The role of psychological risk assessment in Parole Board decision making: an exploration of the perspectives of psychologists, indeterminate sentenced prisoners and Parole Board members

Providing written and oral evidence to panels of the Parole Board is a central task for prison-based psychologists. ¹ Whilst there is usually a range of professional opinions available to panels of the Parole Board, psychologists are seen by some
prisoners to be the people who hold ‘the key to captivity or release’2 (p.121). It is not known whether Parole Board decisions are more influenced by psychologists’ reports than by those of other professionals (in fact another study suggested that parole decisions were most consistent with recommendations from Offender Managers).³ However there is certainly a view amongst prisoners that psychological assessment carries the most weight in parole decisions.