Unlawful Parole Considerations

Probation and Parole Officers fulfill an important role within the criminal justice system by supervising, managing and providing assistance to offenders on conditional liberty?

To: NSW Parole Board, Department of Corrective Services and the Carr Government

The NSW Parole Board and the Department of Corrective Services are acting in breach of sentencing law principles, and managing offenders contrary to Judge imposed sentences.

The Department of Corrective Services is managing the writer as a sex offender even though I am not lawfully serving a sentence for a sex related offence. I have been refused release to parole since April 2003 because I have not admitted guilt to a sexual offence that the sentence for expired in April 2000.

In 1993 I was sentenced to a set of 7 year fixed term of imprisonment for a sexual assault of a 19 year-old female. That sentence was imposed from 1 May 1993 and expired on 30 April 2000. I was further sentenced to a set of 3 year minimum terms of imprisonment with additional terms of 4 years for robbery whilst armed offences. That sentence was imposed from 30 April 2000 and to expire on 30 April 2007. The two sets of sentences are cumulative and the sole non-parole period was imposed for the robbery whilst armed offences.

Pursuant to a policy of the Department of Corrective Services I am being managed as a sex offender and being refused parole based on the sexual offence long after such a sentence has expired. In all parole considerations thus far not once has the Parole Board referred to the robbery whilst armed offences even though the sole parole period was imposed for such offences.

The department policy that permits this is the 'Guidelines for the Protection of Victims of Abuse and the Management of Sex Offenders'. This policy conflicts with sentencing law principles and with imposed sentences. The sentencing laws do not contain any provisions to hold offenders accountable for an offence after such a sentence has expired. The said departmental policy is in breach of sentencing law principles and could be seen to override statute law because it does hold people accountable for an offence after such a sentence has expired.

The totality principle as expressed by the Sentencing Judge was that I to serve lengthy time in prison, i.e. at lest 10 years. As of 30 April 2005 I've been in prison for 12 years. Regardless of the totality principal the sentence for the sexual offence was a fixed term and expired in April 2000. My guilt or innocence for the sexual offence is irrelevant because the sentence for that offence has long expired. I am not a repeat offender in the sense that I have no priors for sexual or robbery type offences.

The Carr Government should ensure that the Parole Board and the Department of Corrective Services acts in accordance with sentencing law principles and with imposed sentences.

The Carr Government has been contacted in this regard a number of occasions but the Premier and the Minister for Justice, Mr Carr and The Hon J Hatzistergos respectively, are not interested and refuse to take any action.

I have advised the Parole Board and the Carr Government that if the Parole Board continues to consider the sexual offence relevant for a parole order that I will refuse parole if granted on principle and will therefore be released with no parole or supervision after 14 years at the expiry of the full term.

I argue that it cannot be in the public's best interest to have offenders released at the expiry of their full terms with no parole supervision, especially long-term inmates like myself. On the other hand it is in the public's interest to release offenders under parole supervision regardless of the type of offence and whether or not the offender has admitted guilt.

The Parole Board is in breach of their Duty-of-Care owed to the public by not ensuring supervised release of offender, such as myself. Because of the Car Government's non-action in this case the Government seems to support and sanction the Parole Board's unlawful actions and failures to the public's duty-of-Care.

The Parole Board and the Carr Government must be held to account and must answer for this situation.

By John D. McCallum 31 January 05

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