Parole Board Decision

In the Matter of Corrections Act 1997

and

In the Matter of an application for Parole by Terry Henry Simpson

12 November 2021

Reasons for Decision

The Background:

Terry Henry Simpson (‘the applicant’) is currently serving a sentence of imprisonment of 5 years with a non-parole period of 2 years and 6 months imposed upon conviction of the charge of trafficking in a controlled substance.

The applicant became eligible to be considered for parole on 23 April 2021, but his application was adjourned at the Board’s meetings of 16 April and 6 August 2021 due to lack of suitable accommodation.

The applicant subsequently appeared before the Board in respect of his application at the hearing on 12 November 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.

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 punish for the criminal wrongdoing.

Consideration:

The applicant is 33 years of age.  His current sentence reflects the Court’s view of the seriousness of the applicant’s offending in bringing a substantial quantity of crystal methamphetamine into Tasmania, within a week of his release from a short term in prison for offences of aggravated burglary and stealing.  The applicant’s lengthy criminal history reflects a variety of offences including minor drug offences, but none as serious as that for which he is currently imprisoned. The applicant reports this offending was due to financial stress and the need to support family with funds quickly to assist with funeral costs regarding the death of a close family member.

The applicant has a history of substance abuse, reporting problematic alcohol consumption historically, in addition to use of cannabis in his late teens into early twenties and more recently the daily and significant use of “Ice” in 2018 after the breakdown of his relationship.  This substance use continued until his apprehension into custody in August 2018.

The applicant has had the benefit of community-based orders, probation orders and Community Service Orders in the past.  On each occasion, poor compliance was reported, with the applicant failing to meaningfully engage or at all and breaching a 2016 Probation and Community Service Order due to new offending in 2017.

During this custodial sentence, the applicant has also had difficulties with compliance in the prison environment, with a range of drug related internal offences occurring during his time in custody. Notably the last internal drug related offence recorded occurred in November 2020 and the applicant attained minimum classification in early 2021 and has maintained this classification to date.  He is currently employed as a Leading Hand – Kitchen and case notes reflect he is a valued worker, willing to take on the responsibility required for the role and volunteer for additional work.

The applicant has engaged in some therapeutic intervention during his custodial sentence having completed the EQUIPS Foundation course, EQUIPS Domestic Abuse – Individual and ongoing alcohol and drug counselling since early 2021.

Community Corrections express significant concerns regarding the applicant’s ability to comply with a parole order, given his prior history on supervised orders.  Additionally concerns surrounding the suitability of the applicant’s previous accommodation options due to family violence history between the applicant and his partner and pro-criminal associates led to delays in the Board assessing the applicant’s suitability for parole.

The applicant has now provided a suitable accommodation option that has been assessed as pro-social but Community Corrections continue to express concern regarding the applicant’s pro-criminal attitudes and minimisation of the serious of his history of offending.

Despite this, in reports provided to the Board, the applicant appears to have gained some insight to identifying his triggers and risks for drug and alcohol use and the underlying issues that have impacted this use in the past. The applicant has expressed a willingness to re-engage with a psychologist he had worked with in the past to explore issues impacting on his ability to adequately manage his behaviour in the community.

On interview, the applicant outlined his plans for reintegration and relapse prevention and confirmed his willingness to re-engage in psychological intervention to assist him to better manage his mental health. He reported prospective employment opportunities he was intending to explore further if released.

While the Board notes the concerns raised regarding the applicant’s past history of compliance and poor attitude to supervision, he has more recently demonstrated an ability to comply with the prison environment, reflected in his classification and lack of recent internal offending.

Additionally, Community Corrections have identified a range of case management options that could be provided to the applicant to assist him in maintaining compliance on a parole order and provide structured support to address both his criminogenic and personal risk factors.

On balancing all of the above, the Board determines the applicant is suitable to be afforded the opportunity for parole, subject to the strict conditions of a parole order.

The Board’s determination:

Parole is approved

Additional Special Conditions:

• Must engage in with a general practitioner to obtain a Mental Health plan and comply with all recommendations

Paroled from 22 November 2021 – 23 October 2023