Parole Exits and Revocation Knowledge System (PERKS) Project: Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles

Georgia State Capitol

In 2017, the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles responded to a request for proposals by the Robina Institute of Criminal Law and Criminal Justice with a research project focused on reviewing and improving its management of parole violations. The Board sought specific assistance on how it could incorporate evidence-based practices to inform its decision-making protocol.

During FY 2015, the Board revoked 2,655 parolees of which only 8% were for technical violations, however, only 10% or 261 of those revocations occurred via a final hearing (Watts et al., 2017). The remaining cases “waived,” admitting to their violation behavior (Watts et al., 2017). Within this context, the Board sought a review of its revocation process and the best practices used in other states alongside other pertinent research to identify opportunities for reducing re-incarcerations and increasing successful parole completions.

This report presents the findings of the Parole Exits and Revocation Knowledge System (PERKS) Project and includes, but is not limited to, a consideration of the following: a) a review of existing practices of states that are using structured revocation decision-making models, b) an assessment of enhanced risk, need, and responsivity tools to consider what personal and social capital or crime desistance variables would improve post-prison decision making by the Board, and c) a summary of suggested modifications of relevant policies and procedures. 

08.03.18
George Braucht
,
and
Anita Cloud

Suggested Citation: Harbinson, E., Braucht, G., Rhine, E., & Cloud, A. (2018). Parole Exits and Revocation Knowledge System (PERKS) Project: Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles. University of Minnesota Robina Institute of Criminal Law and Criminal Justice.