The guidelines are based on the seriousness of the offender's offense and the offender's risk of recidivism; they also provide for consideration of the offender's institutional conduct. Guidelines are presented for various types of offenses, and one section of this manual explains guideline application procedures. The revised parole guidelines are in the form of a two-dimensional chart or grid. On the vertical axis there are 13 categories of offense seriousness. The most serious offenses are assigned to category 13; the least serious offenses are assigned to category 1. On the horizontal axis there are four risk-of-recidivism categories, based on an empirically developed score called the Criminal History/Risk Score. At each intersection of the seriousness and risk-of-recidivism categories, there is a guideline range (in months to be served before release). Because there are 13 offense categories and four risks-of-recidivism categories, the grid has 52 guideline ranges. The guideline ranges are designed for the typical or average cases and presume good institutional behavior. The use of a guideline "range" rather than a "point" is to allow the Parole Board some discretion to address individual case factors without departing from the guidelines. The guidelines will allow the Board to inform most offenders of their projected release date the first time they see the Board. Appended standardized wording for hearing decisions