Role to play on parole

Psychologists have an important role to play in making parole decisions regarding people serving prison sentences. One obvious contribution is by sitting on parole panels and assisting with the interpretation of professionals' risk assessments. Less obvious, perhaps, is the potential to research people, processes and outcomes relevant to parole decision-making. The purpose here is to raise awareness of these research possibilities.

The Parole Board (England and Wales; Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate systems) is an independent body whose members determine whether it is necessary for the protection of the public that certain prisoners be detained in custody. In 2021-2022, there were 326 Parole Board members, of whom 190 were independent members (i.e., from any background but with many former probation officers in this category), 55 judicial members, 37 psychiatrist members and 64 psychologist members.

The Board's release rate is typically around 25 per cent, meaning that 1 in 4 persons reviewed by the Parole Board meet the test for release. During 2021-2022, fewer than 0.5 per cent of those released by the Parole Board were charged with a Serious Further Offence (SFO), which is a violent or sexual offence committed by an individual who is the subject of probation supervision, within 3 years of the Parole Board's decision. The experience, knowledge and training of its members contributes to this success rate, with evidence-based decision-making being fundamental to how members operate. 

The Parole Board is keen to support the development of that evidence base and its Research Governance Group (RGG) works to this end by endorsing and assisting with access for good-quality relevant research and sharing research findings with the membership.

The Parole Board's research priorities for 2023-2025 are:

• Procedural justice and the impact of parole reforms on the system and people
• The experiences of vulnerable prisoners
• The experiences of minority group prisoners
• Terrorism risk offending cases
• Serious Further Offences.

These areas align with the Parole Board's business plan, but are not intended to be restrictive. Recent research has addressed prisoners' and professionals' experiences of parole hearings conducted online, a development speeded up in the days of Covid restrictions. Another study focused on the potential for using professional intermediaries to benefit all parties in hearings where the imprisoned person has communication difficulties. 

The procedure for applying to conduct research with the Parole Board may be found on the Parole Board's website – as can lots of other interesting information. In short, researchers are invited to make contact with the Parole Board to discuss their idea or proposal with a member of the RGG before making an application. Members can advise on access to data sources, including interviewing parole board personnel, records of parole decisions or other data that only the Board has access to.RGG will require the proposal to be approved by the researcher's employing organisation and by a relevant ethics committee, although there is an option to seek 'in principle' approval where the support of the Parole Board is being requested in submitting an application to a third party. The next step is to complete the application form, available on the Parole Board website. Applications are then scrutinised by the RGG, whose members assess the importance of the aims, the robustness of the methodology, ethical considerations and practical matters. The applicant then receives a decision of approval or rejection, sometimes after a request for further information.

By this stage, interested parties will be asking themselves what support for research might be available from the Parole Board. The Board has no substantial research budget and does not award grants so financial support will need to be accessed from research funding sources or from the researcher's own institution. However, administrative support may be available for accessing data sources.

There is clearly considerable scope for psychologists from a variety of specialisms to undertake meaningful and important research on Parole Board practices and processes. We hope this short article will stimulate researchers to focus on this significant aspect of working with people who have offended.

If you would like further information, please contact Kate Taylor, Parole Board Policy and Research Manager ([email protected]). 

Mary McMurran FBPsS