monitor their progress.

If a parolee begins to violate any conditions of their parole e.g. not getting a job, missing curfew, contact with someone they are forbidden to see, commit a new crime, etc, and so on than Parole Officers are required to prepare a violation of parole report that is sent to the parole commission.

Once the report is complete, the officer forwards it along with a request for an arrest warrant. The area supervisor decides if an immediate warrant is granted, in which case the warrant is given to the parole officer. If an immediate warrant is not required than the report is forwarded to a parole commissioner who decides what should be done i.e. arrest, continue current sanctions, do something new, etc and so on.

Once a parole officer has his/her warrant than they attempt to arrest the parolee. How, where, and when depends on the seriousness of the charges and the nature of the instant offense (what they are on parole for). It can be as simple as arresting them next report day in the office or as complex as kicking their door in at 5am the next morning (a parolee agrees to allow their officers to conduct warrantless searches of their residence and person as a condition of release, so warrants don't become an issue until we start knocking on family members doors).

Once a parolee is arrested and lodged. The officer has 72 hours to serve the violation of parole report/charges on the parolee. After the VoP has been served than a preliminary hearing must be conducted within 15 days (we usually do it within a week). After the preliminary hearing than a final hearing must be conducted within 45 days (we usually do it within a few weeks).

Parole Officers act as the prosecutor at the preliminary hearing. We gather evidence to support our charges, subpoena witnesses, and prosecute the parolee in front of a hearing officer. Parolee can be represented by lawyers (every parolee gets a lawyer in the area I work). Parole Officers only have to prove that probable cause exists on a single charge to send the hearing to Final.

Parole Officers can be witnesses at final hearings but do not have any other involvement with them. They are conducted by a parole revocation specialist in front on an administrative law judge.

Parole Officers do many other functions and things too numerous to list.

So, that is a short of overview to give you an idea what we do in NYS parole.

[Strix]

So people get parole for murder and rape?

Yes, they do. 

[The Minsky Moment]

So people get parole for murder and rape?

In the state system they can.  The federal system abolished parole.

[Strix]

Strix isn't in Georgia though.

NY is not known for having a harsher criminal justice system than Georgia, though.

And I am not talking about sentences of life with or without parole, I am talking about just regular old sentences and whether it is common to get parole for violent crimes, in New York.

440 murderers and attempted murderers were paroled in 2004-07.
http://www.pressrepublican.com/homepage/local_story_084065137.html/

Right, and that was pretty controversial at the time, and even now. For some time (and I thought this was still largely the case - apparently I was wrong) A1 offenders were not paroled.

From that article:

Alexander said boards are making safe decisions and his agency released parole data as evidence. The return rate for violent felons committing a crime within three years was 1.6 percent from 1999 through 2003. Division records show none of the 456 A1 felons released from 2004 through 2007 were returned to prison for a new crime, including the 440 murderers and attempted murderers in that group.

Pretty impressive that Strix has had 2 murderers already, and some rapists, since in a three year period there were none were returned to prison in the entire state. I guess maybe it has gotten a lot worse this year, or perhaps they give all the really tough ones to Strix.

Or is the next paragraph the answer?

Those figures do not include parolees sent back to prison in that time for technical violations

The key there is new crime. A violation of parole is not a new crime.

[The Minsky Moment]

NY is not known for having a harsher criminal justice system than Georgia, though.

Reputation isn't always a reliable guide for how the system works.  For example, NY happens to have one of the most defendant-unfriendly discovery rules in the entire nation.  It can be a very difficult state to represent a criminal defendant.

[ulmont]

The federal system abolished parole.

But created "supervised release" to run after a prison sentence.  Aside from being assigned up front by a judge rather than on the back end by a parole board, how much difference?

[Strix]

NY is not known for having a harsher criminal justice system than Georgia, though.

Reputation isn't always a reliable guide for how the system works.  For example, NY happens to have one of the most defendant-unfriendly discovery rules in the entire nation.  It can be a very difficult state to represent a criminal defendant.

Unfortunately, Monroe County is one of the most liberal counties in the state. It is not uncommon for a murder to be reduced to Criminal Possession of a Weapon. As well as other violent crimes to be significantly reduced by plea bargains.

[Caliga]

Unfortunately, Monroe County is one of the most liberal counties in the state. It is not uncommon for a murder to be reduced to Criminal Possession of a Weapon.

[The Minsky Moment]

The federal system abolished parole.

But created "supervised release" to run after a prison sentence.  Aside from being assigned up front by a judge rather than on the back end by a parole board, how much difference?

One very big difference is that a federal prisoner can't be paroled!   
Seriously, under the fed system the best you can get is the modest fixed good time credit.  Under the state system, if the setence is indeterminate (ie not covered by the Pataki violent offender law), you can get early discretionary or conditional release.

That is a very big difference from the POV of the convict and it also means that the Parole Board is involved in making a lot of discretionary calls about release for every prisoner in the system; a task that the Federal Depts of Probation aren't involved in.

[Strix]

The federal system abolished parole.

But created "supervised release" to run after a prison sentence.  Aside from being assigned up front by a judge rather than on the back end by a parole board, how much difference?

New York uses a similar system. We either have people who are paroled by the parole commission or we have people who have finished their time and get placed on Post Release Supervision. The differences in how both work and function would take quite some time to explain.

What it boils down to is this...someone on parole reaches their Conditional Release date which is the date they must be released from prison. They can be released at a few various earlier times by the parole board but CR is the final date. Once released they go on parole. If they violate than they get returned and get a new CR date (if applicable). However, they get credit for non-delinquent time spent outside prison, and for anytime spent waiting for their new CR date while back in prison. All this time counts towards their final maximum expiration date.

Post Release is different. A person on post release cannot be released before their CR date. A parolee is released with a short time left on their sentence and a period of Post Release (usually 3-5 years but it varies on crime). A parolee MUST finish their entire time on Post Release outside of prison. If a parolee is violated and sent back to prison they get no credit for any delinquent time nor do they get credit for prison time. Prison is basically a "time out" and the PRS clock doesn't start until they get back out. So, unlike normal parole, a parolee cannot just go ahead and finish their time.

For more info on Post Release (in NY) look up Jenna's Law which created it after a murder committed by someone finished parole.