(1) The general assembly
hereby finds that:
(a) The risk of reoffense shall be the central consideration by the state board
of parole in making decisions related to the timing and conditions of release on
parole or revocation of parole;
(b) Research demonstrates that actuarial risk assessment tools can predict
the likelihood or risk of reoffense with significantly greater accuracy than
professional judgment alone. Evidence-based correctional practices prioritize the
use of actuarial risk assessment tools to promote public safety. The best outcomes
are derived from a combination of empirically based actuarial tools and clinical
judgment.
(c) Although the state board of parole is made up of individuals, using
structured decision-making unites the parole board members with a common
philosophy and set of goals and purposes while retaining the authority of individual
parole board members to make decisions that are appropriate for particular
situations. Evidence-based correctional practices support the use of structured
decision-making.
(d) Structured decision-making by the state board of parole provides for
greater accountability, standards for evaluating outcomes, and transparency of
decision-making that can be better communicated to victims, offenders, other
criminal justice professionals, and the community; and
(e) An offender's likelihood of success may be increased by aligning the
intensity and type of parole supervision, conditions of release, and services with
assessed risk and need level.
(2) (a) The division of criminal justice in the department of public safety shall
develop the Colorado risk assessment scale to be used by the state board of parole
in considering inmates for release on parole. The risk assessment scale shall
include criteria that statistically have been shown to be good predictors of the risk
of reoffense. The division of criminal justice shall validate the Colorado risk
assessment scale at least every five years or more often if the predictive accuracy,
as determined by data collection and analysis, falls below an acceptable level of
predictive accuracy as determined by the division of criminal justice, the state
board of parole, and the division of adult parole in the department of corrections.
(b) The division of criminal justice, the department of corrections, and the
state board of parole shall cooperate to develop parole board action forms
consistent with this section that capture the rationale for decision-making that
shall be published as official forms of the department of corrections. Victim identity
and input shall be protected from display on the parole board action form or any
parole hearing report that may become a part of an inmate record.
(c) The division of criminal justice, in cooperation with the department of
corrections and the state board of parole, shall provide training on the use of the
administrative release guideline instrument developed pursuant to section 17-22.5-107 (1) and the Colorado risk assessment scale to personnel of the department of
corrections, the state board of parole, administrative hearing officers, and release
hearing officers. The division shall conduct the training on a semiannual basis.
(d) The department of corrections, in cooperation with the state board of
parole, shall provide training on the use of the administrative revocation guidelines
developed pursuant to section 17-22.5-107 (2) to personnel of the department of
corrections, the state board of parole, and administrative hearing officers. The
department shall conduct the training semiannually.
(3) For a person sentenced for a class 2, class 3, class 4, class 5, or class 6
felony or level 1, level 2, level 3, or level 4 drug felony who is eligible for parole
pursuant to section 17-22.5-403, or a person who is eligible for parole pursuant to
section 17-22.5-403.7, the state board of parole may consider all applications for
parole, as well as all persons to be supervised under any interstate compact. The
state board of parole may parole any person who is sentenced or committed to a
correctional facility when the board determines, by using, where available,
evidence-based practices and the guidelines established by this section, that there
is a reasonable probability that the person will not violate the law while on parole
and that the person's release from institutional custody is compatible with public
safety and the welfare of society. The state board of parole shall first consider the
risk of reoffense in every release decision it makes.
(4) (a) In considering offenders for parole, the state board of parole shall
consider the totality of the circumstances, which include, but need not be limited to,
the following factors:
(I) The testimony or written statement from the victim of the crime, or a
relative of the victim, or a designee, pursuant to section 17-2-214;
(II) The actuarial risk of reoffense;
(III) The offender's assessed criminogenic need level;
(IV) The offender's program or treatment participation and progress;
(V) The offender's institutional conduct;
(VI) The adequacy of the offender's parole plan;
(VII) Whether the offender while under sentence has threatened or harassed
the victim or the victim's family or has caused the victim or the victim's family to be
threatened or harassed, either verbally or in writing;
(VIII) Aggravating or mitigating factors from the criminal case;
(IX) The testimony or written statement from a prospective parole sponsor,
employer, or other person who would be available to assist the offender if released
on parole;
(X) Whether the offender had previously absconded or escaped or attempted
to abscond or escape while on community supervision; and
(XI) Whether the offender successfully completed or worked toward
completing a high school diploma, a high school equivalency examination, as
defined in section 22-33-102 (8.5), C.R.S., or a college degree during his or her
period of incarceration.
(b) The state board of parole shall use the Colorado risk assessment scale
that is developed by the division of criminal justice in the department of public
safety pursuant to paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of this section in considering
inmates for release on parole.
(c) (I) Except as provided in subparagraph (II) of this paragraph (c), the state
board of parole shall also use the administrative release guideline instrument
developed pursuant to section 17-22.5-107 (1) in evaluating an application for
parole.
(II) The administrative release guideline instrument shall not be used in
considering those inmates classified as sex offenders with indeterminate sentences
for whom the sex offender management board pursuant to section 18-1.3-1009,
C.R.S., has established separate and distinct release guidelines. The sex offender
management board in collaboration with the department of corrections, the judicial
department, the division of criminal justice in the department of public safety, and
the state board of parole shall develop a specific sex offender release guideline
instrument for use by the state board of parole for those inmates classified as sex
offenders with determinate sentences.
(5) (a) In conducting a parole revocation hearing, the state board of parole
and the administrative hearing officer shall consider, where available, evidence-based practices and shall consider, but need not be limited to, the following factors:
(I) A determination by the state board of parole that a parolee committed a
new crime while on parole, if applicable;
(II) The parolee's actuarial risk of reoffense;
(III) The seriousness of the technical violation, if applicable;
(IV) The parolee's frequency of technical violations, if applicable;
(V) The parolee's efforts to comply with a previous corrective action plan or
other remediation plan required by the state board of parole or parole officer;
(VI) The imposition of intermediate sanctions by the parole officer in
response to the technical violations that may form the basis of the complaint for
revocation; and
(VII) Whether modification of parole conditions is appropriate and consistent
with public safety in lieu of revocation.
(b) The state board of parole shall use the administrative revocation
guidelines developed pursuant to section 17-22.5-107 (2), in evaluating complaints
filed for parole revocation.
(c) The state board of parole or the administrative hearing officer shall not
revoke parole for a technical violation unless the board or administrative hearing
officer determines on the record that appropriate intermediate sanctions have been
utilized and have been ineffective or that the modification of conditions of parole or
the imposition of intermediate sanctions is not appropriate or consistent with public
safety and the welfare of society.
(6) (a) The state board of parole shall work in consultation with the division
of criminal justice in the department of public safety and the department of
corrections to develop and implement a process to collect and analyze data related
to the basis for and the outcomes of the board's parole decisions. The process shall
collect data related to the board's rationale for granting, revoking, or denying
parole. Any information relating to victim identification or victim input that is
identifiable to an individual defendant or case shall be maintained, but kept
confidential and released only to other government agencies, pursuant to a
nondisclosure agreement, for the purpose of analysis and reporting, pursuant to
paragraph (c) of this subsection (6). When the board grants parole, the process shall
also collect data related to whether the offender has previously recidivated, the
type of reentry program given to the offender as a part of the offender's parole
plan, and whether the offender recidivates while on parole.
(b) The state board of parole shall also determine whether a decision
granting, revoking, or denying parole conformed with or departed from the
administrative guidelines created pursuant to sections 17-22.5-107 and 16-11.7-103
(4)(m) and, if the decision was a departure from the guidelines, the reason for the
departure. The data collected pursuant to this subsection (6) are subject to the
same victim protections described in subsection (4)(a) of this section.
(c) The state board of parole shall provide the data collected pursuant to this
subsection (6) to the division of criminal justice in the department of public safety
for analysis. The division of criminal justice shall analyze the data received pursuant
to this paragraph (c) and shall provide its analysis to the board. The board and the
division of criminal justice shall use the data and analysis to identify specific
factors that are important in the decision-making process.
(d) The division of criminal justice in the department of public safety shall
provide the state board of parole with training regarding how to use the data
obtained and analyzed pursuant to paragraph (c) of this subsection (6) to facilitate
the board's future decision-making.
(e) (I) Notwithstanding section 24-1-136 (11)(a), C.R.S., on or before March 31,
2017, and on or before March 31 each year thereafter, the state board of parole and
the division of criminal justice in the department of public safety shall issue a report
to the general assembly regarding outcomes of decisions by the state board of
parole. The data must be reported to the general assembly only in the aggregate.
(II) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2011, (SB 11-241), ch. 200, p. 838, � 7, effective
May 23, 2011.)
(7) The department of corrections, the state board of parole, the division of
adult parole, and the division of criminal justice in the department of public safety
shall cooperate in implementing all aspects of this section.
(8) This section shall apply to any person to whom section 17-22.5-303.5, as
it existed prior to May 18, 1991, would apply pursuant to the operation of section 17-22.5-406, because the provisions of such sections are substantially similar.
(9) For purposes of this section, technical violation means a violation of a
condition of parole that is not a conviction for a new criminal offense or not
determined by the state board of parole to be a commission of a new criminal
offense.