Parole is the conditional release of selected prisoners who have already served part of their sentence. It means prisoners can serve the remainder of their sentence in the community under the supervision of a community corrections officer.
If the parole period is completed satisfactorily, the remainder of the sentence is cancelled.
In assessing a prisoner for parole release, the Parole Board may look
at the nature and circumstances of the offence, any risk the prisoner's
release may present to the community or a person, reports from the
Department's Offender Management Division outlining behaviour in
prison, and the types of personal development programs undertaken by
the prisoner.
Prisoners serving life imprisonment or strict custody are only eligible
for parole with the approval of the Governor of Western Australia.
Parole orders include a number of conditions such as instructing
parolees when to report and monitoring their actions (i.e. those on
parole must not leave the State or change address or employment without
the permission of a community corrections officer). The Parole Board
can also order a parolee to undertake such things as counseling and
drug or alcohol treatment, as well as issue orders to the parolee to
stay away from the victim of their offence.
The Parole Board consists of three members:
One must be a Legal Practitioner with at least seven years' experience
The second must have experience in sociology, criminology, penology or medicine
The Governor also appoints a chairperson from the above members
The Parole Board has the authority to:
Grant parole
Defer making a decision on whether a prisoner should be released on a parole order
Refuse to release a prisoner on a parole order
The Parole Board takes into consideration the following points before making a decision about granting a parole application:
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The likelihood of reoffending
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The protection of the public
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The rehabilitation of the prisoner
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Comments made on passing sentence (by the magistrate or judge)
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The likelihood of the prisoner complying with conditions
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The circumstances and the gravity of the offences committed
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The behaviour of the individual while in prison
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The behaviour of the prisoner during previous parole orders
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The behaviour of the prisoner during other orders (i.e. probation order and community service order)
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Any reports tendered to the Parole Board
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The probable circumstances of the prisoner after release from prison
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Any other matters the Parole Board thinks relevant
What if a condition of a parole order is broken?
If an individual breaks a condition of their parole order, a number of
consequences can follow. Depending on the situation these can include:
A formal warning letter
A meeting with the Community Corrections' regional manager
Returning to the Parole Board for the Board to decide upon the appropriate action to be taken
On being returned before the Parole Board any of the following may occur:
A formal warning may be given
Suspension of the parole order
The parole order may be revoked in which case the offender will be
required to serve their sentence in prison from the time they were
released
What does parole order supervision involve?
On release from prison, a parolee must report immediately to the
relevant Community Corrections' regional manager. The regional manager
ensures that the parolee understands the conditions of the parole order
as well as the possible consequences of not following those conditions.
Parole order conditions may only be altered by the Parole Board.
Management plan
An individual management plan is developed with the offender, which
sets goals for the person to work on to help them stay out of trouble.
This often involves referrals to organisations for specialist
counseling and assistance with issues such as substance abuse, mental
health problems and anger management. It also involves talking with
their probation officer about their offending and problem areas in
their life.
The individual management plan and assessment of the risk of
re-offending are reviewed throughout the parole period to see if goals
are being met and if new goals need to be established, in addition to
determining how often the person will have contact with a probation
officer.
The probation officer may monitor the parolee's progress by contacting
family members, employers, referral agencies and other sources of
information.
Sources:
www.justice.tas.gov.au/ communitycorrections/parole_order
www.justice.tas.gov.au/paroleboard
www.correctiveservices.wa.gov.au/ P/parole.aspx
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