Decision Factors

The Board considers the many factors related to the case when making a decision.

Examples include:

• The minimum, maximum, concurrent, and consecutive sentences imposed by the court
• The facts of the crime and criminal behavior
• Reports and recommendations from the sentencing court and Department of Corrections
• Individual's risk level
• Victim impact
• The individual’s criminal history, supervision history, and institutional behavior
• Information received by the Board from the individual or on the individual's behalf
• Completion of their Case Action Plan or Board-required programming/treatment while incarcerated
• Release plan and community support

The Board may view each of these factors as aggravating or mitigating when making an evaluation and comparing the totality of the individual’s behavior and public safety risk. The Board also considers these factors so that an individualized decision regarding each offender is specific to that individual. Not all of these factors are or will be present in every situation – and no single factor is controlling.  The Board doesn’t simply compare or “total” these factors.  Each of them are considered and weighed by the Board when making a release decision.