Parole Board Decision

In the Matter of Corrections Act 1997

and

In the Matter of an application for Parole by Adrian Eugene Kelleher

13 May 2022

Reasons for Decision

The Background:

Adrian Eugene Kelleher (“the applicant”) is serving a sentence of imprisonment imposed upon his conviction for multiple offences including breaches of a Police Family Violence Order, Destruction of Property and Assault.

The applicant became eligible to be considered for a parole order on the 26/04/2022.

The applicant made a late application for parole and as a result the application was unable to be heard prior to the applicant’s parole eligibility date.  He appeared before the Parole Board at its hearing on the 13/05/2022.  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 of the Board was 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.”

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 criminal history predominantly for traffic, drug matters, crimes of dishonesty and for violence including in the context of domestic relationships.  As such he is known to Community Corrections and has been subject to their supervision in the past.  Indeed Community Corrections report that the applicant has been under five 12 month Probation Orders and eight Community Service Orders since 1994.  His response to these orders has universally been one of disengagement and noncompliance. A Parole Order granted in 2018 was, however, successfully completed by him.

The applicant’s behaviour whilst serving his current custodial sentence has reportedly undergone a significant shift.  Whilst initially he exhibited a poor attitude and was described as “snide”, “belligerent”, “rude”, “surly” and “aggressive” more recently his behaviour has been described as more “positive” and “polite”, “courteous” and “respectful”.

At his appearance before the Board the applicant reflected on this change noting that he was significantly motivated to remain free from the custodial environment and understanding of the need to substantially change his lifestyle to achieve this.  He noted that successful completion of a parole order was achievable by him pointing to the two and half years he spent on parole from 2018 without offending and the successful completion of that order. Clearly, however, this did not result in meaningful change with the applicant returning to offending.

The applicant points to a significant support structure available to him on release consisting of his partner her parents and his own family. He has suitable accommodation and intends to engage in psychological therapy to assist him to more able communicate his issues with those that are there to support him.

The Board consider the applicant would benefit from a period of parole which will assist him to progress with the behavioural change he appears to have commenced during his sentence.

The Board’s determination:

Parole is approved

Special conditions applied:

• Mental health care plan
• Electronic monitoring
• 6 month order

Paroled from 23 May 2022 - 23 November 2022