Research


Scope and Content Note

Pre-parole case files, maintained pursuant to the Correction Law, contain records on each prisoner from the Diagnostic and Treatment Center and from any other Prison or Reformatory where he was previously incarcerated.

The file contains a photograph of the prisoner, mounted on a card that provides the following summary information: name and numbers (F.B.I., D.C.I., prison, police); parole data (crime, county, court, judge, dates of sentence and reception, jail time, term of sentence, date of maximum, date of parole, criminal act, aliases, names and prison numbers of co-defendants, previous criminal record); finger prints; signature and address; data on age, birth date, height, weight, size of ears, color of eyes and hair, complexion, build, place of birth, nationality (ethnicity), citizenship, occupation, marks, and habits and pecularities.

Also in the file are the following: Chronological Sheet, which is a listing and a brief summary of various documents relating to the prisoner's career at the Diagnostic and Treatment Center, including reports, disciplinary actions, communications, correspondence, employment offers, etc.; a transcript of the pre-parole interview; recommendation of the district attorney for or against parole; parole officer's Residence and Employment Report on the proposed residence and employment of the applicant for parole; Report of Evaluation, giving name, number, marital status, dates of admission and release, offense, sentence, prison transferred from, and narratives of behavior observations and personality development; Parole Evaluation Data Sheet, giving name, aliases, birth date and place, licenses held, names and addresses of family members and friends, and educational, employment, military and marital histories; and Certificate of Release on Parole.

In the file there may also be correspondence concerning parole and the inmate's case generally; Report of Violation of Parole, giving a detailed summary of the circumstances of the violation, made by the parole officer; Re-Appearance Summary, giving a shorter account of the parole violation and a summary of the prisoner's Diagnostic and Treatment Center record; and Violation of Parole Analysis, a brief statement by the parole officer concerning the violation.

A file may also contain a wide variety of other documents including prison or reformatory reports on the prisoner's medical, psychological, psychiatric, and educational history and condition; a copy of the receiving blotter; notices of transfer from one institution to another; copies of military sevice records; and disciplinary reports. The format and content of these documents vary considerably because they were created in different institutions.