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United Conservative Party Leader Jason Kenney has pledged to create a provincial parole board if his party is elected — claiming prisoners released by federal parole authorities are playing a role in the province’s rural crime problem.

At acampaign event in Red Deer Saturday, Kenney said a UCP government would endAlberta’s agreement with the Parole Board of Canada and pass legislation creating an Alberta Parole Board.

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While Quebec and Ontario have their own parole boards, Alberta contracts with the arm’s length federal institution to provide the service.

The policy is meant to address concerns that repeat offenders, including parolees, are driving big increases in property crime in rural Alberta. But two criminologists contacted by Postmedia are critical of the proposal.

Parole is a form of release that allows offenders to serve the remainder of their sentences in the community under supervision. Parole eligibility dates vary for each inmate. Federal inmates who are not subject to a parole ineligibility period are typically eligible one-third of the way through their sentence — though eligibility is no guarantee of release.