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August 18, 2009

Parole is working for the citizens of Georgia

Submitted by the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles

ATLANTA — The Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles Board Members and staff are dedicated to our mission of enhancing public safety by making informed parole decisions and successfully transitioning offenders back into the community. This balanced approach has allowed the Pardons and Paroles Board to contribute to the protection of the citizens of Georgia by facilitating, as appropriate, the timely and successful transition of offenders into the community.

The Field Operations staff is diligent and dedicated to protecting public safety, while assisting parolees in their efforts to become productive and law abiding members of our communities. We currently supervise over 21,000 parolees, and are the only entity in the state with the constitutional authority to grant executive clemency. Georgia’s prison population is ranked fifth largest in the nation, and one in 13 adult Georgians is under some form of correctional supervision.

In spite of current economic conditions, our Field staff has identified new and innovative evidence-based supervision strategies to assist parolees in their quest to remain crime and drug free. Currently, our parole completion rate stands at 66 percent, more than 20 percent higher than the national average. Our parolee employment rate is 78 percent, even during these economic times, as Parole Officers continue to develop relationships with area employers. Studies show that for every day a parolee is employed, there is a 1 percent decrease in the chance that they will be re-arrested.

Another reason Parole is so vital in these tough economic times is that it costs just $4.91 a day to have someone on parole, as compared to $470 a day to keep someone incarcerated.

The Board continues to provide crime victims and their families with opportunities for their voices to be heard in the parole process. Through our collaborative approach with judicial circuits across the state, nearly 1,000 victims of crime and their families have taken the opportunity to meet with representatives of the Board or Board Members during our Victims Visitors’ Day.

The Board’s core mission is to manage prisoner reentry, but our primary focus is public safety. Without the influence of Parole’s intense supervision, more offenders would return to Georgia prisons, creating a costly cycle of increasing recidivism.

For more information on the Parole Board, please visit our website at www.pap.state.ga.us

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