Tennessees Department Of Corrections Case Study - 769 Words

Tennessee’s probation and parole agencies fall under Tennessee’s Department of Corrections (TDOC), which is overseen by its current commissioner, Tony C. Parker (â€Å"Department Overview†, n.d.). One of the first to be fully accredited through the American Correctional Association (ACA), this department is recognized as a top tier program that others strive to be (â€Å"Department Overview†, n.d.). In 2012, TDOC put a new priority on its probation, parole, and community corrections programs. There is a precedence to ensure that not only are offenders in these programs supervised, but also that supervision is successful (â€Å"Department Overview†, n.d.). Tennessee supervises roughly 79,000 people that make up those on probation, parole, or in a†¦show more content†¦This service allows those offenders rejoining the community, access to rehabilitative programs such as counseling, job aids, medical services, and education to name a few. There are four types of releases for offenders. They are parole, probation, determinate release, and community corrections (â€Å"Department Overview†, n.d.). Parole is a program for offenders who are incarcerated in prison, but are released back to the community early via permission from the Board of Parole (BOP). However, these folks have conditions set by the BOP and can include conditions that must be met before and after their release (â€Å"Department Overview†, n.d.). Some of these conditions can include things such as taking certain classes, participate in group therapy, live in a halfway house, attend AA meetings or drug counseling (â€Å"Department Overview†, n.d.). Probation is a program that allows the court to release a convicted offender back into the community without having to spend time being incarcerated (â€Å"Department Overview†, n.d.). The program does allow for what is called â€Å"split† sentences. This is where the of fender will spend a portion of time in jail, and then being released on conditions of probation (â€Å"Department Overview†, n.d.). In Tennessee, an offender has three days to report to their probation office when initially released. Conditions of each offender are tailored for that person. However, for sex offenders, there are