Parole Board Decision

In the Matter of Corrections Act 1997

and

In the Matter of an application for Parole by Zachary Jacob Jones

27 November 2020

Reasons for Decision

Offences and Conviction

Zachary Jacob Jones (“the applicant”) is currently serving a sentence of imprisonment of 2 years with a non-parole period of 12 months imposed upon his conviction for matters of aggravated burglary, stealing and breaches of bail.

Parole Eligibility Date

The applicant became eligible for consideration for a parole order on 1 September 2020.

The applicant appeared before the Parole Board at its hearing on 27 November 2020. On that occasion the applicant was present at the hearing and was invited to provide any information he had in support of his application and made himself available for questioning by the Board.

A pre-parole report prepared on behalf the Board was read to the applicant prior to his appearance at the hearing.

Registered Victim

No registered victim

Statutory Criteria

In determining the application, the Board has had regard to the following statutory criteria:-

The Corrections Act 1997, s72, establishes a statutory criteria for determining suitability for parole.

S72 (4) specifically provides as follows:

“In determining whether or not a prisoner should be released on parole, the Board is to take into consideration –

• The likelihood of the prisoner re-offending; and
• The protection of the public; and
• The rehabilitation of the prisoner; and
• Any remarks made by the court in passing sentence; and
• The likelihood of the prisoner complying with the conditions; and
• The circumstances and gravity of the offence, or offences, for which the prisoner was sentenced to imprisonment; and
• The behaviour of the prisoner while in prison and, if he or she has been in a secure mental health unit, while in that secure mental health unit; and
• The behaviour of the prisoner during any previous release on parole; and
• The behaviour of the prisoner while subject to any order of a court; and
• Any reports tendered to the Board on the social background of the prisoner, the medical, psychological or psychiatric condition of the prisoner or any other matter relating to the prisoner, including in the case of a prisoner who is or has been a forensic patient any report of the Chief Forensic Psychiatrist; and
• The probable circumstances of the prisoner after release from prison; and
• Any statement provided under subsection (2B) by a victim, or, if subsection (2AB) applies, the parent or guardian of the victim, of an offence for which the prisoner has been sentenced to imprisonment; and
• If the prisoner is a sex offender prisoner, any notice or assessment given to the Board pursuant to section 31(6) or (7) concerning the prisoner's participation or non-participation in appropriate treatment; and
• Any other matters that the Board thinks are relevant.”

When considering the application for parole of a sex offender s31(3)(b) of the Act is also relevant:

• “The Director, on giving the sex offender prisoner the opportunity to participate in the appropriate treatment, is to inform the prisoner that…
• Participation, non-participation or unsatisfactory participation will, if the prisoner becomes eligible for parole, be factors taken into consideration by the Board in determining whether the prisoner should be released on parole.”

The purpose of parole

The High Court, in Power v The Queen (1974) 131 CLR 623 rejected the proposition that the primary purpose of parole is the rehabilitation of the offender, deciding that it is "to provide for mitigation of the punishment of the prisoner in favour of his rehabilitation through conditional freedom, when appropriate, once the prisoner has served the minimum time that a judge determines justice requires that he must serve having regard to all the circumstances of his offence".

The system of parole does recognise, however, the capacity of people to change and reform, the benefits of supervision, treatment and program delivery in the community and ultimately the potential this has for the protection of the community in reducing recidivism.

When considering eligibility for parole this purpose must be weighed against the risk each prisoner may pose to members of the community if released to serve the remainder of their sentence amongst them, the ability to remove or mitigate that risk by the imposition of appropriate conditions and understanding the victim’s “voice” and the desire to continue to punish for the criminal wrongdoing.

Consideration

The applicant has a long criminal history, offending from a young age and with the encouragement and endorsement of extended family members who pursue a pro criminal lifestyle.  The applicant is easily led and much of his offending has been the result of the influence exerted over him by others.

At times the applicant has demonstrated a capacity to remain law abiding and it appears from his appearance before the Parole Board that his wish is to not engage in offending behaviour. That he has the capacity and motivation toward compliant behaviour is evident in the manner in which the applicant has recently served his custodial sentence.  He has not engaged in any internal offending for the past 6months and has a medium classification.

The applicant’s motivation appears to have come from his young family and the absence of a positive fatherly role model in his own life.  He wants to be that person for his daughters.  Despite the significant familial anti social connections there are positive pro social influences in the applicant’s life and a return on a supervised basis to the community will assist the applicant in engaging with them.

Despite a large part of the applicant’s life being spent in the custodial environment he has never before been the beneficiary of a parole order.  The provision of such an order now, when the applicant appears ready to work at a fundamental change in his lifestyle including addressing past drug addiction and has put some manageable separation between himself and the corruptive elements of his extended family, appears timely.

Assessment by Community Corrections endorses the suitability of the applicant for a parole order. Suitable accommodation is available for him.

On balance and despite the apparent previous lifestyle choice of engaging in crime and drug use which has led to the applicant spending lengthy periods of time in prison, the applicant’s intention to reform appears genuinely held and he would benefit in being able to explore that intention whilst under the supervision and with the conditions of a Parole order.

The Board’s determination

Parole is approved

Special conditions applied

No contact with certain identified individuals;

To obtain and comply with a mental health care plan.

Paroled from 7 December 2020 - 1 September 2021