Posted at 1 p.m., Thursday, August 16, 2001

Change needed to help parolees

By Walter Wright
Advertiser Staff Writer

Two of every five Hawai'i prisoners released on parole return to prison within two years, according to a study by researchers from the Attorney General's office.

Most of them have parole revoked for technical reasons, including drug use, but 10 percent go back behind bars because they are convicted of a serious crime, according to the study of 314 prisoners paroled in 1998.

The figures suggest that whether parolees fail is not related to how long they spent in prison. Prior criminal history is the biggest predictor, said Paul Perrone, chief of research for the Attorney General's office.

The next most important factor is whether the parolee had a conventional lifestyle before going to prison — good companions, no drug use, a good and steady job.

Other factors, such as ethnicity, intelligence and education, alcohol problems and emotional and personal stability, were statistically insignificant.

Perrone said the figures show the best investment in prison programs would be those that offer drug rehabilitation, job and work training, and encourage good associates.

If there are few chances to encourage good associates in prison, and the value of longer prison terms is not proven, the study results could be used to argue for shorter prison terms with better programs, and more help with drug recovery and jobs afterward.

Perrone said increasing programs, not changing the time served, is the key issue, because public safety and an appropriate response to the seriousness of a crime also motivate sentencing and parole decisions.

The findings come at a time when Hawai'i judges are reducing maximum sentences slightly while the Hawai'i Paroling Authority is increasing substantially the average minimum time to be served.

Maximum court sentences in a 1997-98 sample averaged 8.4 years, but dropped to 7.3 years in a 2000 sample.

The Hawai'i Paroling Authority — among the most powerful in the country in determining the amount of time prisoners actually serve — increased the average minimum sentence by a third, from 3.1 years to 4.1 years, during that period.

The board was toughest on those who had committed violent crimes (average time increased from 4.5 to 6.4 years) and property offenses (2.2 to 3.2 years), and easier on drug and "other" offenses (about a month added to minimum sentences of less than three years).

The board's rationale appears to be based partly on keeping people in prison so they can receive treatment, the study indicated.

But "the major obstacle to ... this intervention policy is that the (board) doesn't have sufficient treatment resources to meet the perceived demand," the researchers said.

With few programs available, the board uses its other tool — increased prison time — in hopes it will expose prisoners to more of the programs that do exist, the study concluded.

The report, supervised partly by Gene Kassebaum, professor emeritus at the University of Hawai'i's Social Science Research Institute, said the parole board needs a better system of case records to evaluate and supervise parole, and a way to evaluate the treatment programs it recommends.

At the same time, the report said, the board should have its own money to buy program services in the community rather than rely on outside providers.

Parole officers need more mental health resources for parolees, and more parole officers should be hired to handle the large number of cases they receive, the study said.