Parole Board Decision

In the Matter of Corrections Act 1997

and

In the Matter of an application for Parole by Nicholas John Wright

13 May 2022

Reasons for Decision

The Background:

Nicholas John Wright (“the applicant”) is serving a sentence of imprisonment imposed upon his conviction for Aggravated Armed Robbery and Unlawfully Injuring Property.

The applicant became eligible to be considered for a parole order on the 01/12/2021.

The applicant 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 previously been afforded the privilege of a parole order in respect of this sentence.  That order was granted on the 24^th of May 2021 and, had it been successfully completed, would have expired on the 21^st of August 2022. The applicant was unable, however, to comply with the requirements of the order.  Within weeks of his release, he was brought back into the prison, his order suspended and electronic monitoring added to his conditions due to his conduct which was in breach of the order.  Some months after that the applicant again breached his order, cut off his electronic monitoring device and consequently his order was revoke.

The question now arises for the Board as to whether, despite this poor history on parole, the applicant is now better placed to comply with an order such that his release will be beneficial for him and his rehabilitation and not present an unacceptable risk to the community.  A positive aspect of the application is the applicant’s engagement with alcohol and drug counselling which he commenced upon his return to the prison environment.  This recognises the relevance of the applicant’s history of drug abuse to his past antisocial lifestyle and offending.

The applicant recognises that a return to drug use and re engagement with his previous anti-social cohort is not in his interests given his intention to lead a more stable and pro social lifestyle.  Indeed, he was able to articulate to the Board in the course of his hearing his awareness that his friendship choices were a significant contribution to his previous failure of parole and his motivation and strategies for this history not to repeat were he afforded another opportunity on an order.

The applicant also has alternative sources of external support upon release some funded through NDIS and others from his proposed accommodation.  He is also intent on continuing with alcohol and drug support and commence counselling for issues of past trauma.  This all represents a solid foundation for the applicant’s second attempt at successful completion of a parole order.

The assessment of Community Corrections supports the applicant as suitable for parole and notes that supervision provided as part of that order will assist the applicant in his efforts to rehabilitate.

The Board accept that the applicant is motivated toward lifestyle change.  Integral to this will be his capacity to move on from his former anti-social friendship base and to remain alcohol and drug abstinent.  Several supports exist to assist him with the transition, and he is insistent that he will engage with them.  It appears that the applicant has learnt from his past failure on parole and there is reasonable prospect that he will have the ability to demonstrate good compliance on this occasion.

The Board’s determination:

Parole is approved

Special conditions applied:

• Electronic monitoring

Paroled from 23 May 2022 - 12 February 2023