The Report > Review of the Re-Entry Process > Release > Advising the Releasing Authority

C: Release

Policy Statement 17: Advising the Releasing Authority

Inform the releasing authority about the extent to which the prisoner is prepared to return to the community (and the community is prepared to receive the individual).

Recommendation C: Consider information related to the individual's strengths and service needs insofar as these issues affect public safety and/or the establishment of terms and conditions of release.

While the risk assessment should provide an objective and validated prediction of future criminality and recidivism, it may or may not take into account all of the dynamic factors related to an individual's strengths and needs. These factors may affect both decisions about the safety of releasing the individual and the release conditions that should be set. To that end, transition team planners should review the following factors as they pertain to each individual:

  • Employment ability to find work and the value placed on work in his or her life
  • Housing access to and/or ability to locate appropriate housing
  • Marital Status/Family value placed on being with family and the support he or she derives from family members, as well as risk or history of family violence
  • Physical/Mental Illness any physical or mental illness or disorder
  • Substance Abuse substance abuse history and value he or she places on living without reliance on alcohol and/or other drugs
  • Community Functioning knowledge of and necessary skills for daily living
  • Personal/Emotional Orientation value placed on being in control of his or her life and attitude towards the crime(s) for which he or she has been incarcerated

    • Where a particular risk assessment instrument does not take into account these dynamic factors at all or simply not to a sufficient level of specificity, it is particularly important that the transition team collect this information from the individual, his or her family, and any other records available.

    Example: Personal History Statement and Social Investigation, Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles

    In making release decisions, the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles reviews a Personal History Statement and a Social Investigation in addition to performing a legal investigation. The Personal History Statement, which the person seeking release dictates to a parole officer during an interview, consists of a series of demographic questions and the individual's account of his or her offense. The Social Investigation allows the parole officer to verify information in the Personal History Statement and gather additional details about the person's background and the circumstances of his or her offense through interviews with one or more family members.