Parole
Definition
Conditional early release from a custodial sentence after a portion has been served. The released person remains under supervision and subject to conditions. Violation of conditions leads to recall to custody to serve the remainder of the sentence.
- Type
- Conditional early release from custody
- Requires
- Portion of sentence already served
- Oversight
- Supervision subject to conditions
- Breach consequence
- Recall to custody
Common questions
How does parole differ from probation?+
Parole follows a period of actual imprisonment and releases someone before their full sentence is served, while probation is typically imposed instead of a custodial sentence from the outset.
What happens if a parole condition is violated?+
The person can be recalled to custody to serve the remaining portion of the original sentence, with a hearing or further conditions sometimes applying before any later release.
Related terms
- After-Care Services
- Organised assistance given at and after release, run through state after-care societies and halfway homes, to prevent drift back into destitution.
- Furlough
- A short periodic leave from prison granted to maintain family and social ties, treated in Indian practice as a right earned by...
- Irish System
- Walter Crofton's staged progression from separate confinement through public works and an intermediate stage to release on a ticket-of-leave.
- Mark System
- Alexander Maconochie's scheme at Norfolk Island where a convict earned marks for labour and conduct that bought progression toward conditional freedom.
- Ticket-of-Leave
- A certificate issued under the Irish system permitting a convict to live in the community before sentence expiry, subject to police reporting...
- Conditional Release
- The general category covering any release, such as parole, that remains subject to conditions and can be revoked on breach.
- Fair Trial
- The bundle of procedural guarantees, including an independent tribunal, adequate notice of the charge, and a genuine opportunity to answer it, that...
- Halfway Home
- A residential facility housing a released prisoner with no family to return to, for a transitional period while the person finds work.
- Incapacitation
- The justification for imprisonment that focuses on preventing crime during the sentence by removing the offender from society, regardless of whether their...
- Nelson Mandela Rules
- The United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, revised and renamed by the UN General Assembly in December 2015,...
- Presumption of Innocence
- The rule that the prosecution carries the burden of proving guilt beyond reasonable doubt and the accused is treated as innocent until...
- Probation
- A community sentence served under supervision instead of custody. The offender remains in the community subject to conditions: regular reporting, curfews, attendance...
Explained in these topics
- Corrections and the Criminal Justice System as a Whole
- Human Rights of Accused, Victims and Prisoners (UGC-NET Unit V)A conditional early release of a convicted prisoner under supervision, treated as part of reformative rather than purely retributive punishment.
- Parole and After-Care: Conditional Release and ReintegrationConditional release of a prisoner before sentence expiry, under supervision, on terms that can be revoked for breach.
- Parole and After-Care Services (UGC-NET Unit VIII)Conditional release of a prisoner into the community before the sentence is fully served, subject to supervision and recall on breach.