Board of Parole: Staff

Board of Parole: Staff. The Board of Parole may employ staff, including a Chief Parole Officer and any other staff as necessary to assist it in performing its duties and responsibilities, subject to budgetary appropriation. Parole officers shall have the power of arrest of persons under the jurisdiction of the board. The expenditure authority for the Board of Parole shall be with the Chief Parole Officer, subject to approval of the chairperson. Source: PL 1-8, ch. 8, § 7, modified; amended by PL 11-8, § 2. Commission Comment: See the comment to 6 CMC § 4201. PL 11-8, § 2 took effect April 8, 1998. PL 11-8 contained findings in its § 1 that read as follows: Section 1. Findings. The Legislature finds that during a time of increasing criminal activity in the CNMI it is imperative that our parole system be as effective as possible in order to serve the interests of public safety. In order to do this, the Legislature finds that the conditions of parole must meet the following criteria: the offender must serve at least one third of his or her sentence; parole must be a conditional release based upon the good behavior of the offender while incarcerated; the parolee must receive assistance in adjusting to community problems; society must be protected from potential recidivism through surveillance institution should he or she violate the conditions of parole. The Legislature further finds that since the current parole system in the CNMI is presently overburdened, underfunded, and understaffed, the Parole Board cannot, without enhancement, guarantee its parolees will be held strictly accountable to the criteria for parole. The Legislature further finds that, in conjunction with the deteriorated conditions and overcrowding at the CNMI's current prison facility, as the general population rises and crimes soar, public safety will be increasingly jeopardized unless its parole system can effectively deter recidivist parolees, and relieve overcrowding at the current facility by providing reliable, supervised release and community assistance and reintegration to rehabilitable inmates. To this end, the Legislature finds that a reasonable first step towards necessary enhancement includes a more careful delineation of needed parole personnel, the right of parole officers to bear firearms while on duty, and the inclusion of parole officers on the list of law enforcement officers eligible for death benefits.