Parole Board Decision

In the Matter of Corrections Act 1997

and

In the Matter of an application for Parole by Ahmed Ibrahim Ahmed

9 July 2021

Reasons for Decision

Offences and Conviction

Ahmed Ibrahim Ahmed (“The applicant “) is currently serving a sentence of imprisonment of 2 years and 10 months with a non-parole period of 17 months imposed upon conviction on the charge of trafficking in a controlled substance.

Parole Eligibility Date

The applicant became eligible to be considered for parole on 22 July 2021.

The applicant appeared before the Board in respect of his application at the hearing on 9 July 2021. On that occasion the applicant 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 of the Board had been read to the applicant prior to his appearance at the hearing.

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.”

Documentation

The Board has had regard to the following documents in considering the application: -

• The application;
• Comments on passing sentence;
• Papers provided by the Director of Public Prosecutions;
• Prison summary;
• Record of prior convictions
• Prison episode summary report;
• Pre-parole report;
• Home assessment.

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 punish for the criminal wrongdoing.

Consideration

At the time of his offending the applicant was 27 years old and had no relevant priors for drug related offending on this scale. He had a history of stable employment in the retail and hospitality industry and was a recreational drug user of cannabis until he was introduced to methylamphetamine in 2016 to which he quickly became addicted.

Because of this addiction the applicant became erratic and unreliable and lost his employment.  It is reported that the applicant continued to use drugs, found himself in trouble financially and became indebted to drug dealers.  It appears the applicant’s involvement in the episode of importation and trafficking of methylamphetamine that led to his arrest was an attempt to extricate himself from debt.

The applicant was born in Sudan, but his family moved to Australia when he was 9 years old.  He reports a stable and happy upbringing with his parents and five siblings, all of whom are employed and leading productive lives. The applicant reports he did become involved with youths who were risk takers in his teens and experimented with cannabis but did not experiment with amphetamine until his early twenties. The applicant is married and has a young son born since the applicant has been in custody.  He reports a strong relationship with his wife, in addition to a close relationship with his mother with whom his wife and child live.

During his custodial sentence, the applicant has demonstrated compliant behaviour, having attained a minimum classification, and maintaining employment in several positions including his current employment as leading hand in the Chill room in the minimum-security prison. Case notes are generally of a positive nature, and although two incidents of internal offending are recorded in late 2020, including one for possession of a buprenorphine strip, there have been no further incidents.

The applicant has completed the Gottawanna program while in prison on two occasions, once in 2019 and more recently in 2021, and is currently waitlisted for EQUIPS Foundation and Addiction.  A report from the Gottawanna program indicates the applicant has been able to identify his past lifestyle and drug use have negatively impacted his life and has reported shame and remorse for his offending.

On interview before the Board, the applicant discussed the significant impact of offending on his family and expressed motivation to move forward with his life and be at home with his young son and family.  He reported that his life had been going ‘through a roller coaster”, coming to prison had put a stop to that life and he does not want to let his family down again.

Suitable accommodation is available to the applicant on release and the applicant appears motivated to gain employment, articulating plans for the future and providing for his family.  Community Corrections have assessed the applicant as suitable for parole, noting that he will be able to access suitable therapeutic programs within the community to assist him to remain compliant and abstinent from substance abuse.

The Board is of the view the applicant would benefit from a parole order. He appears motivated toward living a pro-social lifestyle, and with the support of his family and the supervision provided by a parole order there is good prospect for the applicant to achieve his goals of employment and not return to offending.

The Board’s determination

Parole Granted

Paroled from 22 July 2021 - 22 February 2023