Montana Headlines: Montana’s new parole board is granting inmates’ release sooner after major changes made in 2017… according to data released by the Criminal Justice Oversight Council. The quicker parole process owes to changes made during the 2017 Legislature.
The Montana Board of Pardons and Parole transitioned from a seven member volunteer board to a five member board at a cost of one half million dollars a year to the tax payers of Montana. Board member Annette Carter made some very rosy statistics and data to the Criminal Justice Oversight Council. Shall we see what the real data is?
Data under the previous volunteer board:
January, 2017: The Board made final dispositions on 246 matters. The Board granted 59 paroles. This is a 24% parole rate.
February, 2017: The Board made final dispositions on 252 matters. The Board granted 61 paroles. This is a 24% parole rate.
March, 2017: The Board made final dispositions on 285 matters. The Board granted 81 paroles. This is a 28% parole rate.
The average parole rate under the old volunteer board for January, February and March 2017 is 25%.
Data under the new one half million dollar a year board:
January, 2018: The Board made final dispositions on 278 matters. The Board granted 70 paroles. This is a 25% parole rate.
February, 2018: The Board made final dispositions on 284 matters. The Board granted 77 paroles. This is a 27% parole rate.
March, 2018: The Board made final dispositions on 331 matters. The Board granted 88 paroles. This is a 27% parole rate.
The average parole rate under the new one half million dollar a year board for January, February and March 2018 is 26%.
For one half million dollars a year the State of Montana is getting a 1% increase in paroles granted.
There was broad bipartisan legislative support for the changes to the parole board. The bill passed 97-3 in the House and 47-3 in the Senate. Only six people were against the huge financial expenditures for a 1% increase in granted paroles.
I am not seeing the rosy picture Annette Carter presented to the Criminal Justice Oversight Committee. Data can be skewed in many ways to present brilliant work and great results. Wording of the data can skew the true meaning. The data provided to the Oversight Committee was for the one month of April 2018. The Board simply schedules in the month of April everyone they know they are going to parole. That would surely skew the great results of the Board.
Oh the tangled webs we weave when first we practice to deceive. Look at all the data before pronouncing the brilliant success of the Montana Board of Pardons and Parole. The new board achieved a 1% increase in parole over the old board.
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