The TIGER algorithm, developed to prevent recidivism and support rehabilitation, has become the sole criterion for determining parole eligibility for inmates.
The Louisiana state government in the United States uses the TIGER criminal recidivism prevention algorithm to score the recidivism risk of inmates in prison. TIGER was originally designed as a tool to support rehabilitation by taking into account the inmate's history, but now the TIGER score is the only criterion for determining parole eligibility, reports ProPublica, a non-profit investigative newsroom.
TIGER, the Algorithm Banning Louisiana Prisoners from Parole — ProPublica
TIGER is an acronym for 'Targeted Interventions to Greater Enhance Re-entry' and is a computer program developed by Louisiana State University in 2014 to prevent recidivism.
TIGER is designed to help prison officials determine what classes and counseling inmates need to prevent them from returning to prison. For those at highest risk of reoffending, prisons can offer services like addiction counseling, therapy and job training to help them reintegrate into society after release, said Keith Nordike, one of the developers of TIGER.
However, ProPublica points out that around 2024, TIGER's purpose changed from 'assisting prison officials' to 'being the sole criterion for the parole decision-making process.'
Calvin Alexander, who was serving a 20-year sentence in a Louisiana prison for drug-related offenses, had done everything necessary to be eligible for early release, including receiving emotional management therapy, vocational training, and completing drug treatment. With a clean prison record, he was almost certain to be released on parole, but two months before his hearing, prison officials suddenly notified him that he was 'not eligible for parole.'
The reason for the change in parole standards is the influence of a new law enacted in Louisiana in 2024. A series of bills passed by Louisiana Republican lawmakers abolished parole for almost all incarcerated for crimes committed after August 1, 2024, as a 'tough on crime' policy. For the majority of inmates already serving their sentences, another law will introduce an algorithm to determine the possibility of early release, and only inmates assessed as low risk will be eligible for parole.
The TIGER test, developed as a rehabilitation measure, was used to assess parole risk, and is now the sole criterion for parole eligibility, ProPublica noted, with the TIGER score determining whether or not a person is granted parole.
According to experts on risk assessment tools, there are problems with relying on TIGER scores to prevent prisoners from being released. Most of the factors taken into account by the algorithm are from the prisoner's past, such as the crimes committed, employment history, age at first arrest, and previous parole revocations, and cannot be changed no matter how sincerely they are reformed now. For example, it is often the case that 'people with poor employment history cannot find work after release and end up committing crimes,' but people who grew up in low-income areas generally have fewer job opportunities than those in wealthy areas, so if TIGER were to be used to determine this, 'poor people are less likely to be granted parole than wealthy people.'
According to several legal scholars, Louisiana's bill may also violate the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits laws that retroactively increase penalties. Keith Jones, a former member of the Louisiana Parole Board, said, 'It makes no sense to me that a score generated by a process that prisoners cannot control would take away the authority and power of the parole board,' and argued that TIGER should be used as one of many considerations as part of parole decisions.
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