Parole Board Decision

In the Matter of Corrections Act 1997

and

In the Matter of an application for Parole by Zoe Leanne Whiley

8 July 2022

Reasons for Decision

The Background:

Zoey Leanne Whiley (‘the applicant’) is currently serving a sentence of imprisonment imposed upon conviction on charges of trafficking in a controlled substance, stealing and several minor drug and driving related offences.

The applicant became eligible to be considered for parole on 2 July 2022.

The applicant appeared before the Board in respect of her application at the hearing on 8 July 2022 and on that occasion the applicant was invited to provide any information she had in support of her application and made herself available for questioning by the Board.

A pre-parole report prepared on behalf of the Board had been read to the applicant prior to her 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 punish for the criminal wrongdoing.

Consideration:

The applicant is 38 years of age and has an extensive criminal record that commenced when she was 17, involving significant driving offending and since 2015 more serious offences of dishonesty, violence and drug related offending. Contributory to her more recent offending is her regular use of illicit drugs, which she reports commenced around 10 years ago when she commenced a new relationship. Her index offending relates to her involvement in purchasing quantities of the drug on credit to sell on to sub-dealers to cover costs and for use herself.

The applicant reports a disadvantaged childhood, subjected to family breakdown, neglect, violence and serious abuse.  She has 3 children from a relationship with her first partner aged between 16 and 20 years of age and has maintained contact with them during her time in custody. While the relationship was abusive, the applicant reports her decline into regular illicit drug use only commenced when she commenced a second relationship at the age of 28 with a partner who was a regular drug user.  She quickly became addicted to amphetamines and methylamphetamines escalating to heavy daily use.

The applicant reports periods of abstinence from illicit drugs interspersed with periods of heavy use, and despite several periods of relapse since 2018 during and after previous periods of imprisonment she maintains she has been abstinent since commencing her current sentence in 2020.  The applicant did complete the Equips Addiction program during a period of incarceration in 2019.

During her current custodial sentence, the applicant has completed several other therapeutic programs including sexual assault counselling, alcohol and drug counselling, Adult Resilience and participated in the Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) program, a cognitive behaviour therapy-based program designed to treat mood disorders and substance abuse problems. She has also participated in a range of vocational programs, some of which are ongoing including Certificate II – Salon Assist, and Certification II Horticulture.

Although the applicant has some behavioural recorded internal offending, the last offending occurred in February 2022 relating to non-compliance with prison rules. She has attained a minimum classification and has employment as a kitchen hand in MHWP.

There are protective factors which suggest the applicant has good prospects of rehabilitation if returned to the community. She had a good industrial record prior to her decline into significant drug use, primarily consisting of work in a variety of hospitality and customer service positions until approximately 2013.

While relapse is clearly a risk for the applicant, on interview she presented as having clear goals and strategies to avoid being pulled back into her previous lifestyle. She acknowledged previous behavioural issues in custody and in the community, stating she had been a “very angry person” but outlined techniques learnt through programs she would use to manage emotions and stressors that have been triggers in the past for relapse.

She has nominated suitable accommodation that is in a different city than close family members to distance herself from pro-criminal influences and has additional support of the Beyond the Wire program. She indicated her relationship with her partner had dissolved which was an additional factor that motivated her not to return to the lifestyle that relationship involved.

Community Corrections have assessed the applicant as suitable for a parole order, noting her suitable pro-social accommodation, her engagement with appropriate alcohol and drug and sexual assault counselling while in custody and compliant behaviour since March 2022.

Recommendation has been made that the applicant be subject to an electronic monitoring condition if granted parole, to assist in effective monitoring of curfew conditions and provide added incentive to avoid further offending.

The Board agrees the applicant is suitable for parole and is satisfied risk identified can be appropriately managed by the strict conditions of parole including electronic monitoring.

The Board’s Determination:

Parole Approved

Special conditions applied:

• Must submit to electronic monitoring
• Non-association with named individual

Paroled from  18 July 2022 - 2 June 2024