The Parole System in Guyana
A
GINA release, November 6, 2003 The
Parole Board is an advisory body to the Minister of Home Affairs,
to help him determine whether a prisoner is eligible to be released
on licence (Parole) and what conditions should be attached to
such a release.
It is a system that is designed to allow rehabilitated
prisoners a chance to serve part of their sentence in the community.
In this way they are allowed a chance to be reintegrated into
society gradually and conditionally.
Parole became effective in Guyana on January I, 1992 through
legislation enacted on February 27, 1991. It emerged partially
to ease prison crowding, and to reward prisoners who have shown
promises or determination to reform to be able to earn a further
period of freedom over and above the one-third remission already
allowed.
How can a prisoner
qualify for parole? A prisoner serving a determinate sentence
may apply for parole once he/she has served one-third or 12 months
of the sentence, which ever is longer. Additionally,
for a prisoner serving an indeterminate sentence (life), he/she
may apply for parole after serving 10 years of the sentence.
How to apply for parole? Once qualified, the prisoner
can make a written application to the Parole Board through the
Prison Authority. If help is needed in writing the application
he/she can ask the Prison Welfare Officer or any relative to do
so.
The application is then sent to the Parole Board for consideration.
What happens to the application? Upon receiving the
application, a detailed investigation is undertaken and a report
compiled for the Parole Board members. They would then study the
case; if any clarification is needed they call the prisoner for
an interview.
They would then discuss and deliberate on the matter and
arrive at a decision. This decision is then communicated to the
prisoner through the Prison Authority.
Parole is not an event it is a process. It has four stages
each overseen by a different group or a person.
The Judge who set the sentence length. One
must assume that Judges know about parole and so may consider
the likelihood of early release when choosing the length of the
prison term. Their role is that of consultants, as they are asked
to comment on cases that they have made rulings on. Likewise the
comments of the Chancellor of the Judiciary and the Director of
Public Prosecutions are also important
The prison staff who oversees the prisoners. This
next group plays a role in helping the prisoner develop a release
plan. A release plan has specific information about where the
prospective parolee will live, employment prospects and any arrangements
for community based treatment. Plans must be verified by the probation
or parole officers in the community to which the prisoner would
be released.Prison officials
also collect background information about the prospective parolees,
including reports about any infractions of the institutional rules,
participation with prison programmes, association with other prisoners,
reports gathered from agencies having previous contact with the
prisoner (e.g. mental health assessments, medical reports) police
reports about the offence and the way the offender feels about
the crime that he/she has been convicted for. This
information, along with facts obtained from investigations conducted
by the Parole Unit, is submitted for a parole hearing so the Board
would have all the pertinent information.
The Parole Board that decides when the
prisoner will be released.
Prison
officials, police officers, attorneys-at-law can make recommendations
about releases, victims can submit written statements but the
final decision is up to the Parole Board. A panel of people who
decides when and how. to release the prisoners who qualify for
parole.The Board is external to the prison system, which consists
of a Chairman, who shall be a person who has been, or who is,
or who is qualified to be a Prison Judge of the High Court, to
be appointed by the Minister; two other members, to be appointed
by the Minister, of whom one shall be a person who is a medical
practitioner registered under any law relating to the registration
of medical practitioners, having special qualifications or experience
in psychiatry; and one shall be a person, who in the opinion of
the Minister is qualified as having had experience of, and shown
capacity in, matters relating to the supervision, or aftercare
of discharged prisoners; the Director of Prisons, ex-official
and a member of the Police Force, not below the rank of Assistant
Commissioner, designated by the Commissioner of Police.
It must be noted that disagreement may exist in the decision
of members but the legal mandate is clear: "the protection
of society" is the paramount consideration. The Board may
grant parole if the prisoner will not, by re-offending, present
any undue risk to society before the expiration of his/her parole.
When parole is granted factors associated with risk for
re-offending are identified and addressed in parole conditions
(e.g. abstaining from alcohol) The prisoner must promise to abide
by the conditions and be subject to the supervision of a probation
or parole officer until the licence expires. If parole is denied,
the prisoner can apply again.
The probation or parole officer who monitors
the parolee when he is released. After
release from the institution the parolee is assigned a supervising
officer either from the Parole Unit or the Probation and Family
Welfare Department. The officer supervises and monitors the parolee
until the end of the prison sentence. The assigned officer is
expected to provide practical assistance in housing and securing
employment as well as moral support and advice. Adjustment after
release from prison is more difficult than commonly imagined.
The parolee must develop or re-develop life skills that are largely
take for granted, such as making a living and time management.
(Prisoners are socialized into the society of the prison community,
which can strip them of any sense of self-direction and force
them to adopt anti-social attitudes) If the sentence is a long
one, the parolee may experience anxiety, social isolation, loneliness
and feelings of self-consciousness. Many prisoners may have lost
touch with families and friends. They are confronted with a bewildering
array of choices and decisions Upon release the parolee must find
shops, prepare meals and interact with a variety of people in
different settings, so stable employment is a corner stone for
a successful re-entry. Many enter prison without a marketable
job skill, or a good employment job record, and they have difficulty
in finding employment. To relieve the- stress some turn to drugs
or alcohol.
Supervising officers would have to perform a dual role to
be supportive resource persons to assist the parolee with reintegration
into society to reduce the chance of re-offending; and an enforcer
role monitoring compliance with release conditions. This means
when a violation is discovered the supervising officer informs
the Parole Board of the breach.
If the parolee is charged with a new offence or is in violation
of a parole condition parole may be suspended and a warrant issued
for the parolee's arrest. The parolee is admitted to prison and
the Board reassesses the situation and holds a hearing where the
parolee is questioned about the violation.If parole is successfully
completed, the parolee is out of the system.
Thursday,
November 6, 2003