Victim – Frequently Asked Questions | Commission of Pardons & Parole

The Victim Of Record is the direct victim of the offense for which the offender is incarcerated and was identified as such by the county prosecuting attorney’s office where the offense took place.
An Involved Party is a surviving spouse, guardian, parent of the Victim of Record, or a person otherwise identified by the Courts.
If you are the Victim of Record or Court designated Involved Party, you can contact our office and receive assistance.

Upon completion of the determinate portion of their sentence, offenders are eligible for release on parole supervision. The date they fulfill the determinate portion of their sentence is referred to as their Parole Eligibility Date. The determinate portion of the sentence is set by the Court at the time of sentencing.
Parole hearings are normally scheduled approximately six months prior to the offender’s parole eligibility date.
An offender may have a Medical Parole hearing scheduled in the event that they become permanently incapacitated or terminally ill, prior to fulfilling the determinate portion of their sentence.

Parole Commission hearings are subject to the Idaho Open Meeting Law.
Parole hearings for offenders scheduled to be seen in person by the Commission are open to the public.
No one under 16 years of age is allowed to attend parole hearings. Any exceptions must have prior approval from the Executive Director to attend a hearing.
Parole hearings held in Executive Session are not open to the public per Idaho Code §20-213A. You do have the right to submit written documentation for the Commission to review during Executive Session.

You have a right to attend all hearings open to the public.

Yes, you may have supporters accompany you to the hearing.
Those accompanying supports must be 16 years of age or older.

The Victim Coordinator will attend the hearing with you, to offer support and guidance throughout the hearing process.
Please contact our office at 208-334-2520, or email ParoleVictimServices@copp.idaho.gov, if you plan to attend the hearing.

Hearing schedules noting the date, time of parole hearings are posted on the Parole Commission’s webpage seven (7) working days prior to the beginning of the monthly hearing session.
Due to the large number of hearings conducted each month, hearing schedules will not be available any sooner than seven (7) days prior to the beginning of the monthly hearing session.
Morning session begins at 8:30 a.m. and afternoon session 1:00 p.m. We do our best to keep your wait times short, however, please understand there may times that you will have to wait for your hearing to be conducted.

The hearing will open and the offender will be present on the video screen and can only see the Parole Commissioners.
The Commissioner chairing the hearing will announce the hearing and explain the format of the hearing.
If the offender has family in attendance, one (1) representative will be provided an opportunity to speak on his/her behalf.
The Commissioners will then ask the offender a series of questions. Keep in mind that the Commissioners ask the offender to discuss their crime(s) and ask them specific questions regarding the crime(s). In addition, questions will be asked about the offender’s behavior in prison, their criminal history, parole plan, and any other questions deemed necessary when making the decision to grant or deny the offender release on parole.
Upon the conclusion of the Commissioner’s questioning of the offender, one (1) victim/victim representative will be permitted to speak.
Upon conclusion of the victim/victim representative’s testimony, the Commission will go into Executive session for deliberations and your screen will go blank.
Upon conclusion of the Commissioners’ deliberation, all parties will return and the decision will be delivered.

Please let Parole Commission staff know whether you plan to attend by calling (208) 334-2520 and ask to speak with the Victim Coordinator or email ParoleVictimServices@copp.idaho.gov.
When calling let us know if anyone else will be in attendance with you.
You may want to complete the Victim Impact Statement. Take some time when doing this, truly reflecting upon how the offender’s actions have impacted your life. These statements are confidential.

The hearing will be conducted via Webex. The offender will not see you but will hear you when providing your testimony.
If you are not comfortable making a statement, the Victim Coordinator will present the statement on your behalf.
If you are not comfortable attending the hearing, you can submit your Victim Impact Statement and the Victim Coordinator will present the statement to the Commission on your behalf.

If at a live hearing, the Commission decision will be read during the hearing.
If the hearing was conducting in Executive Session, the decisions will be posted on the Parole Commission webpage under the Decisions tab.
All decisions are posted on the Parole Commission web page under the Decisions tab, five (5) working days after the conclusion of the monthly hearing session.

If the Commission has your current address, you will receive a letter approximately five (5) days prior to the offender’s actual release date from prison.
If you move and the Commission does not know until a letter is returned undeliverable, we cannot notify you that the offender is being released.
Click here to update your contact information. Please include the offender name, IDOC number, your name, address, phone number, email address, and case number in your email.
We strongly encourage you to sign up for VINE. VINE is a free notification service that provides automated phone and/or email updates on offender movement status changes.

VINELINK Outage:

VINELINK: Victim Information Notification Everyday (VINE) services for the Idaho Department of Correction (IDOC) are not currently active. VINELink and IDOC continue work to restore notifications.

Current resident locations are updated daily and available at this link:
Resident/Client Search | Idaho Department of Correction

IDOC continues to notify registered victims of any full-term release, escape or death.
Please make certain the agency has your current information.

FOR INFORMATION ON INCARCERATED INDIVIDUALS:
Victim Services Coordinator for Idaho Department of Correction
prisonvictimservices@idoc.idaho.gov

FOR INFORMATION ON PAROLE RELEASES:

Parole Victim Services for the Idaho Commission on Pardons’ and Parole

parolevictimservices@copp.idaho.gov