Every year in New York State, between 10,000 and 12,000 people appear before the parole board to make their case for release. Commissioners have immense discretion to deny parole based on a variety of factors. These include the following: a person's original crime; institutional record; participation in prison programming; Correctional Offender Management Profiling for Alternative Sanctions (COMPAS) risk scores; letters of support; release plans; behavioral record while incarcerated; victim impact statements; prosecutors' statements; deportation orders issued by the federal government; original sentencing minutes, and more.

Given the often subjective nature of parole denials, data transparency is particularly important to help elected officials, advocates, and members of the public hold the Board of Parole accountable for fair, equitable release decisions.