In Chapter 3, there is a discussion on the early evolution of parole in the US, as well as its utilization in the current sentencing practices. Among the most critical points of the chapter is that recent studies show that inmates who tend to leave prisons without parole supervisions demonstrate higher failure indicators in comparison with ones released with parole requirements. Then, it is suggested that reinstated discretionary parole release is to be provided for an inmate, given solid pieces of evidence. Then, the authors assume that parole release decisions are to be made by a competent and proficient board. The latter should have particular guidelines and formally established principles that would make its functioning smooth and transparent. Overall, the content of this chapter is delivered clearly and precisely; however, there might be more elaboration on the crucial points, such as the operational process of the professional parole board.
Chapter 4 depicts parole supervision – with an emphasis on how it distinguishes from parole release – in the framework of the related modern practices. According to this chapter’s content, once parolees arrive at the parole establishment in order to check-in, there are considerably different conditions if comparing with the ones before the 1980s. Here, the authors describe effective rehabilitation programs that are able to decrease recidivism within the given scope, as well as to be appropriate in financial terms. They assume that the mentioned programs should be the main focus of current research and policymakers’ initiatives. Nevertheless, despite the fact that these programs are described expediently, there could have been more retrospective that would justify them even to a greater extent, which would be a good foundation for the following chapters.