Parole Board Decision

In the Matter of Corrections Act 1997

and

In the Matter of an application for Parole by Rodney Dale Gregson

31 March 2023

Reasons for Decision

The Background:

Rodney Dale Gregson (‘the applicant’) is currently serving a sentence of imprisonment of 18 months imposed upon conviction on charges of assault and stealing.

The applicant became eligible to be considered for parole on 28 November 2022, but his application was adjourned at the Board’s hearing on the 25 November 2022 due to lack of suitable accommodation.

The applicant then appeared before the Board in respect of his application at the hearing on 31 March 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:

The applicant’s offending occurred in the context of a casual encounter between the applicant and the victim at the applicant’s home after arranging a meeting on a dating website. Although they engaged in sexual activity initially during the encounter, when the victim refused to engage in sexual intercourse in the manner suggested by the applicant, the applicant became insistent, forceful, and agitated.  After consuming some alcohol, the applicant ultimately become aggressive and assaulted the victim by slapping him to the head, threatening to punch him and striking the victim on the kneecap with the alcohol bottle, continuously verbally threatening to do serious harm to the victim.

The applicant does have some prior history of behavioural and violence related offending including breaching family violence orders, although the Court noted at sentencing on the applicant’s index offending that the assaults on the victim were more serious and apparently “out of character” for him. Information provided indicates the applicant suffers from an acquired brain injury and schizophrenia, reporting a long history of anger issues and inability to handle confrontation which appear contributory to his past offending.

There are however good prospects for the applicant to rehabilitate. He reportedly has good insight into the struggles he has with his mental health and has acknowledged his use of illicit substances and particularly alcohol to manage these problems in the past. However, he reports that with maturity he has a different focus and is motivated to engage in appropriate counselling to deal with his mental health and address past childhood trauma and abuse he suffered in a familial setting.  Indeed, the applicant has previously successfully engaged in therapeutic intervention in the community and has been engaging with the prison fellowship and Holyoake Recovery program while incarcerated with an intention to continue post release.

This change in focus is reflected by the way the applicant has served his custodial sentence.  He is currently classified as minimum security, progressing through the system to housing in the O’Hara Units in early 2023, with case notes reflecting a pattern of generally good behaviour, no record of internal offending and employment as a General Hand involved in prison industries including making oyster baskets.

There exist several protective factors for the applicant relevant to his suitability for parole. He has suitable accommodation and pro-social relationships with several friends who have continued to visit him while in prison, including a previous partner who has a 10-year-old son.  The applicant described his relationship with the 10-year-old as akin to a father/son relationship and expressed his motivation to build on this relationship if released.

At interview by the Board, the applicant presented as someone who with maturity has good insight into the risks for him regarding relapse and the need to disassociate himself from past pro-criminal relationships which led him to abuse drugs and alcohol and engage in offending.

Community Corrections have assessed the applicant as suitable for parole, citing his motivation to avoid reoffending by his close relationships, previous successful engagement in counselling for the purposes of substance abuse and understanding of the need for him appropriately manage his mental health.

The Board concurs with this assessment. The Board notes the applicant is seeking to pursue parole despite the expiration of his sentence occurring in less than two months and is of the view any risks identified by the applicant and Community Corrections regarding relapse can be appropriately monitored by the strict conditions of a parole order including electronic monitoring.

The Board’s determination:

Parole Granted

Special conditions applied:

• To submit to electronic monitoring.

Paroled from 12 April 2023 - 12 October 2023