DENVER—An assessment checklist that determines when parole officers should send parolees back to prison has the support of Colorado Parole Board officials.
The state in 2011 set up a new assessment program called the Colorado Violation Decision Making Process that is designed to help parole officers decide how to handle violations of parole restrictions.
A 2011 report found that parole officers felt overwhelmed by using the guidelines, which involves a detailed review of criteria on each parolee and conditions that were set by the parole board, including guidelines for work rules, travel and other restrictions.
According to the Denver Post ( ), officials are hoping the checklist will help them make better decisions on parole revocations.
Anthony Young, who will step down as chairman of the parole board in July, and the incoming chairman, former State Sen. Brandon Shaffer, said the assessment tool should ensure proper decisions on revocations are being made by the board.
Shaffer said the renewed assessments were suggested by corrections chief Tom Clements, who authorities believe was killed in March by a man who was mistakenly paroled.
“We do have a focus on this evidence-based decision-making that Tom Clements was very adamant about. We need data to drive our decision-making. We need to be able to show why we are doing what we are doing,” said Shaffer, a Longmont Democrat who was a member of the state Senate.
On March 14, parolee Evan Ebel slipped off his ankle monitoring bracelet and three days later fatally shot Denver pizza delivery driver Nathan Leon, authorities believe. He then killed Clements at his home on March 19, investigators said.
It took five days after Ebel removed the bracelet for his parole officer to visit his Commerce City home and six days for a warrant to be issued for his arrest. He was fatally wounded in a shootout with Texas officials on March 21.
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Information from: The Denver Post,
