Globe columnist Lawrence Harman applauded Massachusetts' administrators for suspending decisions on parole hearings until state law enforcement officials can determine if Parole is functioning properly. The decision was sparked by the shooting of a police officer by a paroled armed robber. Harmon refers to a study published last March by Temple criminologists. "After an eerily similar shooting of a Philadelphia police officer in 2008, the authors compiled a long list of recommendations for Pennsylvania’s parole system....In their sample of 'high-risk' parolees placed under supervision in 2008, the authors report that 22 percent had been rearrested for violent crimes," he wrote.