In efforts to reduce repeat offenses in Spain thirty years ago, researchers developed a formula that assigned a risk score to individuals. The score was used to decide if prisons should grant a prisoner temporary release, and the formula still factors into decision-making today. Civio describes the current downsides of using the scores, which are based on a relatively small sample of prisoners from the 1990s.
An interactive graphic, shown above, illustrates the system and how a score goes up and down as you change variables in the drop-down menus. Foreign status increases the risk score the most, even more so than if a prisoner tried to escape.
