What is the Board of Probation and Parole and What does the Board do?
The Board (BOPP) is an independent State Commission with seven members appointed by the Governor. An incumbent Governor fills vacancies as they occur; member terms being for six years. One member is designated, or continued, as Chair of the Board for two-year terms. The Board is charged with the responsibility of deciding whether eligible felony offenders will be granted parole and therefore released from incarceration to community-based supervision.
BOPP also maintains a statewide agency composed of field services offices geographically located to enable the supervision of probationers and parolees and staffed by Supervisors and Officers. A Central Office located in Nashville provides support services for the field staff. The sentencing Court places convicted offenders on probation and maintains jurisdiction over them, but the Board provides their community supervision. (See Board of Probation and Parole Mission Statement in BOPP 5-Year Strategic Plan, 2008. Also see the BOPP Program Performance Plan, 2008).
BOPP is responsible for the supervision of more than 44,500 offenders in Tennessee, about 8,000 parolees and 36,000 probationers.Community Corrections, under the auspices of BOPP, is comprised of grant-funded local programs in Tennessee counties and metropolitan areas, that supervise some 5,700 offenders.
The Board’s decision-making about granting or revoking paroles is accomplished by conducting hearings. 14,819 parole hearings (including grants, recisions, probable cause, appeals and revocations), were held during the State’s fiscal year (July through June) 2004-2005. In many cases, parole hearings are conducted by Parole Hearings Officers, that the Board employs and trains to hold hearings. As a result of interviewing the offender, witnesses, interested parties and officials, Hearings Officers make non-binding recommendations to Board members but Board Members make all final parole decisions.
Board Members review a case and consider either a Hearings Officer’s recommendation or another Board Member’s vote, depending on who held the hearing. Then the Board Members, one after another, review and vote on the matter until a final decision is reached. Pursuant to statute, three concurring votes by the Board constitute a final parole decision for some conviction offenses, while four concurring votes are required for more serious conviction offenses. Two concurring votes are required to revoke parole.
Whether a Hearings Officer, or a Board Member or a panel of Board Members or the full Board officiates at a particular hearing is based on the type of offense and case it is, as well as on scheduling constraints. Hearings are held, usually at the Tennessee Department of Correction prison or local jail where the offender is incarcerated.
The Governor designates the Board to review Executive Clemency (commutations, pardons, stays of execution, et al) requests using specific criteria established by the Executive office. The Board, in hearing clemency cases, submits non-binding recommendations for consideration by the Governor. The Board’s annual reports contain more detailed information about the characteristics of probationers and parolees, the monetary costs avoided by the State when offenders are released to community supervision rather than imprisoned, and the tasks and duties of Board Members and BOPP staff.
What is the difference between a felony and a misdemeanor?
A felony is a crime that can be punished upon conviction by a sentence of one year or more of incarceration. A misdemeanor is a lesser crime that cannot be punished by more than eleven months and twenty-nine days of incarceration. There are degrees of seriousness among felony crimes, with crimes against a person, murder for example, being more serious in its impact and its potential punishment than crimes against property, such as auto theft.
What is Determinate Release?
It’s the release on probation of offenders who are incarcerated with one to two year sentences at his or her earliest possible release eligibility date. There is no necessity for the Court or Board to hold a hearing or take action to effect the release. (See the Determinate Release page.)
What is Community Corrections?
It is a Court-imposed type of probation, with the offender’s prison sentence suspended and community based supervision provided by agencies on contract with the State. Offenders under community corrections, unlike regular probation, receive credit, towards the expiration of the suspended sentence, for time served on the program. These are local or county level programs that work closely with the Court and Judge in a respective judicial district. Caseloads are supervised by Counselors, the attention given being more intensive, and some are residential, some are day-reporting and some are specialized (such as addiction treatment) agencies. Successful participation may result in a transfer to regular probation. Unsuccessful may result in incarceration. (See the Community Corrections page.)
What is the Interstate Compact?
The Interstate Compact (Interstate Commission for Adult Offender Supervision) is known by the acronym ICAOS. It’s an agency that coordinates the legal agreement between member states, as authorized by the respective state’s Legislature. The arrangement provides for the formal transfer of probation or parole supervision from one state to another. Transfers, of the geographic location of the offender and of the responsibility to provide supervision, must meet compact guidelines, such as family residency, employment, or education. Tennessee’s participation in the compact enhances public safety through better supervision of offenders in locations that are best for their habilitation.
What is the Sex Offender Registry?
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation maintains the (SOR) as required by Tennessee Code Annotated § 40-39-106. Sex Offenders are required to identify themselves and give notice quarterly, through BOPP and local law enforcement agencies, to the TBI of their current address. Failure to register as required is a violation of the law and may result in a new conviction, in addition to being a violation of probation or parole conditions.
Why do some offenders live at unknown addresses?
It is not possible to confirm the residence of an offender on a daily or even weekly basis. Address locations are reported by the offender, who may purposely or inadvertently give it incorrectly. The Probation/Parole Officers verifies addresses routinely, by making visits to contact the offender. But if an offender absconds or fails to report his or her whereabouts, then the offender’s whereabouts or address is unknown until the person is apprehended. Sex Offenders, for example, continue to be listed on the SOR, but with the address as unknown. Absconders are continued on BOPP caseloads with apprehension efforts, such as issuing warrants for arrest, being made.
What is private probation?
Private probation is composed of privately owned and operated companies that contract with courts to supervise misdemeanor cases. They are not affiliated with the Tennessee Board of Probation and Parole (BOPP).
What is the DNA registry?
Advances in DNA technology represent one of the most significant forensic breakthroughs of the century by allowing the identification of a murderer or rapist based on trace amounts of biological evidence left at the crime scene. Tennessee Code Annotated §40-35-321 requires the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to establish a DNA database for convicted offenders. The database was established nationally by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to enable crime laboratories to exchange DNA profiles for unknown subjects and convicted offenders. More about DNA and the registry is available in the TBI Annual Report Fiscal Year 2004-2005, by searching for "DNA." Tennessee Probation/Parole Officers require offenders who are obligated to but have not yet done so, to go the local County Health Department and submit a blood sample.
Why do offenders on community supervision have to pay fees?
The Field Services Division of the Board of Probation and Parole (BOPP) collects fees from offenders while they are on probation or parole. This complies with the mandates of Tennessee Code Annotated 40-28-201. The fees are set at a maximum of $45 per month from each offender, with any discounts based upon income level and hardship factors according to the statute. The fees are separated into three funds: Supervision, Diversion, and Criminal Injuries Compensation.
The supervision fund (purposed to offset Board of Probation and Parole expenses) and diversion (purposed to offset Court expenses) dollars are spent on offender supervision costs, and may be used for funding personnel, training staff, purchasing equipment, and providing treatment of offenders.
The Criminal Injuries Compensation fund benefits victims of crimes or their immediate family, and is operated by the State Attorney General’s Office. Also, the Community Corrections agencies collect offender fees that supplement their respective budgets.
Why doesn’t the Board of Probation and Parole consider offenders for parole sooner?
Parole eligibility is determined by the applicable statute and law the offender was convicted by. The TN Board of Probation and Parole cannot schedule a parole grant hearing until the TN Department of Correction (TDOC) certifies that the offender is eligible for parole. TDOC determines eligibility by calculating sentences and sentence credits (time served or granted as incentive) in compliance with Tennessee Code Annotated sections 40-35-501, 40-28-115 to 117.
Who determines when an offender is eligible for parole?
By statute, Judges are required to impose sentences and to determine the classification of the offender. Tennessee Code Annotated § 40-35-101 describes the various classifications (or ranges) of offenders: including Especially Mitigated; Standard; Multiple; Persistent; and Career Offender. Based on that classification, the law mandates that a certain percentage of the sentence must be served before the offender is eligible for parole. The Tennessee Department of Correction calculates the percentage and determines the Release Eligibility Date (RED).
What factors do Board Members consider when deciding whether to grant parole?
The Board duly considers all of the following factors: nature of the offense, prior criminal history, program participation, length of time served, institutional record, and community support or opposition.
Who is notified when parole hearings are to be held?
Tennessee Code Annotated § 40-28-505 requires the Board to send written notices about parole grant hearings, final decisions made, and parole releases to the Trial Judge, the District Attorney General and the Sheriff of the County where the crime was committed. The law also requires the Board to notify those victims who request in writing to be notified. Written requests must be sent to the Board at least thirty days before the hearing. The Board considers recommendations made in support of parole as well as those made in opposition. Recommendations can be made in letters or in statements made at the hearing. All hearings are tape-recorded.
Are parole hearings open to the public?
The Board’s hearings are included in the Public Meetings Act, often referred to as the "Sunshine Law", Tennessee Code Annotated § 8-44-101 et seq. The hearings of the Board are open to the public and anyone who wishes to attend may do so, consistent with the security of the institution. Limitations may be placed on the number of individuals in the hearing room at one time, based on the need for security. Additionally, Tennessee Code Annotated § 40-28-501 through 505, the "Open Paroles Hearings Act," mandates that parole hearings be open to the public, subject to security requirements as determined by the jailors or correctional officers, and space limitations.
What are the reasons for denying parole?
Tennessee Code Annotated § 40-35-503 states that:
Release on parole is a privilege and not a right, and no inmate convicted shall be granted parole if the Board finds that:
(1) There is a substantial risk that the defendant will not conform to the conditions of the release program;
(2) The release from custody at the time would depreciate the seriousness of the crime of which the defendant stands convicted or promote disrespect for the law;
(3)The release from custody at the time would have a substantially adverse effect on institutional discipline; or
(4)The defendant’s continued correctional treatment, medical care or vocational or other training in the institution will substantially enhance the defendant’s capacity to lead a law-abiding life when given release status at a later time.
Can a grant of parole be denied just because someone objects to it?
The Board of Probation and Parole Rules and Regulations, filed as required with the TN Secretary of State’s office, states that community support and/or opposition are one of the many factors that the Board weighs in making parole decisions.
Can offenders be released on probation or parole even if they don't have a place to work?
An offender is required to work in a lawful occupation, as a condition of his or her community supervision, unless the parolee is certifiably disabled. Only under special circumstances, may this condition be waived for a brief period of time, maybe immediately following release to allow a job to be found, or in the case of certain medical ailments. The justification for the work requirement is that a lack of a visible means of support creates the inference of a hidden or criminal source of support.
Why can’t an offender be released to an out-of-state location if that is his or her home state?
Such an arrangement may be a possibility, depending on the case. The Interstate Compact Interstate Commission for Adult Offender Supervision (ICAOS) coordinates the legal agreement between member states to transfer probation or parole supervision from one state to another. Otherwise accountability and effective supervision, in the best interests of society and of the offender, are not possible. The decision rests primarily with the receiving state, where the offender wants to be on probation or parole.
Can an offender be granted parole and his or her co-defendants be denied parole?
Every case is considered individually, and multiple factors effect the decision made to grant or decline parole. Some of the factors are: nature and severity of the crime committed; the offender’s personal role in the crime; prior criminal record; behavior while incarcerated; views of the sentencing Judge, recommendations of the institutional staff; recommendations of the prosecuting district attorney general, opinions of the victim(s) and the community; the offender’s circumstances if returned to the community; any mitigating or aggravating circumstances; the offender’s vocational training and employment history before and during incarceration; the offender’s past use of drugs and alcohol; the offender’s behavior and attitude during any previous experience on probation and parole; the offender’s release plan, where he or she intends to work and live; and objective parole prediction guidelines assessing the risk an offender may pose to society or the potential for success.
In considering these factors, the Board relies on information from the following and other sources: The offender’s BOPP file (includes letters and recommendations and reports); institutional file (including social history and behavior record and recommendations); incident reports; observations offered by officials, community members; medical and mental health professionals; comments and assertions by the offender and family or friends; and the experience of victims or other interested parties.
