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Journal ArticleDOI

Revoking Early Conditional Release Measures in Spain

01 Mar 2012-European journal of probation (SAGE Publications)-Vol. 4, Iss: 1, pp 112-124
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine how early conditional release measures for offenders are revoked in Spain, paying special attention to the criteria and the procedures legally established, and discuss relevant statistics and case law on this subject.
Abstract: In this article we examine how early conditional release measures for offenders are revoked in Spain. For this purpose we analyse the legal framework of revocation, paying special attention to the criteria and the procedures legally established. We also take a look to the practice of revocation by discussing relevant statistics and the case law on this subject. Finally, we raise some critical points on the Spanish system of revocation suggesting some changes inspired by the principle of revocation as a last resort.

Summary (2 min read)

Introduction

  • Over the past thirty years, local access to food stores has become an increasing concern for retail planners and policy makers.
  • Most notably, successive investigations by the UK government’s Competition Commission into the supply of groceries have identified local ‘areas of concern’ where retail provision is regarded as problematic.
  • In order to examine these effects empirically, the authors adopt a stated-preference approach (Louviere, Hensher and Swait, 2000).
  • The authors apply this approach to consumers from neighbourhoods with different levels of deprivation to assess the effect of levels of household deprivation as a moderator of consumers’ perceptions of choice.

Recent policy issues: ‘retail diversity’

  • As Guy (2009) has documented, the term retail diversity has come to the fore in retail planning and competition debates over the past five years in the context of supermarket competition, ‘clone towns’, brand concentration, and questions over the extent to which small independent and specialist stores should be encouraged and protected.
  • The authors argue that retail diversity is key to the ability of a particular centre to adapt and thrive in the face of environmental and competitive forces.
  • The composition of the store mix is one determinant of consumers’ satisfaction with their local store assortment.
  • Marjanen (1997) suggested subjective distance is not linearly related to objective distance because closer and shorter distances tend to be overestimated, and longer distances underestimated.
  • Previous research has identified links between social deprivation and store choice.

Method

  • To test their hypotheses, the authors adopted a stated-preference approach.
  • Second, because the method is experimental it allows stronger inferences of causality than can be derived from survey-based approaches using real market observations.
  • Finally, although the hypothetical nature of the task does impose some limitation on the external validity of the findings, stated preference methods are very well able to capture respondents’ preference functions and have been shown to be adept at predicting real market behaviours (for reviews see Louviere, 1988; Louviere et al., 2000).
  • Retail fascias present in Worcester at the time included Tesco (two major outof-town stores), Tesco Express (three outlets), Sainsbury (one high street and out-of-town store), Somerfield (two outlets) and the Cooperative Group (three outlets).
  • The city has a population of around 95,000, with a socio-economic profile almost identical to England as a whole.

Sample and Procedure

  • Nine neighbourhoods were selected that varied over three levels of social deprivation, measured using the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD).
  • The overall IMD is conceptualised as a weighted area-level aggregation of the specific dimensions of deprivation (ODPM, 2004).
  • In each location, a starting point for recruitment was randomly selected, after which additional respondents were recruited from the same area by door knocking until over 30 interviews had been successfully completed within each neighbourhood.
  • The procedure resulted in 288 completed householder interviews.
  • Respondents received four scenarios, one at a time, and the interviewer asked for each how satisfied the respondent would be with the store mix in terms of retail choice (see Figure 1).

Experimental Design

  • The experimentally designed store mixes were presented on show cards as shown in Figure 1.
  • Tesco is the largest multiple operator of supermarkets and superstores in the UK and has by far the largest market share of the four main operator brands.
  • In addition, the store mixes included a Somerfield supermarket.
  • Finally, the authors allowed for systematic variation of the presence of multiple instances of Tesco’s main supermarket format on the show cards, enabling us to test for the effect of additional supermarkets of the same brand (in this case using Tesco) in the area on satisfaction with the store mix.
  • At the 15-minute edge of town location the options were: (4) a Tesco supermarket, (5) a Tesco branded small store (Tesco Express) and/or (6) an ASDA supermarket.

Findings

  • The sample for this paper consisted of 288 households, distributed evenly across the local areas selected to reflect areas of high, medium and low levels of deprivation and local access.
  • In addition, the model included the products of these attributes and attribute interactions with the deprivation dummies.
  • Secondly, respondents in neighbourhoods that are classified as moderately deprived appear to perceive less value (0.61) in having an ASDA store in their mix, especially if they already have a Sainsbury in their mix (another 0.34 drop on the log scale).

Discussion, conclusions and implications

  • Second, the authors find that the presence of a small independent store adds to satisfaction but only when overall provision is rated low.
  • The presence of a second Tesco at 15 minutes travel added very little to the satisfaction levels but the presence of a different supermarket brand (e.g. ASDA or Morrisons) significantly increased satisfaction levels, even when stores were located 15 minutes away.
  • They suggest that low levels of provision, and/or a lack of brand variety act as constraints on consumer choice; and conversely, a larger number of stores and a greater variety of store brands help maximise consumer choice and welfare by positively influencing consumers’ satisfaction with their local mix of grocery stores.

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1
REVOKING EARLY CONDITIONAL RELEASE MEASURES IN SPAIN
José Cid
Criminologia Aplicada a la Penologia
Department of Political Science and Public Law
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
e-mail: Josep.Cid@uab.es
Beatriz Tébar
Departament d’Interior
Generalitat de Catalunya
The final, definitive version of this paper has been published in European Journal of
Probation, 4 (1): 112-124, 2012, by SAGE Publishing.
Available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/206622031200400110

2
Abstract
1
In this article we examine how early conditional release measures for offenders are
revocated in Spain. For this purpose we analyse the legal framework of revocation,
paying special attention to the criteria and the procedures legally established. We also
take a look to the practice of revocation by showing the figures the case law on this
subject. Finally, the most critical issues on revocation are outlined according an
approach based on the philosophical that should rule revocation and the constitutional
principles that inform conditional early release mechanisms.
Keywords: early conditional release recalling, prison allocation, parole.
1
This research has been funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (Políticas de
reinserción en el ámbito penal, DER 2008-0541) and the Catalan Government (AGAUR Grupo de
Investigación consolidado en Criminología aplicada a laPenología, SGR 2009-1117). The data presented
in this paper has been provided by Ramon Pares, Director of the Catalan Prison System and Virgilio
Valero, Director of Rehabilitation of the Spanish Prison). We would like to thank especially the prison
judge Benito Pérez, one of the six prison judges in Catalonia, for a long interview with him that improved
very much our understanding of the practice of revocation of conditional early release measure. We also
want to thank Mireia Balaguer, Manuel Cachón and Carme Navarro for the time they devote to answer
our questions. Nicky Padfield was not only the person who came out with this project on comparative
penology but also challenged us with stimulating questions that we have tried to answer. Beatriz Tébar
would also like to thank the Catalan Government for the Batista i Roca scholarship she was granted to
conduct comparative research on parole at the Institute of Criminology of the University of Cambridge
from March to December 2003.

3
INTRODUCTION: AN OVERVIEW OF THE SPANISH EARLY RELEASE
SYSTEM (Cid and Tébar 2010a).
Spanish law provides two ways to be early conditional released while serving a prison
sentence: open-regime (with include home detention curfew) and conditional liberty or
parole.
Both mechanisms are categories or classifications from the Spanish prison system set by
the General Penitentiary Act 1979. This Act introduced a progressive system based on
individualisation of the prison regime, which provides the following four main levels of
classification or treatment categories as they are named by the General Penitentiary Act
1979, where the higher the level is the more open is the prison regime implemented:
THE SPANISH PRISON SYSTEM
Prison Treatment Categories Prison Regime
1st category Closed or max security regime.
2nd category Ordinary regime
3
rd
category Open regime or home detention curfew
4th category Parole
Open Regime and Home detention curfew
Third degree prison regime or category is a kind of semi-detention whereby prisoners
spend the day outside prison, usually working, and return to prison only at nights, from
Monday to Thursday. While from Friday to Sunday third degree prisoners normally
benefit from a weekend leave.

4
Third degree classification is a prison measure regulated mainly by the 1979 General
Penitentiary Act and the 1996 Prison rules, although some provisions about this regime
where introduce by the 7/2003 Fundamental Law, which reformed the Spanish Criminal
Code.
As for the legal criteria to be categorised as a third degree prisoner, two ways are
foreseen. First, prisoners may be first classified in an open regime if they have a good
risk prognosis. However the Prison Administration only decides an initial third degree
classification in the case of first-time prisoners with short sentences and a very good
risk prognosis (Capdevila et. al. 2006). Secondly, the third level may be reached as a
progression from the second prison category. The 1996 Prison Rules provide this
classification in the third category once a quarter of the sentence has been served and
provided the prisoner is considered to be ready for resettlement. Despite these legal
criteria, the Prison Administration practice requires the following additional criteria to
receive a third degree allocation: having served half of the sentence; having previously
been granted temporary leave from prison; and having a remaining sentence that would
make them eligible for ordinary parole in no more than two or three years (Cid 2005;
López-Ferrer 2004). In both case, as a primary classification and as a progression from
the second level, Spanish Criminal Code section 36, requires prisoners to pay the civil
liability arouse form the offence committed decided in the sentence or at least to make
guarantees of payment according to their possibilities. Another legal requirement
established by the s.36 Criminal Code relating to classification into the third level refers
to the discretional power of the sentencing Judge to imposed a minimum mandatory
period of half of the sentence before classification in the third period, when a sentence

5
longer than five years is being served. This minimum mandatory period can be lifted by
the prison judge, provided that a low risk of reoffending is predicted. For sentences
longer than five years imposed for offences related to terrorism, organised crime, sexual
offences against victims under thirteen the minimum mandatory period before reaching
the third treatment category is perceptive and cannot be judicially lifted afterwards.
As for release in home detention curfew, prisoners allocated to the third level who carry
out labour or treatment activities outside the establishment, are eligible to be released by
this means during the nights. The 1996 Prison Rules established this special regime that
allows third level prisoners to replace the nightly return to prison by a home detention
curfew, so they only have to visit prison for arranged interviews with their supervision
agent. Generally, the home detention period, which normally lasts from 11 pm to 7 am,
is monitored by electronic tagging or by police officers.
Parole
Parole allows sentenced prisoners to be released into the community with supervision
before the end of a prison sentence. Supervision implies observing certain rules or
conditions, among which it is always included a duty not to re-offend. Parole remains in
force until the sentence expiry date, unless it is revoked earlier and the offender is
recalled to prison. As explained below, different modalities of parole can be
distinguished according to the criteria required to be released. Mention also should be
made to some cases where the type of prisoner, the number of offences committed and

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TL;DR: In this paper, a probation officer sits by his fax machine or telephone in the morning and receives information from the police about offenders who have been arrested the night before, and decides whom he will visit that day, have a talk with, probably write a report about and about whom he would advise the investigating judge or the courts on a sentence or an alternative to pre-trial detention.
Abstract: A probation officer sits by his fax machine or telephone in the morning and receives information from the police about offenders who have been arrested the night before. He has to decide whom he will visit that day, have a talk with, probably write a report about and about whom he will advise the investigating judge or the courts on a sentence or an alternative to pre-trial detention. Who is it going to be? How is he going to decide? Another probation officer has a client fail to show up for supervision — not for the first time. When does she decide to start the breach procedure? What influences her decision? Who else is involved in the final decision? A judge or committee has to ponder whether to release an offender who has served half his sentence. What are the criteria that guide this person or body, and by which agencies and by whose advice are they influenced?

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TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine how a post-Franco Spain emerged to embrace elements of popular punitivism, most notably the use of prisons, while embracing a penal structure and philosophy that is reintegrative at its core.
Abstract: In the last decade, an increasing number of scholars have discussed and articulated embracement of popular punitivism within Spain. The discourse while vital to the study of popular punitivism has missed an important element, specific to the cultural mediators present within the nation. As the current discourse has missed this vital component, the intent of this article is to examine how a post-Franco Spain emerged to embrace elements of popular punitivism, most notably the use of prisons, while embracing a penal structure and philosophy that is reintegrative at its core. As such, it is offered that the cultural factors present within the nation have enabled it to mitigate some of the most harmful characteristics of popular punitivism

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TL;DR: In this article, a qualitative study with the participation of 22 professionals who work in three Spanish detention centres: Zuera (Zaragoza), Ponent (Lleida) and Palma (Mallorca) is presented.
Abstract: Women deprived of freedom present some profiles and specific problems that distinguish them from the male prison population. The aim of this investigation is to evaluate how these gender differences are presented in the different observations and practices of the professionals who are involved in prison establishments. This will be done by means of a qualitative study with the participation of 22 professionals who work in three Spanish detention centres: Zuera (Zaragoza), Ponent (Lleida) and Palma (Mallorca). The results of the analysis show two main professional positions: the discourse and praxis that is present in the question of gender and the position that reproduces the patriarchal cultural patterns. Among the proposals for improvement revision of notions and prison treatment plans for women that are more appropriate to their specific needs are necessary.

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Cites background from "Revoking Early Conditional Release ..."

  • ...Secondly, for an effective change in criminal and prison policies in Spain for women inmates (Yague, 2007; Cid and Tebar, 2012)....

    [...]

Book ChapterDOI
01 Jan 2013
TL;DR: In France, sanctions for non-compliance with community sentences and early release measures are imposed by special courts devoted to the implementation of sentences: the Juge de l’application des peines QAP) and, for more serious cases, a three JAP court, the Tribunal de l'applicationdes peines (TAP) as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: In France, sanctions for non-compliance with community sentences and early release measures are imposed by special courts devoted to the implementation of sentences: the Juge de l’application des peines QAP) and, for more serious cases, a three JAP court, the Tribunal de l’application des peines (TAP). Given that France is a written law country and not a common law country, courts are not allowed to create legal rules, laws or decrees that dictate what they can and cannot do. As a result, legal provisions expressly prescribe what constitutes non-compliance. Nevertheless, the special courts devoted to the implementation of sentences have considerable discretion. Previous research has shown that, in practice, these courts are very desistance and rehabilitation oriented. Therefore, they tend to be reluctant to activate the recall process except in cases involving serious non-compliance (such as reoffending, escape or repeat violations). The courts also tailor their reaction to the personal circumstances of the offender. To provide insights into the nature and impact of the compliance strategies employed by JAPs, the present chapter will draw, on the one hand, upon a large-scale research study that explored the professional culture of JAPs and, on the other hand, upon a smaller-scale research study that examined TAPs’ practices of recall.

3 citations

25 Jul 2012
TL;DR: In this article, the authors propose a modalitat de classificació in l’administracio penitenciaria in regim obert, which is one of the possibilitats of classificacio per a determinat conjunt de people that complien els requisits.
Abstract: La classificacio dels interns penats en algun dels graus penitenciaris previstos a l’ordenament juridic espanyol es una de les funcions i tasques de l’Administracio penitenciaria. La classificacio inicial en regim obert es una d’aquestes possibles modalitats de classificacio per a un determinat conjunt de persones que complien els requisits. Aquesta modalitat de classificacio ha estat fins ara poc coneguda i sovint incompresa per part de la societats, ja que s’associa amb la llibertat definitiva de l’intern sense cap tipus de control. La finalitat de la recerca es precisament donar a coneixer els resultats d’aquesta aplicacio en el conjunt de penats que l’any 2001 varen accedir a aquesta modalitat i se’ls va seguir fins a octubre de 2005, per saber la seva trajectoria i s’hi havia reincidit. Tambe es va constituir un grup de contrast amb interns classificats en segon grau, per contrastar les diferencies entre ambdos col·lectius.

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References
More filters
01 Jan 2006
TL;DR: The presente tesis se aborda el sistema de libertad condicional espanol con referencia a otros sistemas de Libertad Condicional foraneos as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: En la presente tesis se aborda el sistema de libertad condicional espanol con referencia a otros sistemas de liberacion condicional foraneos. Este estudio se realiza desde distintas perspectivas: la historica, la relativa a su justificacion, la juridica y la de aplicacion practica. En primer lugar, desde una perspectiva historica, se trata el nacimiento de distintos sistemas de libertad condicional en el contexto occidental, en los planos cultural, legislativo y de practica penitenciaria. En segundo lugar se realiza una justificacion de la libertad condicional por una parte, acudiendo a las principales doctrinas de justificacion de la pena. Por otra parte, se trata el fundamento de la libertad condicional de acuerdo a la Constitucion espanola de 1978, con especial atencion a los articulo 25.2 y 15 de dicho texto. A continuacion, a luz del fundamento constitucional, se realiza un analisis juridico de la institucion. Finalmente, respecto a la practica de la libertad condicional, se incluye un estudio empirico cuantitativo, en el que se analiza la incidencia de una serie de variables de tipo personal, penal y penitenciario en la concesion de esta medida.

10 citations


"Revoking Early Conditional Release ..." refers background in this paper

  • ...…on the one hand, parolees may have, in general, a better prognosis of risk than open prisoners, given that for achieving parole the person needs to have spend a relevant period in the community without reoffending (more than one year in Catalonia, according to the research of Tébar, 2006b)....

    [...]

  • ...…in the health of the parolee may result in a prison recall if there is an assessed risk of reoffending. a) Re-offending This cause of revocation is usually construed as committing a crime but not a misdemeanour, according to the Criminal Code provisions and the rule of law (Tébar, 2006a)....

    [...]

  • ...…takes), prisoners that have served a relevant part of the sentence as a remand prisoner (that excludes the possibilities of classification) and prisoners with high levels of misbehaviour in prison (good conduct being a legal requirement for being granted early release) (Tébar, 2006b)....

    [...]

  • ...…in which two concerns should be most relevant: the concern for humanity – accepting that open regime and parole are more humane sanctions than closed prisonand the concern for rehabilitation – that takes into account the interest of society as a whole in preventing recidivism (Tébar, 2006a)....

    [...]

  • ...The Spanish Constitutional Court has held 5 that this type of parole is grounded on the 4 On the Spanish legal framework see generally Vega (2001), Renart (2003), Tébar (2006a) and Cid and Tébar (2010a)....

    [...]

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Nov 2010
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyze how public opinion and public judgment about sexual offending differ in content and resistance to the influence of the mass media, and show that the use of deliberative polls can change the attitudes of the participants, and that this type of polls constitute a potential instrument in the development of criminal policy in Spain.
Abstract: espanolEn las ultimas decadas, muchos autores han estudiado la opinion publica como una de las fuentes de influencia mas importantes en la politica criminal y la legislacion penal. Este estudio tiene como objetivo analizar las diferencias entre opinion publica y opinion publica meditada en relacion a la delincuencia sexual en cuanto a su contenido y resistencia a la influencia de los medios de comunicacion. El diseno consiste en un experimento con tres observaciones y asignacion de los participantes (299 estudiantes universitarios) a los grupos tratamiento y control. Los resultados muestran que el uso de la encuesta deliberativa genera un cambio en las actitudes de los participantes, y que puede llegar a matizar la influencia de los medios de comunicacion, constituyendo asi un potencial instrumento para la elaboracion de la politica criminal en Espana EnglishIn the last decades, many scholars have studied public opinion as one of the most important influences in criminal policy and legislation. The main purpose of this study is to analyze how public opinion and public judgment about sexual offending differ in content and resistance to the influence of the mass media. This research was designed as an experiment with three observations and assignment of the participants (299 college students) to the treatment and control groups. Our results show that the use of deliberative polls can change the attitudes of the participants, and that the deliberative process seems to have a mediating effect of the influence of the media, which means that this type of polls constitute a potential instrument in the development of criminal policy in Spain.

9 citations

26 May 2005
TL;DR: The presente tesis se aborda el sistema de libertad condicional espanol con referencia a otros sistemas de Libertad Condicional foraneos as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: En la presente tesis se aborda el sistema de libertad condicional espanol con referencia a otros sistemas de liberacion condicional foraneos. Este estudio se realiza desde distintas perspectivas: la historica, la relativa a su justificacion, la juridica y la de aplicacion practica. En primer lugar, desde una perspectiva historica, se trata el nacimiento de distintos sistemas de libertad condicional en el contexto occidental, en los planos cultural, legislativo y de practica penitenciaria. En segundo lugar se realiza una justificacion de la libertad condicional por una parte, acudiendo a las principales doctrinas de justificacion de la pena. Por otra parte, se trata el fundamento de la libertad condicional de acuerdo a la Constitucion espanola de 1978, con especial atencion a los articulo 25.2 y 15 de dicho texto. A continuacion, a luz del fundamento constitucional, se realiza un analisis juridico de la institucion. Finalmente, respecto a la practica de la libertad condicional, se incluye un estudio empirico cuantitativo, en el que se analiza la incidencia de una serie de variables de tipo personal, penal y penitenciario en la concesion de esta medida.

8 citations

01 Jan 2008
TL;DR: In this paper, el asentamiento de la corrupcion urbanistica in un determinado territorio resulta favorecido by the presencia simultanea in esa area geografica de determinados indicadores socioeconomicos.
Abstract: La hipotesis de este estudio es que el asentamiento de la corrupcion urbanistica en un determinado territorio resulta favorecido por la presencia simultanea en esa area geografica de determinados indicadores socioeconomicos. si los poderes publicos ejercen una escasa influencia sobre esos indicadores, la corrupcion urbanistica tiende a perdurar o a agravarse. si, por el contrario, los poderes publicos inciden significativamente en un numero critico de esos factores socioeconomicos, cabe esperar que la corrupcion urbanistica acabe descendiendo de forma apreciable en ese territorio. en estos momentos no estamos en condiciones de verificar la hipotesis apuntada. sin embargo, a efectos de su posible confirmacion transcurrido un tiempo suficiente, pretendemos en este trabajo: 1. Aportar informacion sobre la efectiva presencia en la costa del sol (Malaga) de ese conjunto de indicadores socioeconomicos. 2. documentar un cambio de tendencia, mas intervencionista, en los poderes publicos a la hora de abordar el fenomeno.

7 citations

Book ChapterDOI
01 Jan 2002
TL;DR: In the mid-twelfth century, Raimond Gauceln, lord of Lunel, recompensed the liberality with which William VII, Lord of Montpellier, had released him from captivity by returning to William's possession Lansargues, which William's father had given his father as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Nothing more needs to be said here either of those whose departure from prison led to their immediate execution or of those who died there as a result of disease, ill-treatment or suicide. It should, however, be remembered that a very substantial number of captives in the high middle ages are recorded as having met with one or other of these fates. Nor is there any point in elaborating much on those who obtained release by accepting the terms set by their captors, whether surrender of property or political advantage or payment of ransom or indeed the specific form of ransom represented by substantial costs of residence in jail. One typical example of the benefits accruing to a captor from the release of his prisoner may suffice here: in the mid-twelfth century, Raimond Gauceln, lord of Lunel, recompensed the liberality with which William VII, Lord of Montpellier, had released him from captivity by returning to William’s possession Lansargues, which William’s father had given his father.1 Such events were too common to excite much interest in contemporary annals, and therefore we know little about them except that they happened. Similarly, the release at the end of their sentences of royal officials and others condemned to precise terms of punitive imprisonment caused no comment.

6 citations

Frequently Asked Questions (5)
Q1. What are the contributions in "Revoking early conditional release measures in spain" ?

Cid and Tébar this paper introduced a progressive system based on individualisation of the prison regime, which provides the following four main levels of classification or treatment categories as they are named by the General Penitentiary Act 1979, where the higher the level is the more open is the Prison regime implemented: 

Spanish law provides two ways to be early conditional released while serving a prison sentence: open-regime (with include home detention curfew) and conditional liberty or parole. 

For sentences longer than five years imposed for offences related to terrorism, organised crime, sexual offences against victims under thirteen the minimum mandatory period before reaching the third treatment category is perceptive and cannot be judicially lifted afterwards. 

As for the grounds for revocation, the Spanish Criminal Code (section 93.1) provides the following two general causes: re-offending and the breach of the license obligations. 

In practice some Prison Judges decide parole revocation when the offence is flagrant, by means of considering there has been a breach of the license conditions or that the criteria required to access parole is no longer fulfilled.