Parole Board Decision

In the Matter of Corrections Act 1997

and

In the Matter of an application for Parole by Zachary Michael Carr

6 January 2023

Reasons for Decision

The Background:

Zachary Michael Carr (‘the applicant’) is currently serving a sentence of imprisonment of 18 months imposed upon conviction for a significant number of dishonesty offences including aggravated burglary, attempted burglary, fraud, motor vehicle stealing, attempted motor vehicle stealing and several summary driving and drug offences.

The applicant became eligible to be considered for parole on 21 August 2022, and the hearing of his application was adjourned to 2 September 2022 due to the lateness of his application. His application was adjourned again on that date due to lack of suitable accommodation.

The applicant then appeared before the Board in respect of his application at the hearing on 6 January 2023.

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.”

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:

At 27 years of age the applicant is a relatively young offender but one with an extensive history of dishonesty and violence related offending both as a youth and adult.

Unfortunately, as is often the case, contributing to this prior history is the applicant’s problematic substance abuse since the age of 17 when he commenced use of methamphetamine. Despite a relatively stable upbringing the applicant left home in his early teens and lived a transient and pro-criminal lifestyle involving significant drug use and spent time at Ashley Youth Detention Centre due to his offending.

The applicant has served several custodial sentences since 2013 and information provided to the Board indicates he has struggled to maintain compliance in the prison environment in the past.  Prior to his last appearance before the Board on 2 September 2022, the applicant had various recorded incidents of internal offending, including fighting with another inmate and engaging in disorderly conduct involving violent behaviour. At the time, the applicant was housed in maximum security.

However more recently the applicant has demonstrated an improvement in his behaviour. He has attained a medium security classification and is now housed in the medium security prison. His last recorded internal offending was in October 2022 involving possession of an unauthorised item. Case notes indicate the applicant’s behaviour has been stable and has improved in comparison to other custodial periods. He is employed as a peer support worker and does additional duties cleaning the prison transport vehicles.  The applicant has not completed any therapeutic programs in prison due to his classification and ongoing limits of access to services and programs.

Some protective factors that would assist the applicant to reintegrate into the community.  He now has suitable accommodation and maintains good family support, including from his current partner.  The applicant is on a pharmacotherapy program which he had commenced prior to incarceration, and he stated this assists him to manage his behaviour better in the community and in the prison environment.

Given the applicant’s prior history it is clear he is at significant risk of reoffending. In assessing suitability for parole, the Board must balance this risk against other factors which suggest the applicant’s improved capacity for compliance and engagement with services to address his offending.  At interview by the Board the applicant expressed a desire to have the support and structure a parole order can provide to assist with reintegration.

While the Board holds concerns in relation to the applicant’s risk of reoffending, the Board notes the applicant has limited opportunity to pursue intervention to address his substance use and offending in the custodial environment.  Community Corrections have identified electronic monitoring as an additional appropriate condition to manage the identified risks while allowing the applicant to engage in therapeutic intervention in the community.

On balancing all factors, the Board determines the applicant is suitable to be afforded the opportunity for parole, subject to the strict conditions of a parole order including electronic monitoring of those conditions.

The Board’s determination:

Parole Granted

Special conditions applied:

• Subject to electronic monitoring of parole conditions.

Paroled from 16 January 2023 - 16 July 2023