Association of Paroling Authorities International
Benjamin F. Baer was an appointed public official who dedicated his 48th year career to the criminal justice system, fighting for fair and equitable treatment of offenders and protection of the public. He was appointed to the U.S. Parole Commission by President Ronald Reagan in January 1982, was designated Acting Chairman in February and appointed as Chairman on March 24, 1982. He later died in office on April 9, 1991. Chairman Baer was recognized for his determination and struggle to defend just punishment for offenders in this country. A long time advocate for truth and fairness in sentencing. Chairman Baer also fought long hard battles to defend the supervision process as a necessary link in providing safety, accountabilty and protection to the public. This award, which is given in his name, is to recognize and reward an individual who has demonstrated significant service in the field of parole or community corrections.
From 1951 to 1957, Vincent O'Leary was Chief of Parole and Probation for the state of Washington. He then went to Texas where he was Director of Parole Supervision from 1957 until 1962. He became Director of the National Parole Institute in 1963 where he was responsible for the first parole board member training, helped develop the first national statistic report on parole, and influenced the development of parole guidelines. He stayed in this position until 1968 and was also Director of Research and Policy for the National Council on Crime and Delinquency. During this time he worked in the early days of APAI to develop policy for parole boards. In 1968 he was employed as Dean of the School of Criminal Justice for the State University of New York at Albany. He was involved in developing standards for parole boards as a consultant to the National Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals in 1973. In 1977 he was appointed to the position of President of the New York University at Albany and stayed until he retired in 1990. He has always fought against the abolishment of parole. This award, which is given in his name, is to recognize and reward an individual who has made significant contributions to the Association of Paroling Authorities International and has demonstrated vision, leadership and commitment to the field of parole.
This award is given to recognize and reward an individual or an organization which has contributed significantly to the furthering of the rehabilitative efforts of parole.
This award is given to an active APAI member who has made at least a single significant contribution either to the field of parole or to the Association.