ABSTRACT
Whether you consult the Parole Board’s website, read its annual report or see any of its printed material, the simple statement of purpose under its letterhead is clear and unambiguous: ‘Working with others to protect the public’. The theme of public protection is emphasised in attempts towards greater openness and transparency in its decision-making; in developments such as its Review Committee, which seeks to learn from cases where a parolee has gone on to commit a further serious offence; and in all of its recruitment and training activity. Yet this was a body which earlier had an ambivalent start and a reputation for secrecy – possibly one of the least understood parts of the complex criminal justice process. The purpose of this chapter is to describe the enormous changes that have taken place to its role and independence and to see whether that claim on its letterhead is justified by the contribution to public protection that it is now able to make. This is not an official Parole Board view. After 30 years in the probation service, often on the receiving end of Parole Board decisions with which I was uncomfortable, I served as a part-time independent member of the board between 1999 and 2007 and have stayed closely in touch with the rapid pace of developments since then.
