[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] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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] BILLING CODE 4410-01-M