When punishment fails
In Victoria the murder of Jill Meagher by a man who had been granted parole while serving his sentence for a previous violent sexual crime aroused community concern about parole. It followed other similar violent incidents. The Government commissioned a report which has now been released. It identified faults in an under-resourced system.
Behind the discussion of parole lies a series of tensions within Australian society. The first tension is between different ways of relating punishment to crime. Some see punishment as primarily retribution for wrong done. The severity of the punishment is measured to the seriousness of the wrong committed. Others see it primarily as a measure to protect society from people whose attitudes and actions threaten public safety. The severity of the punishment is then measured by the extent to the threat to society.
Punishment can also be seen primarily as a means to the reform of the criminal. From the time when imprisonment became the preferred form of punishment for crime instead of a holding pen for those awaiting trial and punishment, the reform of the criminal has received more emphasis. The type and severity of punishment will be influenced by the likelihood of reform.
Parole fits into this framework of reform. Initially prisoners were offered opportunities for study and work. Cooperative behaviour could lead to an early release. Prisoners sometimes graduated from a more severe to a less harsh regime and were supervised after early release for good behaviour.
Within the Victorian penal system, most prisoners are eligible to seek parole. Their cases are examined to ensure that the person does not pose a serious risk of endangering the community, and their behaviour is monitored while on parole.
From the prisoner’s point of view, parole offers a respect for their human dignity that other aspects of prison life sap. It offers hope that if they work to build good social connections in prison they will see their sentence reduced. If they are released on parole, they will find some support in making the demanding transition to a life in a changed and often under-resourced community.
A second source of tension arises from financial considerations. Where a retributive view of punishment prevails and is reflected in longer sentences and less flexibility in sentencing, the heavier will be the costs incurred in building and staffing prisons. Parole then becomes attractive because it reduces the number of people imprisoned and the financial burden on society.