PVDMI
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With the focus of reducing California’s recidivism rate, and the mandate that the prison population be reduced, a risk assessment system is used to determine if a criminal should be released on parole, or be returned to prison. It’s called the Parole Violation Decision Making Instrument, or PVDMI. According to an article in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) website, the PVDMI “will help focus CDCR’s custody resources on higher risk offenders while targeting less serious offenders with proven treatment programs that seek to address the root of their problems.” It is logical that prisoners should be rehabilitated back into society so that they can be free, productive citizens. Each individual is entitled to take advantage of the community resources that would best help them to do that.
Basically, the PVDMI is a tool that parole officers and agents can utilize to help them assess how high- or low-risk a parolee is. It’s a matrix system where all of their criminal record history is entered and a score is given to the parolee. The higher the score, the greater the risk, and therefore, the less likely that the prisoner is to be released. For the moderate- and low-risk parolees, the PVDMI can determine which community resources and programs would best help the individual in their rehabilitation. As for program availability, the “CDCR will appropriately use its existing program capacity, and will acquire or redirect resources as necessary in each of the regions. In the interim, the PVDMI allows for an override based on the lack of program availability.”
It may be strange to think that each parolee will be given a number that is designed to help them. However, with such a daunting amount of prisoners to take care of, Orange County needs this type of system. According to information on the Urban Institute’s website, “the Orange County Sheriff’s Department operates one of the ten largest jail systems in the country. With an average daily inmate population of 6,500 throughout five jail facilities…” And let’s face it – not too many people aspire to becoming parole officers for their career. The PVDMI could be a very valuable assessment tool that will help those officers place their parolees in the best possible situations to help them.
So, what does the PVDMI have to do with a lawyer / client relationship? Well, if you’ve been convicted of a crime and are accused of a probation violation, you’re going to need experienced help in understanding the system. Your probation officer and your lawyer will make sure that your case is heard before a fair judge who will consider all the factors including your good PDVMI score. The lawyers at Rizio and Nelson know what you’re going through and can help you get through it.
