The visualizations below show a breakdown of parole release rates for a single month. By default, they show the most recent month available, but you can select any past month with available data.

Please refer to the methodology tab for information on categories and designations.

Data Overview

The Vera Institute of Justice used data from the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision monthly (DOCCS) Parole Board Interview Calendar to calculate release rates. This visualization tool allows users to look at New York State's overall release rate from 2016 to the present. Users can segment release rates by different variables of interest including age, gender, race/ethnicity, felony charge level, and sentence type to learn more about whom parole commissioners have judged ready for release.


Data collection

Vera researchers collect data directly from the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) publicly published Parole Board Interview Calendar each month. This calendar displays all scheduled parole board appearances for the last 12 months. Release decisions are displayed in the calendar after scheduled parole board appearances have occurred. To ensure that all updated data has been collected, Vera researchers collect and display data for the previous month on the 15^th of each month. Researchers combine the data included in the calendar with detailed individual information about each person appearing before the board that is also publicly available through the calendar lookup tool.

Release rates

The release rate is defined as the number of interviews that resulted in a release decision divided by the total number of scheduled interviews. Researchers determined release decisions for each hearing using DOCCS's listed Parole Interview Release Decisions. Vera categorized DOCCS release decision descriptions as follows:

• Granted: Includes people whose parole status has been recorded as the following:
 OPEN DATE: Parole status granted to people serving indeterminate sentences.
 GRANTED: CDPO/merit time granted.
 PAROLED: Granted parole with a straight date.
 REINSTATE: Original release date reinstated by the board.
 RCND&RELSE: Original release date was rescinded and a new date has been set.

• Denied: Includes people whose parole status has been labeled as the following:
 DENIED: Denied parole.
 NOT GRANTD: CDPO/merit time not granted.
 RCND&HOLD: Original release date was rescinded and a new date was not set.

• Postponed: OR EARLIER.

More detail on the DOCCS release decision definitions can be found in the Parole Board Interview Calendar Data Definitions Parole Board Calendar Data Definitions.

Included variables

Researchers collect and standardize a number of variables that can be used to understand trends and differences in parole board release rates. More information on many of the variables described below can be found in the DOCCS Parole Board Interview Calendar Data Definitions Parole Board Calendar Data Definitions.

Interview type. Researchers created five Interview type groupings based on DOCCS's listed parole interview types. DOCCS interview type descriptions were categorized as follows:

• Initial: Includes initial appearance before the parole board, as well as PIE hearings (parole immediately eligible), merit time hearings, hearings on early conditional parole for deportation, medical hearings, and supplemental merit hearings.

• Reappearance: Reappearances before the parole board when release was previously denied.

• Parole Violation Reappearance: Hearings regarding parole violations.

• Rescission: Hearings held after parole is granted but the parole board receives new information that prompts them to reconsider their decision.

• Special Consideration: Hearings held after successful appeal of parole denial.

More detail on the DOCCS interview type definitions can be found in the Parole Board Interview Calendar Parole Board Calendar Data Definitions.

Years past parole eligibility. The number of years past parole eligibility was calculated using each person's parole eligibility date and the date of their parole hearing. Researchers categorized the years past parole eligibility into six groups: people whose parole eligibility date had not yet occurred at the time of their parole hearing, people who were zero to five years past their parole eligibility date, five to nine years past their parole eligibility date, 11 to 14 years past their parole eligibility date, 16 to 19 years past their parole eligibility date and 20 or more years past their parole eligibility date.

Race/ethnicity. Race and ethnicity categories are created using the seven race and ethnicity categories defined by DOCCS. Note that, according to documentation from DOCCS, Latinx people are encouraged to select another racial category. Thus, this categorization may not accurately reflect all Latinx people incarcerated in New York. More information on DOCCS's categorization of race and ethnicity can be found in the Parole Board Interview Calendar Parole Board Calendar Data Definitions.

Age. A person's age at the date of their parole hearing is calculated using their date of birth and their parole board interview date. Researchers grouped ages into five groups: people under 25, people ages 24 to 34, people ages 35 to 44, people ages 45 to 54, and people ages 55 and older at the date of their hearing.

Felony charge level. DOCCS reports up to four crimes of conviction per person, ordered by the length of the sentence associated with each conviction. Researchers selected the first listed charge—that is, the charge associated with the longest sentence—as the top charge for each conviction. The felony charge level reflects the severity level for this top charge. Classifications refer to top-level felony charges ranging from A (most serious) to E (least serious). For a more detailed explanation, see CPL 70.02.

VFO (violent felony) designation. Top charges were categorized as violent felony offenses (VFOs) or non-VFOs based on their statutory designation. See the description of the felony charge level variable for an explanation of how top charges were selected.

Sentence type. Sentences were grouped into two categories: life sentences and non-life sentences. Life sentences were identified as those with an aggregate maximum sentence of life or 99-99 (99 years and 99 months).

Facility security level. Researchers matched the facility where each interview was held with its security level: minimum, medium, or maximum.

Publications

• New York Parole Release Rates Explainer

• Toward a Fairer Parole Process