Parole Guidelines Score – What It Is and Why It Is Important
We were amazed to see not only were many of the newly available parole packet preparation services doing such a lousy job but some were not even addressing the Parole Guidelines Score or were using old numbers which resulted in an incorrect score. Since many of them actually bought our book and set up their service using the method established by us, this is particularly troubling.
This is such an important part of a Texas Parole Packet that we wanted to provide just a little information on it via our blog. It is covered in much more detail in our book, How to Prepare a Texas Parole Packet available in both eBook/Digital format and as a bundle which includes the ebook and a printed copy which can be sent to the customer or mailed to the inmate in a TDCJ facility so they can assist in the preparation of their packet.
Back in 1985, the Texas legislature passed legislation which established guidelines allowing a score to be assessed covering both the seriousness of the offensive as well as the likelihood of the offender completing parole with no violations.
The guidelines have a number of different factors that are considered and assigned a numerical figure.
Factors Considered in Score
Age at first admission to a juvenile or adult correctional facility
History of supervisory release revocations for felony offenses
Prior incarcerations
Employment history
Offense which resulted in commitment
Offender’s current age
Gang member affiliation
Education, vocational and certified on-the-job training programs completed during the present incarceration
Prison disciplinary conduct
Current prison custody level
By assigning a score to each of these, the Texas Department of Pardons and Parole believe that the higher a score, the more likely an offender will be able to complete parole with no violations.
Our position at TexasParoleNow.com is that while the voting members of the parole board are likely to calculate these figures (or have them calculated by someone else in the office) it is essential that a Texas parole packet contain an accurate calculation as well, if for no other reason then so that parole doesn’t depend on the assumption that a worked in the parole office did the calculation correctly. While the factors set forth above may seem to be relatively few in number there are often multiple options for each factor. As an example, the offense severity ranking is based on a number of the charge and there are 2,642 possible felony charges to choose from with the number assigned varying widely. It’s therefore important the correct charge be selected and the number assigned.
Calculating the Parole Guidelines Score is actually not that difficult, so long as you have accurate, up to date information from which to choose as well as detailed instructions leading you through the process, as we set forth in our book.
As we’ve pointed out again and again, if you have the funds to retain a parole attorney then that is the optimal method but if you don’t, then be very careful about using parole packet preparation services since there is no way to know how experienced they are or what kind of work they will provide. Our book was written by a former lawyer with an extensive background in Texas criminal law as well as a professional in the psychological field so that the method we set forth is both accurate and designed to provide a positive outlook toward the parole application by the voting members of the parole board. The easy to follow instructions and forms allow anyone to prepare a packet for a fraction of the cost of the parole packet services being advertised and you’re guaranteed to be using the most accurate information since our materials are updated regularly.
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