Social Roles and Information Utilization in Parole Decision-Making

Preparole evaluations conducted by prison caseworkers were compared with board action and parole outcome on 421 cases heard by the California Adult Authority during 1968-1969. These two groups of decision-makers emphasized different considerations in performing their tasks, with board members focusing primarily on the seriousness of the most recent offense and caseworkers weighting recidivism-related variables. Furthermore, board decisions were unrelated to subsequent parole performance, and a weak relationship was seen between self-reported and actual utilization of offender case information by board members. The findings, discussed in terms of social role differences between caseworkers and board members, were intepreted as consistent with the need for guidelines which structure and limit the discretion of personnel making prison release recommendations and decisions.