What Getting Parole Means
Parole is an offender's conditional release from custody under the supervision of a social worker. When an offender is granted parole, they serve the remainder of their jail sentence in the community.
Offenders who do not get parole and are freed at the conclusion of their term are not eligible for the monitoring, assistance, and continuous rehabilitation in the community that Parole offers.
Parole's objective is to oversee and support convicts' reintegration into the society. This supervision and support benefits the community as a whole by lowering the likelihood of criminals committing more crimes after being released.
What is the parole board and being released from custody?
In Scotland, the Parole Board decides whether or not an offender will be released on parole. When assessing whether to release an offender on parole, the Board's principal concern is community safety and whether the danger that a person poses can be adequately controlled in the community.
The Parole Board for Scotland is a non-departmental public body whose members are selected by Scottish ministers. The Board functions independently of the Scottish Government.
The Board's directions to Scottish Ministers regarding an offender's early release are binding, with the exception of deportation cases and compassionate release petitions, in which the Board will simply provide advice.
Scottish Ministers recommend cases to the Parole Board at the appropriate point of their sentences, and the Parole Board can only review cases referred by Scottish Ministers.
When a case is reported to the Parole Board, the offender receives a "Parole Dossier". This is a compilation of reports, which often comprises a report from the sentencing Judge, details of any previous convictions, progress reports from staff within the prison, a report from the prison-based social worker and a report from a community-based social worker.
