August 11, 2024
Strategy 15:
Comprehensive Risk Assessment
A Dress Rehearsal for the Suitability
Hearing
Think of the Comprehensive Risk Assessment as more than a report—it’s your preview and practice for the real thing. Strategy 15 – Comprehensive Risk Assessment: A Dress Rehearsal for the Suitability Hearing shows how this psychological evaluation can either support or sink your parole case, depending on how well you’ve prepared for it.
Strategy 15 – Comprehensive Risk Assessment emphasizes the importance of treating the CRA process as a full simulation of your parole hearing. The psychologist’s impressions, the questions asked, and your responses are all part of a narrative the Board will rely on heavily. This strategy highlights how preparation, emotional honesty, and awareness of your risk factors can directly influence the outcome. Understanding the structure and expectations of the CRA allows you to approach it not as a threat, but as a vital opportunity to demonstrate growth and readiness.
Notes
The CRA is one of the most influential documents the Board will review. Your responses should reflect consistent insight, remorse, and understanding of past patterns—just as they would at the hearing. This strategy urges applicants to rehearse difficult topics, understand clinical terms (like dynamic risk factors), and avoid defensiveness. The more aligned your answers are with your self-help work and testimony, the more credible your transformation appears. Treat the CRA as a diagnostic mirror and a practice ground.
Recap & Takeaways
Strategy 15 reminds us that the CRA isn’t just a psychological formality—it’s a test of your readiness. The same clarity, humility, and insight you’ll need at the hearing should be practiced here. Approach it seriously, speak truthfully, and review your own records ahead of time. When you treat the CRA as a dress rehearsal, you not only reduce surprises at the hearing—you build confidence and consistency in your story of change.
Start Listening Today!
Each week, we break down a chapter from 36 Strategies of Suitability and explain why it matters.
