Assessment and supervision

The parole officer is CSC's key link with supervised offenders in the community and is crucial to managing offender risk.

Working as a parole officer demands:

• diverse professional skills
• sound judgement
• strong personal commitment

Parole officers identify and respond to the individual needs of each offender. In some cases, they must be flexible and enforce strict controls. In other cases, they act as counsellors. They must be aware of, but not be immobilised by, threats to their own safety and take proper precautions.

Parole work is based on:

• a professional relationship with each offender, and
• a study of the risk factors that contribute to the individual's criminal behaviour

The parole officer ensures that the offender follows their correctional plan by visiting with:

• the offender - with or without warning
• family, police and employers
• people who may be assisting the offender in a program

If the offender breaches parole conditions or seems likely to do so, the parole officer can take disciplinary measures, which include sending the offender back to prison.

Parole officers follow rules and standards. They routinely write reports on the progress of each offender. All cases are discussed with their supervisors on a regular basis. Officers work together with many community agencies to help offenders secure:

• stable housing
• employment
• income
• positive personal contacts

In some cases, CSC contracts independent agencies/people to provide case management services in the community. Community assessment and parole supervision (CAPS) contractors could work with offenders on conditional release and/or offenders subject to long-term supervision orders (LTSOs). Case management services might include, but are not limited to:

• supervision
• risk assessment
• urinalysis collection
• report writing

The correctional plan outlines a risk management strategy for each offender. It specifies interventions and monitoring techniques required to address areas associated with the risk to reoffend.