Parole Decision-Making and Empirical Practice: A Survey of Paroling Authorities.

This article examines the factors paroling authorities in the United States and Canada consider in parole suitability decisions, focusing on the alignment between their practices and empirical research. A survey of 62 parole board members revealed that while most incorporate validated risk assessment instruments and weigh factors such as criminal history, supervision history, institutional behavior, program participation, personal change, and release plans—factors supported by research—some also give considerable weight to less empirically supported factors like victim input, remorse, and index offense severity. Board members tend to apply greater scrutiny to high-risk individuals by emphasizing dynamic risk factors, consistent with best practices, but variation exists in how non-empirically supported factors influence decisions. The study highlights the need for ongoing training and policy refinement to ensure parole decisions are grounded in evidence-based factors that reliably predict release suitability and recidivism.