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Journal ArticleDOI

Parole Revocation in the Era of Mass Incarceration

Jeffrey Lin1
01 Dec 2010-Sociology Compass (Blackwell Publishing Ltd)-Vol. 4, Iss: 12, pp 999-1010
TL;DR: For example, the revocation of parole has been used to identify and reincarcerate dangerous criminals in the US criminal justice system as discussed by the authors, leading to an exponential growth of US prison populations over the last 30 years.
Abstract: The explosive growth of US prison populations over the last 30 years—now known as ‘mass incarceration’—has been driven by harsh sentences delivered to offenders by criminal courts, but the increasingly common practice of parole revocation has also contributed significantly to this phenomenon. As the criminal justice system has been reoriented away from rehabilitation and toward punitive objectives, the function of parole has changed accordingly. No longer focused on the successful reintegration of offenders, parole has been transformed into a managerial instrument that mainly serves to identify and reincarcerate dangerous criminals. This function entails a substantial amount of discretion in revocation decision making, raising concerns about the further entrenchment of disadvantage among already impoverished populations. However, given the professional and reputational pressures on state parole boards, revocation decision making logics appear rational. Reducing the flow of parole violators into prisons, therefore, is far more complicated than the technical re-engineering of parole practices. Such reform necessarily involves questioning our fundamental philosophies of punishment.
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: For example, the authors found that black and Latino defendants were more likely than white defendants to be detained, to receive a custodial plea offer, and to be incarcerated, while Asian defendants were less consistent.
Abstract: Current research on criminal case processing typically examines a single decision-making point, so drawing reliable conclusions about the impact that factors such as defendants’ race or ethnicity exert across successive stages of the justice system is difficult. Using data from the New York County District Attorney's Office that tracks 185,275 diverse criminal cases, this study assesses racial and ethnic disparity for multiple discretionary points of prosecution and sentencing. Findings from multivariate logistic regression analyses demonstrate that the effects of race and ethnicity vary by discretionary point and offense category. Black and Latino defendants were more likely than White defendants to be detained, to receive a custodial plea offer, and to be incarcerated—and they received especially punitive outcomes for person offenses—but were more likely to benefit from case dismissals. The findings for Asian defendants were less consistent but suggest they were the least likely to be detained, to receive custodial offers, and to be incarcerated. These findings are discussed in the context of contemporary theoretical perspectives on racial bias and cumulative disadvantage in the justice system.

297 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors identify supervision effects on five types of parole violations among 79,082 individuals released from prison in California: absconding, technical violations, drug use, violent offenses, and sexual offenses.
Abstract: Recent scholarship about parole supervision indicates that higher supervision intensity is associated with an increased risk of parole violations However, parole violations can take many forms—some minor and some serious—and theory suggests that supervision intensity might have differential effects depending upon the type of violation We use “competing risks” survival models to identify supervision effects on five types of parole violations among 79,082 individuals released from prison in California: absconding, technical violations, drug use, violent offenses, and sexual offenses We find that supervision effects are strongest for absconding violations Past sexual offending also triggers significant supervision effects for technical violations, drug use violations, and violent violations We conclude that parole violation patterns are influenced by parolee behaviors, the amount of attention the state is paying to those behaviors, and official markers of criminal dangerousness that are attached to part

45 citations


Cites background from "Parole Revocation in the Era of Mas..."

  • ...…of high-supervision parolees—perhaps because agents feel that absconding could signal more serious criminal behavior, which may also be related to the reputational problems parole agents and agencies experience when parolees reoffend in high-profile ways (see Grattet et al., 2011; Lin, 2010)....

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  • ...The reincarceration of parolees has contributed significantly to America’s high rate of imprisonment (Blumstein & Beck, 2005; Lin, 2010; Travis, 2007)....

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  • ...Keywords parole violators; recidivism; competing risks; supervision regime; societal reaction; liberation hypothesis Introduction The reincarceration of parolees has contributed significantly to America’s high rate of imprisonment (Blumstein & Beck, 2005; Lin, 2010; Travis, 2007)....

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  • ...…populations through the economically lean years of the early twenty-first century has strained parole agencies and this has further contributed to the widespread adoption of corporatized accounting methods and intense institutional attention to the goal of recidivism reduction (see Lin, 2010)....

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  • ...tional problems parole agents and agencies experience when parolees reoffend in high-profile ways (see Grattet et al., 2011; Lin, 2010)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors bring together research on parole governance with women's experiences of reentry and highlight how parole governance intersects, conflicts with, and complicates their efforts to return to their communities and transition out of the gaze of the penal state.
Abstract: This article brings together research on parole governance with women’s experiences of reentry. In particular, drawing on longitudinal qualitative interviews with a group of women leaving prison and returning to their communities, the present study highlights the way parole structures women’s reintegration efforts post-incarceration. The women’s experiences highlight how parole governance intersects, conflicts with, and complicates their efforts to return to their communities and transition out of the gaze of the penal state.

36 citations


Cites background from "Parole Revocation in the Era of Mas..."

  • ...Notably, for many under the supervision of parole, technical violations have become a central route back to jail or prison as revocations make up just over 20% of all prison admissions (Lin, 2010)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This article examined three reasons why suspects resist arrest: (1) defiance of police authority by lower-status groups, (2) risky decisions resulting from aversion to sure losses, and (3) impairment due to mental illness and substance use.
Abstract: Objectives:We examine three reasons why suspects resist arrest: (1) defiance of police authority by suspects from lower-status groups, (2) risky decisions resulting from aversion to sure losses, and (3) impairment due to mental illness and substance use.Methods:We use nationally representative survey data from about 17,000 state and federal inmates who were asked whether they resisted arrest when they committed the crime that led to their incarceration.Results:Suspects’ resistance is unrelated to their race/ethnicity, education, or unemployment. On the other hand, suspects are more resistant when they are carrying contraband (e.g., illegal weapons, drugs, stolen property) or are under community supervision (i.e., parolees, probationers, or escapees). Resistance is also positively related to mental illness, illicit drug use, and alcohol intoxication.Conclusions:Our results do not support the idea that resistance is an expression of defiance from lower-status suspects. They are consistent with prospect theo...

20 citations


Cites background from "Parole Revocation in the Era of Mas..."

  • ...Lin (2010) estimates that 22.2 percent of U.S. inmates in 2008 were serving time due to parole revocations, compared to 7.1 percent of inmates in 1980 (see also Glaze and Parks 2012)....

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References
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The findings of this study reveal an important, and much underrecognized, mechanism of stratification in the criminal justice system, which presents a major barrier to employment, with important implications for racial disparities.
Abstract: With over 2 million individuals currently incarcerated, and over half a million prisoners released each year, the large and growing number of men being processed through the criminal justice system raises important questions about the consequences of this massive institutional intervention. This article focuses on the consequences of incarceration for the employment outcomes of black and white job seekers. The present study adopts an experimental audit approach—in which matched pairs of individuals applied for real entry‐level jobs—to formally test the degree to which a criminal record affects subsequent employment opportunities. The findings of this study reveal an important, and much underrecognized, mechanism of stratification. A criminal record presents a major barrier to employment, with important implications for racial disparities.

2,352 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that an important new language of penology is emerging, which shifts focus away from the traditional concerns of the criminal law and criminology, which have focused on the individual, and redirects it to actuarial consideration of aggregates.
Abstract: The new penology argues that an important new language of penology is emerging. This new language, which has its counterparts in other areas of the law as well, shifts focus away from the traditional concerns of the criminal law and criminology, which have focused on the individual, and redirects it to actuarial consideration of aggregates. This shift has a number of important implications: It facilitates development of a vision or model of a new type of criminal process that embraces increased reliance on imprisonment and that merges concerns for surveillance and custody, that shifts away from a concern with punishing individuals to managing aggregates of dangerous groups, and that affects the training and practice of criminologists.

1,938 citations

MonographDOI
TL;DR: Punishment is a complex social institution that affects both social relations and cultural meanings as discussed by the authors, and it is worth noting that punishment is the heart and soul of criminology, and perhaps of sociology as well.
Abstract: In this path-breaking book, David Garland argues that punishment is a complex social institution that affects both social relations and cultural meanings. Drawing on theorists from Durkheim to Foucault, he insightfully critiques the entire spectrum of social thought concerning punishment, and reworks it into a new interpretive synthesis. ""Punishment and Modern Society" is an outstanding delineation of the sociology of punishment. At last the process that is surely the heart and soul of criminology, and perhaps of sociology as well punishment has been rescued from the fringes of these 'disciplines'. . . . This book is a first-class piece of scholarship." Graeme Newman, "Contemporary Sociology" "Garland's treatment of the theorists he draws upon is erudite, faithful and constructive. . . . "Punishment and Modern Society" is a magnificent example of "working" social theory." John R. Sutton, "American Journal of Sociology" ""Punishment and Modern Society" lifts contemporary penal issues from the mundane and narrow contours within which they are so often discussed and relocates them at the forefront of public policy. . . . This book will become a landmark study." Andrew Rutherford, "Legal Studies" "This is a superbly intelligent study. Its comprehensive coverage makes it a genuine review of the field. Its scholarship and incisiveness of judgment will make it a constant reference work for the initiated, and its concluding theoretical synthesis will make it a challenge and inspiration for those undertaking research and writing on the subject. As a state-of-the-art account it is unlikely to be bettered for many a year." Rod Morgan, "British Journal of Criminology" Winner of both the Outstanding Scholarship Award of the Crime and Delinquency Division of the Society for the Study of Social Problems and the Distinguished Scholar Award from the American Sociological Association's Crime, Law, and Deviance Section"

1,413 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The rapid growth of the US penal population over the last two decades has coincided with a decline in the number of welfare recipients as mentioned in this paper, while shifts in crime rates, economic and political consideration...
Abstract: Rapid growth of the US penal population over the last two decades has coincided with a decline in the number of welfare recipients. While shifts in crime rates, economic and political consideration...

482 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Feeley and Simon as discussed by the authors conducted an ethnographic study in a parole field office in central California and found that agents embrace a traditional law enforcement role for themselves that primarily takes an individualistic approach to the clientele and an intuitive approach to their management, rather than taking on the new role of actuarial risk managers defined by upper management.
Abstract: This ethnographic research, conducted in a parole field office in central California, looks at how Feeley and Simon's (1992) "new penology" paradigm plays out at the level of implementation, given competing pressures on agents to be tough on crime as well as successful danger "risk managers." Findings suggest that agents embrace a traditional law enforcement role for themselves that primarily takes an individualistic approach to the clientele and an intuitive approach to their management, rather than taking on the new penological role of actuarial risk managers defined by upper management. The agents were influenced by the popular discourse on crime in defining their priorities and actively subverted directives management issued to reorder those priorities. As Simon (1993) foreshadowed in his work on parole, the agents in this setting did not appear poised to become mere human waste managers." In their conceptualization of the "new penology," Feeley and Simon (1992) argue that over the past few decades, a systems analysis approach to danger management has come to dominate criminal justice administration, and they suggest that the penal enterprise may well be evolving into a "waste management" system rather than a normalizing or rehabilitative one. In their model, those in the dangerous class of criminals are nearly synonymous with those in the larger social category of the underclass, a segment of the population that has been abandoned to a fate of poverty and despair. Ultimately, Feeley and Simon imply a deep institutional cynicism about the redemptability of this class in their suggestion that contemporary corrections may be inevitably heading toward an operational goal "of herding a specific population that cannot be disaggregated and transformed but only maintained-a kind of waste management function" (p. 470). Simon (1993) fleshes out the waste management analogy in his discussion of the potential futures for corrections. Since any investment in this dangerous class would be deemed futile, the waste management model would entail securing its members at the lowest possible cost. The "toxic waste" containment sites (Simon 1993:260) would be the underclass communities where those under the control of community corrections would be required to live, and in this potential postmodern penal world, front-line crime control workers would merely manage and distribute dangerous bodies, with little affective or relational involvement (Simon 1993). The pursuit of this goal of managing dangerous populations (or "waste managing") is manifested in the language and strategies of the "new penology." Specifically, Feeley and Simon (1992) delineate three distinct elements to the new penology: First, it is manifested in a new discourse that emphasizes risk and probability as applied to a criminal population rather than diagnosis or moralistic judgments of individual wrongdoers. Second, they posit that the new penology is reflected in objectives transformed from an earlier emphasis on punishing or normalizing deviants to a current focus on identifying and managing classes of criminals. Finally, they argue that this shift in objectives has triggered the development of a new set of techniques for carrying out the goals of classifying and controlling aggregate risk, including the use of drug testing to measure risk and statistical/ actuarial methods for setting risk level. At the heart of what distinguishes the "old" from the "new" penology is the relative abandonment of the individual in defining and managing criminal populations. The individual, in old penology, is a volitional actor who can be reformed, treated, or punished; thus, his motivation for criminal behavior is an important element to determining appropriate penal action. While old penological policies may refer to aggregates and categories of criminals, the interventions are distinctly aimed at changing the criminal actors or "individuals."' In contrast, new penological strategies, according to Feeley and Simon (1992), are not concerned with why criminals commit their illegal acts but rather with how to most efficiently manage the level of reoffending risk posed by them. …

256 citations