Parole screening plan would spare victims

David Carruthers. Photo / Martin Sykes

Crime victims could be spared having to submit cases to the Parole Board every time their tormentor becomes eligible for release, under a proposed screening test to weed out prisoners with no realistic chance of parole.

Justice Minister Simon Power yesterday told a Sensible Sentencing Trust annual conference that he was considering the proposal, but how the screening would be done, and by whom, had yet to be determined.

The idea was for the board "to conduct screening hearings in order to weed out those offenders eligible to be considered for parole, who clearly have no prospect of success", he said.

Parole Board chairman Judge David Carruthers said the test would be easier on the victims and their families, and allow the board to better direct its resources.

"Many [parole hearings] are easily predictable. We know that, and so does the inmate, and yet by law, we have to meet and have this discussion. [A screening process] would prevent, we think, a lot of victim distress, it would save us a lot of time and money."

But Council for Civil Liberties spokesman Michael Bott said such a system would be a "worry". He had taken cases to court that had seemed hopeless, but ended up in acquittals.

"On paper it may seem hopeless, but with proper representation and presentation of the prisoner's view, the situation is radically different."

He said a further concern was that the board often directed prisoners to undertake education or violence prevention programmes, but prisoners might miss out if their cases never came before the board.

The conference also heard from Leigh Woodman, whose daughter Vanessa was murdered and raped in 1997. She had argued against dropping the rape charge, but was advised that it would not make a difference because sentences were served concurrently.

Act MP David Garrett later told the conference he would push for an end to concurrent sentences that essentially gave criminals a "freebie" for any charges that were dropped.

He also said he would be pushing a zero-tolerance policing policy, which has been used in New York.

Earlier, Judge Carruthers said the board had worked hard to help victims appearing before it. Notification and registration systems had been improved so mistakes of the past, where prisoners had been released close to victims' homes, were not repeated.

"There have been occasions, I am sorry to say ... where we have ended up missing valuable information, not advising victims when there has been a recent change of address and sometimes making inappropriate decisions about placing prisoners."

Judge Carruthers said the board, through Victim Support, now had supporters available to victims who needed it.

"It does not prevent victims from having their own support, but it provides support for those who would otherwise have nothing."