9NEWS Investigates published a report by Chris Vanderveen on Feb. 11, 2026, that should make every Colorado family sit up straight. The Colorado Department of Corrections is now vowing to redo the risk levels of more than 1,700 parolees after 9NEWS found systemic mistakes in how parole officers were scoring risk, mistakes that led to the wrong supervision levels.
The story is not about a typo on a spreadsheet. Vanderveen reports case after case where felony histories were ignored, addiction problems were overlooked, and critical information was misread during semi-annual risk assessments. DOC leadership now believes the errors were widespread, and that dozens of parolees were free to reoffend with little to no oversight before they committed new crimes.
DOC says it is retraining supervisors, building a specialized “Parole Assessment Center,” and working with the University of Cincinnati to tighten quality control. They also promise a public-facing data dashboard in the coming weeks, with a broader launch in March 2026.
The Bullet Point Brief
- DOC is reexamining risk levels for roughly 1,770 low-risk parolees. That number may fluctuate based on parole termination dates. Either way, this is not a “small glitch.”
- 9NEWS found systemic problems, and DOC’s own internal review of 45 scores found errors on 44. That is a 98% error rate, which is the kind of “performance” you only celebrate if you are trying to lose on purpose.
- The mistakes were not abstract. Parole officers allegedly ignored felony histories, missed addiction issues, and misread key facts, which in turn led to improper supervision levels. Translation: fewer eyes on people who needed more eyes.
- DOC says it has retrained three dozen parole supervisors, is mandating formal supervisory review and approval for reassessments, and is bringing in outside help to refine the quality assurance framework.
- Even the Capitol got spicy. A Democratic legislator is quoted as saying lawmakers were “rightly pissed” and wanted it fixed “quick-like and in a hurry.” Different clowns, same circus, but at least someone noticed the tent was on fire.
My Bottom Line
This is what we get after years of one-party control in Colorado: a system that talks a big game about “public safety,” then cannot reliably calculate a parolee risk score without stepping on its own shoelaces. And yes, before anyone clutches pearls, I am talking about policy and priorities. Not personalities. Policy. Period.
The great suburban normie needs to wake up. You do not get to vote for “compassionate” criminal justice vibes, celebrate bureaucracy as a virtue, and then act shocked when oversight collapses and the public is left holding the bag. When government gets big, slow, and smug, basic competence becomes optional.
To DOC’s credit, they are admitting it is unacceptable and moving to retrain, redo assessments, and add supervisory review. Good. Do it yesterday. But let’s not pretend a dashboard fixes a culture. A dashboard is what you build after you embarrass yourself on live TV.
Colorado has become harder to afford and harder to feel safe in, and that is not a cosmic accident. It is the result of choices made under “total domination” in Denver: priorities, incentives, and a steady march toward systems that protect themselves first and the public second. Facts over fan clubs. Start governing like people’s kids are walking to school and families are trying to sleep at night.
Source: 9 News
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