When you get out on parole, they are going to give you a list of things that you are not allowed to do. If you do them anyway, you violate the terms of your parole and you can get arrested again.
In some cases, these issues can be fairly obvious and you may never violate your parole accidentally. Say you got arrested on drug charges. You cannot use or sell illegal drugs without violating the terms of the parole, and they will take you back to prison when caught. Since this activity is already illegal, though, that should be clear to you from the beginning.
Other violations may not be as clear, however, and you can accidentally violate your parole. This could land you back in jail when you never meant to do anything wrong.
Alcohol use
For instance, the court tells some individuals that they cannot abuse alcohol. If you are 21 years old or older, alcohol use is legal in Pennsylvania. While your doctor may tell you not to drink to excess, there is no legal prohibition against it for most people.
For you, though, the terms of your parole change your rights. You won't get arrested for having a drink with dinner, but you could violate those terms if they catch you drinking too much.
Meeting an officer
Another example is if you have to meet with a parole officer, similar to the way you would meet with a probation officer. Their job is to check up on you and help you integrate back into society. They may need to meet with you on a set schedule to see how this is going.
If you skip those meetings, they can arrest you again. That's not to say you can never miss; maybe you tried to come and got a flat tire. But you need to contact the officer and explain the situation. If you just start skipping meetings because you do not feel like going, you'll see some serious ramifications.
General instruction
Finally, you may face some general instructions. You need to obey all laws, even minor ones. You have to tell the court if you decide to move; you may not be allowed to move outside of the state. The terms of your release dictate how you live your life, and you need to know what that means at all times.
A second arrest
If you do get arrested for a second time, especially if it happens because you accidentally violated the terms and you did not mean to do anything wrong, make sure you understand exactly what legal steps to take.