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The Division of Criminal Justice is mandated by statute to develop actuarial risk assessment instruments for use by the state parole board when it considers inmates for release to parole supervision. Over the years, the Colorado Actuarial Risk Assessment Scale (CARAS) has been revised many times to accommodate changes in the characteristics of prisoners. The CARAS applies to both men and women. Following the latest re-validation process, the newest version of the CARAS was implemented in September 2015. Available below is the current CARAS, Version 6 scale (including items, item descriptions, item weights, and scoring categories). Forthcoming will be Brief Description and a Technical Summary of the CARAS, Version 6.
CARAS Version 6: Scale 108KB
-Typo on Item #4. Assessed Custody Level, updated, 12/01/2015.
-Typo on Item #2. Number of All Prior Parole and Probation Revocations, updated, 05/05/2016).
Available below is the previous CARAS, Version 5 scale in effect between 2008 and 2015 (including items, item descriptions, item weights and scoring categories), a brief description of the CARAS, Ver. 5, external reviews by criminologists Christopher Baird and Gerald Gaes, and an overview of the CARAS, Version 5 in PowerPoint presentation format.
CARAS Version 5: Brief Description 149KB
CARAS Version5: Reviews by Criminologists 241KB
CARAS Version5: PowerPoint Overview 3.3MB