§ 309.1. Preliminary provisions.
(a) Authorization.
(1) As authorized by 42 Pa.C.S. § 2154.5 (relating to adoption of guidelines for parole), the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing (Commission) shall adopt guidelines that shall be considered by the Pennsylvania Parole Board when exercising its power to parole and reparole all persons sentenced by any court in this Commonwealth to imprisonment in any state correctional institution.
(i) The guidelines shall do all of the following:
(A) Give primary consideration to the protection of the public and to victim safety;
(B) Provide for due consideration of victim input;
(C) Be designed to encourage inmates and parolees to conduct themselves in accordance with conditions and rules of conduct set forth by the department or other prison facilities and the board;
(D) Be designed to encourage inmates and parolees to participate in programs that have been demonstrated to be effective in reducing recidivism, including appropriate drug and alcohol treatment programs;
(E) Provide for prioritization of incarceration, rehabilitation and other criminal justice resources for offenders posing the greatest risk to public safety; and
(F) Use validated risk assessment tools, be evidence based and take into account available research relating to the risk of recidivism, minimizing the threat posed to public safety and factors maximizing the success of reentry.
(ii) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, this section shall not remove the discretionary parole authority of the board when exercising its power to parole and reparole.
(b) Definitions. For purposes of this chapter:
‘‘Aggregated Sentence.’’ Two or more consecutive sentences that have been combined whereby the aggregate minimum term is the sum of the consecutive minimum terms and the aggregate maximum term is the sum of the consecutive maximum terms.
‘‘Conviction Offense.’’ Offense for which the original sentence was imposed.
‘‘Court.’’ A court of record.
‘‘Detainer.’’ A written order of the court or paroling authority to hold a person in custody in a correctional institution pending further legal action.
‘‘Hearing Examiner.’’ An agent of the Parole Board who is empowered to sit on parole revocation panels, conduct parole hearings in lieu of panels and conduct parole interviews on behalf of the Parole Board.
‘‘Judicial Proceeding.’’ A sentencing hearing in which all offenses for which the offender is convicted are pending before the court for sentencing at the same time. A judicial proceeding may include multiple OTNs.
‘‘Misconduct.’’ Any violation of Pennsylvania Department of Corrections rules, regulations, or policies as provided in DC-ADM 801, Inmate Discipline Procedures Manual. A detailed list of ‘‘criminal or assaultive misconducts’’ considered in the pre-interview factors is found at DC-ADM 801 Category A Misconducts/Rule Violations (Formal Resolution Only).
‘‘Non-Violent Offender.’’ An offender not currently or previously convicted of a violent offense, for which the State Parole Guidelines Matrix (Non-Violent) applies. Non-violent offenders include but are not limited to those eligible for the following:
‘‘Rebuttable Parole.’’ A statutorily designated non-violent inmate who has been certified by the DOC based on a good conduct record and nonviolent history.
‘‘Recidivism Risk Reduction Incentive (RRRI).’’ A sentence imposed upon a non-violent inmate that can allow the opportunity to reduce the minimum sentence upon completion of recommended programming while maintaining a good conduct record.
‘‘Short Sentence Parole.’’ Offenders sentenced to state incarceration with an aggregate minimum sentence of two years or less or a recidivism risk reduction incentive minimum sentence of two years or less, excluding ineligibility as defined in 61 Pa.C.S. § 6137.1, may be approved by the Board for parole without requiring an interview. If an offender is committed to the Department of Corrections after the expiration of the minimum sentence, parole may be approved within 30 days after commitment.
‘‘Original Sentence.’’ The sentence resulting from the original conviction. It is from this sentence the Board paroles the inmate and the parolee serves the remaining time on the street unless recommitted by the Board.
‘‘Panel.’’ A two-member unit of the Parole Board comprised of either two Board Members or one Board Member and one Hearing Examiner, empowered to make parole release decisions and recommitment decisions.
‘‘Parole.’’ The conditional release from imprisonment of an inmate from a correctional facility to serve the remainder of his/her unexpired sentence in the community under supervision as long as (s)he satisfactorily complies with all terms and conditions provided in the parole order.
‘‘Parole Preparedness Category.’’ One of two factors used to determine the recommendations contained in the State Parole Guidelines matrix. The parole preparedness category is a scale based on 11 factors identified prior to and during the parole interview, intended to measure an inmate’s readiness for parole release. A higher score indicates greater preparedness. One point is assigned for each positive assessment; 0 points for each negative assessment.
‘‘Parole Risk Category.’’ One of two factors used to determine the recommendations contained in the State Parole Guidelines matrix. The parole risk category is determined through the Level of Service Inventory-Revised (LSI-R). The LSI-R is a validated risk-screening instrument used by the Department of Corrections. LSI-R assesses an inmate’s general risk based on each of 10 criminogenic domains. Scores range from 0 to 54, with scores of 0 to 19 designated as low risk, scores of 20 to 33 designated as medium risk, and scores of 34 to 54 designated high risk.
‘‘Pennsylvania Parole Board (Board).’’ An independent executive branch agency comprised of nine members appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate for six-year terms.
‘‘Reasons for deviation.’’ Common reasons found for deviation from parole guidelines include mental health/medication compliance, negative interest in parole, judicial input, prosecution/public safety input, detainer status, and less than one year until maximum sentence reached. Other reasons may apply. Decision makers are required to provide one or more reasons when deviating from the State Parole Guidelines recommendation.
‘‘Sentencing Guidelines Software Web Application (SGS Web).’’ A JNET-based application operated by the Commission which includes the modules for Sentencing, Resentencing, and Parole Guidelines. SGS Web serves as the source of data for the original reported sentence and associated information and the reporting source for revocations and resentences.
‘‘State Parole.’’ The Pennsylvania Parole Board has paroling authority for offenders sentenced to state incarceration.
‘‘Underlapping Concurrent Sentence.’’ A sentence that is served at the same time as the controlling sentence but has a shorter minimum and/or maximum sentence than the controlling sentence.
‘‘Violent Offender.’’ An offender with a current or previous conviction within ten years as provided below, or offenses otherwise designated by the Pennsylvania Parole Board as violent offenses, for which the State Parole Guidelines Matrix (Violent) applies:42 Pa.C.S. § 9714(g)
42 Pa.C.S. § 9718.1
42 Pa.C.S. § 9799.14
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