What
is the Board of Probation and Parole and What does the Board do?
The Board (BOPP) is an independent State
Commission with seven members appointed by the Governor. An incumbent
Governor fills vacancies as they occur; member terms being for six years.
One member is designated, or continued, as Chair of the Board for
two-year terms. The Board is
charged with the responsibility of deciding whether eligible felony
offenders will be granted parole and therefore released from incarceration
to community-based supervision.
BOPP
also maintains a statewide agency composed of field services offices
geographically located to enable the supervision of probationers and
parolees and staffed by Supervisors and Officers.
A Central Office located in Nashville provides support services for
the field staff. The sentencing
Court places convicted offenders on probation and maintains jurisdiction
over them, but the Board provides their community supervision.
(See Board of Probation and Parole Mission Statement in
BOPP 5-Year Strategic Plan, 2007.
Also see the BOPP Program Performance Plan,
2007).
BOPP
is responsible for the supervision of more than 44,500 offenders in
Tennessee, about 8,000 parolees and 36,000 probationers.
Community
Corrections, under the auspices of BOPP, is comprised of
grant-funded local programs in Tennessee counties and metropolitan areas,
that supervise some 5,700 offenders.
The Board’s decision-making about granting or revoking paroles is
accomplished by conducting hearings. 14,819 parole hearings (including
grants, recisions, probable cause, appeals and revocations), were held
during the State’s fiscal year (July through June) 2004-2005. In many
cases, parole hearings are conducted by Parole Hearings Officers, that the
Board employs and trains to hold hearings.
As a result of interviewing the offender, witnesses, interested
parties and officials, Hearings Officers make non-binding recommendations to
Board members but Board Members make all final parole decisions.
Board
Members review a case and consider either a Hearings Officer’s
recommendation or another Board Member’s vote, depending on who held the
hearing. Then the Board Members, one after another, review and vote on the
matter until a final decision is reached. Pursuant
to statute, three concurring votes by the Board constitute a final parole
decision for some conviction offenses, while four concurring votes are
required for more serious conviction offenses. Two concurring votes are
required to revoke parole.
Whether
a Hearings Officer, or a Board Member or a panel of Board Members or the
full Board officiates at a particular hearing is based on the type of
offense and case it is, as well as on scheduling constraints. Hearings are held, usually at the Tennessee Department of
Correction prison or local jail where the offender is incarcerated.
The
Governor designates the Board to review Executive Clemency (commutations,
pardons, stays of execution, et al) requests using specific criteria
established by the Executive office. The
Board, in hearing clemency cases, submits non-binding recommendations for
consideration by the Governor. The
Board’s annual
reports contain more detailed information about the characteristics of
probationers and parolees, the monetary costs avoided by the State when
offenders are released to community supervision rather than imprisoned, and
the tasks and duties of Board Members and BOPP staff.
What is the
difference between a felony and a misdemeanor?
A felony is a crime that can be punished upon conviction by a sentence of
one year or more of incarceration. A
misdemeanor is a lesser crime that cannot be punished by more than eleven
months and twenty-nine days of incarceration.
There are degrees of seriousness among felony crimes, with crimes
against a person, murder for example, being more serious in its impact and
its potential punishment than crimes against property, such as auto theft.
What is
Determinate Release?
It’s
the release on probation of offenders who are
incarcerated with one to two year sentences at his
or her earliest possible release eligibility date.
There is no necessity for the Court or Board to hold a hearing or
take action to effect the release. (See Determinate
Release page.)
What is the
Community Corrections?
It
is
a Court-imposed type of probation, with the offender’s prison sentence
suspended and community based supervision provided by agencies on contract
with the State.
Offenders under community corrections, unlike regular probation,
receive credit, towards the expiration of the suspended sentence, for time
served on the program.
These are local or county level programs that work closely with the
Court and Judge in a respective judicial district.
Caseloads are supervised by Counselors, the attention given being
more intensive, and some are residential, some are day-reporting and some
are specialized (such as addiction treatment) agencies.
Successful participation may result in a transfer to regular
probation.
Unsuccessful may result in incarceration. (See
Community
Corrections
page.)
What is the Interstate Compact?
The
Interstate Compact (Interstate
Commission for Adult Offender Supervision) is known
by the acronym ICAOS.
It’s an agency that coordinates the legal agreement between member
states, as authorized by the respective state’s Legislature. The
arrangement provides for the formal transfer of probation or parole
supervision from one state to another.
Transfers, of the geographic location of the offender and of the
responsibility to provide supervision, must meet compact guidelines, such as
family residency, employment, or education.
Tennessee’s participation in the compact enhances public safety
through better supervision of offenders in locations that are best for their
habilitation.
What is the Sex Offender
Registry?
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation maintains the (SOR)
as required by Tennessee Code Annotated § 40-39-106.
Sex
Offenders are required to identify themselves and give notice quarterly,
through BOPP and local law enforcement agencies, to the TBI of their current
address. Failure to register as required is a violation of the law and may
result in a new conviction, in addition to being a violation of probation or
parole conditions.
Why do some offenders
live at unknown addresses?
It
is not possible to confirm the residence of an offender on a daily or even
weekly basis.
Address locations are reported by the offender, who may purposely or
inadvertently give it incorrectly.
The Probation/Parole Officers verifies addresses routinely, by making
visits to contact the offender.
But if an offender absconds or fails to report his or her
whereabouts, then the offender’s whereabouts or address is unknown until
the person is apprehended.
Sex Offenders, for example, continue to be listed on the SOR, but
with the address is unknown.
Absconders are continued on BOPP caseloads with apprehension efforts,
such as issuing warrants for arrest, being made.
What is private probation?
Private
probation is composed of privately owned and operated companies that
contract with courts to supervise misdemeanor cases.
They are not affiliated with the Tennessee Board of Probation and
Parole (BOPP).
What is the DNA registry?
Advances in DNA technology represent one of the most significant forensic
breakthroughs of the century by allowing the identification of a murderer or
rapist based on trace amounts of biological evidence left at the crime
scene. Tennessee Code Annotated
§40-35-321 requires the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to
establish a DNA database for convicted offenders. The database was
established nationally by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to enable
crime laboratories to exchange DNA profiles for unknown subjects and
convicted offenders. More about
DNA and the registry is available in the TBI Annual Report Fiscal Year
2003-2004, by searching for “DNA.”
Tennessee
Probation/Parole Officers require offenders who are obligated to but have
not yet done so, to go the local County Health Department and submit a blood
sample.
Why
do offenders on community supervision have to pay fees?
The Field Services Division of the Board of Probation and Parole (BOPP)
collects fees from offenders while they are on probation or parole.
This complies with the mandates of Tennessee
Code Annotated 40-28-201. The
fees are set at a maximum of $45 per month from each offender, with any
discounts based upon income level and hardship factors according to the
statute. The fees are separated
into three funds: Supervision, Diversion, and Criminal
Injuries Compensation.
The supervision fund
(purposed to offset Board of Probation and Parole expenses) and diversion
(purposed to offset Court expenses) dollars are spent on offender
supervision costs, and may be used for funding personnel, training staff,
purchasing equipment, and providing treatment of offenders.
The
Criminal Injuries Compensation fund benefits victims of crimes or
their immediate family, and is operated by the State Attorney General’s
Office. Also, the Community
Corrections agencies collect offender fees that supplement their respective budgets.
Why doesn’t the Board of Probation and Parole consider
offenders for parole
sooner?
Parole
eligibility is determined by the applicable statute, law, the offender was
convicted by.
The TN Board of Probation and Parole cannot schedule a parole grant
hearing until the TN Department of Correction (TDOC) certifies that the
offender is eligible for parole.
TDOC determines eligibility by calculating sentences and sentence
credits (time served or granted as incentive) in compliance with Tennessee
Code Annotated sections 40-35-501, 40-28-115 to 117.
Who determines when an
offender is eligible for parole?
By
statute, Judges are required to impose sentences and to determine the
classification of the offender. Tennessee
Code Annotated § 40-35-101 describes the various classifications (or
ranges) of offenders: including
Especially Mitigated; Standard; Multiple; Persistent; and Career
Offender. Based on that classification, the law mandates that a certain
percentage of the sentence must be served before the offender is eligible
for parole. The Tennessee Department of Correction calculates the percentage
and determines the Release Eligibility Date (RED).
What factors do Board Members consider when deciding whether to grant parole?
The
Board duly considers all of the following factors: nature of the offense,
prior criminal history, program participation, length of time served,
institutional record, and community support or opposition.
Who is notified
when parole hearings are to be held?
Tennessee
Code Annotated § 40-28-505 requires the Board to send written notices
about parole grant hearings, final decisions made, and parole releases to
the Trial Judge, the District Attorney General and the Sheriff of the County
where the crime was committed.
The law also requires the Board to notify those victims who request
in writing to be notified.
Written requests must be sent to the Board
at least thirty days before the hearing. The Board considers recommendations
made in support of parole as well as those made in opposition.
Recommendations can be made in letters or in statements made at the hearing.
All hearings are tape-recorded.
Are parole hearings open to the public?
The Board’s hearings are included in the Public Meetings Act, often referred to as the “Sunshine Law”, Tennessee Code Annotated § 8-44-101 et seq. The hearings of the Board are open to the public and anyone who wishes to attend may do so, consistent with the security of the institution. Limitations may be placed on the number of individuals in the hearing room at one time, based on the need for security. Additionally, Tennessee Code Annotated § 40-28-501 through 505, the “Open Paroles Hearings Act,” mandates that parole hearings be open to the public, subject to security requirements
as determined by the jailers or correctional officers, and space limitations.
What are the reasons for denying parole?
Tennessee Code Annotated § 40-35-503 states that:
Release on parole is a privilege and not a right, and no inmate convicted shall be granted parole if the Board finds that:
(1) There is a substantial risk that the defendant will not conform to the conditions of the release program;
(2) The release from custody at the time would depreciate the seriousness of the crime of which the defendant stands convicted or promote disrespect for the law;
(3)The release from custody at the time would have a substantially adverse effect on institutional discipline; or
(4)The defendant’s continued correctional treatment, medical care or vocational or other training in the institution will substantially enhance the defendant’s capacity to lead a law-abiding life when given release status at a later time.
Can
a grant of parole be denied just because someone objects to it?
The
Board of Probation and Parole Rules and Regulations, filed as required with
the TN Secretary of State’s office, states that community support and/or
opposition are one of the many factors that the Board weighs in making
parole decisions.
Can
offenders be released on probation or parole even if they don't have a place
to work?
An
offender is required to work in a lawful occupation, as a condition of his
or her community supervision, unless the parolee is certifiably disabled.
Only under special circumstances, may this condition be waived for a
brief period of time, maybe immediately following release to allow a job to
be found, or in the case of certain medical ailments.
The justification for the work requirement is that a lack of a
visible means of support creates the inference of a hidden or criminal
source of support.
Why can’t an
offender be released to an out-of-state location if that is his or her
home state?
Such
an arrangement may be a possibility, depending on the case.
The Interstate Compact Interstate
Commission for Adult Offender Supervision (ICAOS) coordinates the legal
agreement between member states to transfer probation or parole supervision
from one state to another.
Otherwise accountability and effective supervision, in the best
interests of society and of the offender, are not possible.
The decision rests primarily with the receiving state, where the
offender wants to be on probation or parole.
Can
an offender be granted parole and his or her co-defendants be denied parole?
Every case is considered
individually, and multiple factors effect the decision made to grant or
decline parole. Some of the factors are: nature and severity of the crime
committed; the offender’s personal role in the crime; prior criminal
record; behavior while incarcerated; views of the sentencing Judge,
recommendations of the institutional staff; recommendations of the
prosecuting district attorney general, opinions of the victim(s) and the
community; the offender’s circumstances if returned to the community; any
mitigating or aggravating circumstances; the offender’s vocational
training and employment history before and during incarceration; the
offender’s past use of drugs and alcohol; the offender’s behavior and
attitude during any previous experience on probation and parole; the
offender’s release plan, where he or she intends to work and live; and
objective parole prediction guidelines assessing the risk an offender may
pose to society or the potential for success.
In considering these factors, the Board relies on information from the
following and other sources: The offender’s BOPP file (includes letters
and recommendations and reports); institutional file (including social
history and behavior record and recommendations); incident reports;
observations offered by officials, community members; medical and mental
health professionals; comments and assertions by the offender and family or
friends; and the experience of victims or other interested parties.
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