Delays in processing parole applications are also caused by difficulties in obtaining relevant reports and documents from the police, the courts, and the Probation Service. The problems with police and court reports illustrate the need for criminal justice organisations to share appropriate information. Otherwise organisations at the end of the chain, like the Prison Service and the Parole Board, have to carry out their responsibilities without important information. Similarly, difficulties in obtaining Probation Service reports underline the need for improved collaboration between the Prison Service and the Probation Service. In 1998-99, the Parole Board rejected around 60 per cent of applications for parole, in part because of the prisoner s failure to address their offending behaviour.
Many prisoners have poor knowledge of the procedures and criteria for parole.
Prisoners need to be given a clear idea of the criteria against which their applications for parole will be assessed, and the sorts of issues and information that the Parole Board will take into account. The Prison Service is working with the Prison Reform Trust to meet this need. It therefore needs to be integrated into the programme of action including training and education - agreed with the prisoner to prepare them for their eventual release. The report s recommendations should build on recent improvements in the administration of parole and result in more equitable treatment of prisoners as well as savings for the taxpayer. The Prison Service is an executive agency of the Home Office.