[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 25 (Tuesday, February 6, 1996)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 4350-4351]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-2402]
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Parole Commission
28 CFR Part 2
Parole Date Advancements for Substance Abuse Treatment Program
Completion
AGENCY: Parole Commission, Justice.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Parole Commission is substantially revising the
interim rule, published in August of last year, that added to 28 CFR
2.60 a provision whereby a parole-eligible prisoner could qualify for a
special advancement of his release date by up to twelve months, if the
prisoner completed a residential substance abuse treatment program and
was a non-violent offender. The rule was published as an interim rule
so as to permit the Commission to determine whether the statutory
criteria for parole at 18 U.S.C. 4206 would permit these prisoners to
receive an incentive for completion of such programs comparable to the
incentive that is available under 18 U.S.C. 3621(e)(2) for prisoners
serving sentences for crimes committed after November 1, 1987. (Such
prisoners are not eligible for parole, but can qualify for up to twelve
months of reduction in custody for completion of residential substance
abuse programs). In practice, the Commission has not been able to grant
advancements sufficient for the interim rule to provide the desired
incentive, because parole-eligible prisoners all too frequently have
serious offenses and serious prior records that preclude early release
from prison. Accordingly, the interim rule has been substantially
revised so that the permissible advancement for residential substance
abuse program completion will be determined under the existing schedule
for ``superior program achievement,'' and not in addition to it.
EFFECTIVE DATE: March 7, 1996.
ADDRESSES: Send comments to Office of General Counsel, U.S. Parole
Commission, 5550 Friendship Blvd., Chevy Chase, Maryland 20815.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Pamela A. Posch, Office of General Counsel, Telephone (301) 492-5959.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The interim regulation was published at 60
FR 40094 (August 7, 1995). The interim rule permitted the advancement
of a parole-eligible prisoner's presumptive release date by up to
twelve months for successfully completing a residential substance abuse
treatment program. However, the interim rule made it clear that the
Commission's decision in any case would continue to be governed by the
criteria for parole at 18 U.S.C. 4206(a), which requires the Commission
to ensure that release will not depreciate the seriousness of the
offense or jeopardize the public welfare. The Commission stated that it
needed to determine whether the interim rule could be implemented
consistently with the criteria at 18 U.S.C. 4206, and that if such did
not appear feasible ``* * * the Commission may amend or withdraw the
interim regulation.'' 60 FR 40095.
In practice, the Commission has found that the remaining population
of parole-eligible prisoners consists of so many offenders with
extremely serious offenses, serious prior records, and serious
indications of future recidivism, that the advancement authorized by
the interim rule could seldom be reconciled with the statutory criteria
for parole. For the most part, prisoners in the parole-eligible
population who qualify under the interim rule have already received
appropriate advancements. The remaining population cannot be expected
to produce a sufficient number of qualified applicants to justify the
adoption of the interim rule as a final rule. The Commission wishes to
avoid the situation in which its regulations appear to promise release
date advancements which, in practice, are rarely granted.
On the other hand, the Commission does not wish to withdraw
altogether the incentive for substance abuse program participation that
the interim rule was intended to provide. The final rule guarantees
that, upon receipt of a report from the Bureau of Prisons that the
prisoner has successfully completed a residential substance abuse
program of at least 500 hours, such a prison will be promptly reviewed
for a possible advancement under the schedule set forth in 28 C.F.R.
2.60(e). Although this schedule authorizes advancement of less than
twelve months for prisoners whose release dates require service of less
than eighty-five months in prison, greater advancements are authorized
for prisoners who have been required to serve eighty-five or more
months in prison.
Accordingly, by considering substance abuse program completion as
``superior program achievement'' under Sec. 2.60, the Commission
intends to evaluate the appropriateness of such an advancement in the
same manner that it considers advancements for other forms of superior
program achievement, i.e., by balancing the need for recognition of the
prisoner's achievement against the need to avoid a grant of parole that
[[Page 4351]]
depreciates the seriousness of the offense or jeopardizes the public
welfare. The procedural benefit of a prompt review upon program
completion as opposed to postponement to the next statutory interim
hearing) will constitute the Commission's special response to the
completion of residential substance abuse programs. This policy
determination recognizes the importance of such programs in
contributing to the eventual rehabilitation of prisoners whose criminal
behavior can, in some measure, can be attributed to substance abuse
addiction.
Implementation
The Commission will apply this rule at any hearing or record review
(including appeals submitted to the National Appeals Board) conducted
on or after the effective date set forth above. If the prisoner has
demonstrated superior program achievement in some other respect, and
such achievement has not yet been considered for an advancement under
Sec. 2.60, any advancement will be based on the prisoner's overall
record of accomplishments. If superior program achievement has already
been rewarded, the advancement(s) previously granted plus the
advancement for residential substance abuse program completion may not
exceed the permissible reduction set forth at Sec. 2.60(e) except in
the most clearly exceptional cases (e.g., where substance abuse program
completion is found to make the prisoner a more acceptable risk for
parole than indicated by the Salient Factor Score).
Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory Flexibility Statement
The U.S. Parole Commission has determined that this final rule is
not a significant rule within the meaning of Executive Order 12866, and
the rule has, accordingly, not been reviewed by the Office of
Management and Budget. The rule will not have a significant economic
impact upon a substantial number of small entities, within the meaning
of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 605(b).
List of Subjects in 28 CFR Part 2
Administrative practice and procedure, Probation and parole,
Prisoners.
The Amendment
Accordingly, the U.S. Parole Commission is adopting the following
amendments to 28 CFR part 2.
PART 2--[AMENDED]
(1) The authority citation for 28 CFR part 2 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 18 U.S.C. 4203(a)(1) and 4204(a)(6).
(2) 28 CFR part 2, Sec. 2.60 is amended by removing paragraphs (g)
and (h), and by adding a final sentence to paragraph (b) to read as
follows:
Sec. 2.60 Superior program achievement.
* * * * *
(b) * * A report from the Bureau of Prisons based upon successful
completion of a residential substance abuse program of at least 500
hours will be given prompt review by the Commission for a possible
advancement under this section.
* * * * *
Dated: January 29, 1996.
Jasper R. Clay, Jr.,
Vice Chairman, U.S. Parole Commission.
[FR Doc. 96-2402 Filed 2-5-96; 8:45 am]
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