Parole Board annual report :Parole Board of the Northern Territory
Parole Board Annual Report; Reports; PublicationNT
2014
Made available via the Publications (Legal Deposit) Act 2004 (NT).
English
Northern Territory. Parole Board -- Periodicals; Parole -- Northern Territory -- Periodicals
Parole Board of the Northern Territory
Darwin
Check within Publication or with content Publisher.
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/258613
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/502277
ANNUAL REPORT 2014 12 PAROLE BOARD OF THE NORTHERN TERRITORY | ANNUAL REPORT 2014 PAROLE BOARD OF THE NORTHERN TERRITORY | ANNUAL REPORT 2014 13 8 MONTHS PRIOR TO NPP* 2 MONTHS PRIOR TO NPP APPLICATION DEFERRED LEGAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR THE PRISONER VICTIMS & OTHER CONCERNED PERSONS PAROLE GRANTED PAROLE COMPLETED SUCCESSFULLY PAROLE DENIED Probation and Parole Officer commences preparation of the Parole Report Prisoner released under NTCC supervision Warning Letter to Parolee PAROLE REPORT Offender background Rehabilitation courses Victim and community interests Post release plans for accommodation, education/employment and support network PAROLE BOARD MEETING Consider application and consider the following to decide what to do Victim and community safety Level of rehabilitation Post release plans Prisoner may reapply at any time PAROLE REVOKED Non compliance reported to Parole Board *non-parole period (NPP) Prisoners Serving a Life Sentence When considering applications for parole by prisoners serving a term of imprisonment for life for the crime of murder, the Board must have regard to the principle that the public interest is of primary importance and, in doing so, must give substantial weight to the following matters: a) the protection of the community as the paramount consideration; b) the likely effect of the prisoners release on the victims family; c) if the prisoner is an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, the likely effect of the prisoners release on the prisoners community. Section 3GB(4) of the Parole Act stipulates that the Board must give reasons for any decision or direction of the Board on a matter concerning a prisoner who is serving a term of imprisonment for murder and those reasons must be included in the record of its proceedings. Variation of Parole Conditions Sections 5(6) and 5(6AA) of the Parole Act provide the Chairperson with the authority to amend a parole order by varying or revoking a condition at any time before the expiration of the order. Under section 5(7) the variation does not take effect until the notice of the variation is given to the parolee. Parole conditions may be varied or revoked due to the extent to which the parolee has succeeded in rehabilitating themselves in the community. Revocation of Parole Orders Where a parolee has failed to comply with the conditions of their parole order, the parole officer must prepare a report for the Boards consideration setting out the circumstances of the breach of parole. A breach of parole may fall into one of two categories: re-offending this means that the parolee has committed a fresh offence whilst released on parole; or conditional this means that the parolee has breached one of the conditions of their parole order. The Chairperson has the authority to make a decision about the revocation of a parolees parole order and issue an Instrument of Revocation under sections 5(6) and 5(6AA). However, it is the practice that where possible the Board consider recommendations about revocations at Board meetings. If a parole order is revoked, the parolee is arrested by police and returned to prison. Alternatively, the Board may request the Commissioner of Police to have a parolee who fails to comply with their parole conditions arrested and brought before the Court of Summary Jurisdiction for cancellation of the parole order. The parolee may then provide any reasons for non-compliance to the Court.