AGY-2110 | Probation and Parole Service [I]

Full description

The Probation and Parole Service] was established in 1973 when the Adult Probation Service and the Parole Service] were amalgamated within the Department of Corrective Services.(1) Until this time, the Probation and Parole Services had operated separately, however, by the early 1970s it had become apparent that greater efficiency could be achieved by amalgamation. The operational integration of the two services led to the merger of duties to the extent where all officers supervised both probationers and parolees.(2) Since its establishment in 1951, the Parole Service had been the responsibility of the Minister for Corrective Services and the Adult Probation Service had been responsible to the Attorney General. The Probation and Parole Service was responsible for managing offenders in the community, including those subject to community service orders, probation supervision and parole supervision. The Service also assisted judges and magistrates to make sentencing decisions by providing them with pre-sentence reports when requested. This report provided information about an offender’s family background, education and employment history, an assessment of the offending behaviour, and an assessment of an offender’s suitability for sentencing options other than full-time imprisonment.(3) By 1973, the Service was arranged into the following regions: City, Western, Southern, and Northern, with each region being administered by a Regional Director. District offices were located at Hurstville, Liverpool, Penrith, Parramatta, Chatswood, Wollongong, Newcastle, Gosford, Grafton, Bathurst, and Goulburn.(4) The Muir Committee which was established in 1978 to review the Parole of Prisoners Act 1966, consisted of representatives from the magistracy, Department of the Attorney General and of Justice, Department of Corrective Services, Parole Board and other bodies. There was a great deal of debate following the tabling of the Muir proposals, however, the decision to repeal the Parole of Prisoners Act and prepare a new Probation and Parole Act was not made until 1981.(5) Concerns over the Muir proposals were expressed in all quarters, including from members of the Probation and Parole Service and their union. Despite these concerns, the Probation and Parole Act was enacted in 1983, after the collapse of the release on licence scheme. The Act adopted, with modifications, many of the recommendations of the Muir Report.(6) The key provisions of the Probation and Parole Act 1983 were the automatic release of prisoners sentenced to less than three years, though the concept of parole consideration was retained for longer sentences; the presumption in favour of parole for those longer sentences; and remissions to be deducted from all minimal terms.(7) The Probation and Parole Service was expanded with the introduction of the Probation and Parole Act, with 45 extra officers being appointed in 1983. In 1982 the Service was reorganised from 4 to 5 state regions. Criticism of the Probation and Parole Act throughout the 1980s led to the introduction of further legislation to deal with its shortcomings, most notably the remission provisions. Under the Act, offenders could receive time off their sentence for good behaviour, regardless of the sentence imposed by the Judiciary. Criticism from the judiciary, bureaucracy, and the public that remissions on the minimum term of a sentence were an interference to judicial authority led to the introduction of the Crimes (Remissions) Amendment Act, 1986, Act No. 44(8) and the Probation and Parole (Serious Offences) Amendment Act 1987, Act No. 182.(9) Under the 1987 Act, non-parole periods for serious crimes - violence, sexual assault, and drug trafficking - could not be less than three quarters of the total length of the sentence.(10) During the 1980s, growing concern over fine defaulters being imprisoned with hardened criminals resulted in the Community Service Orders (Fine Default) Amendment Act 1987, Act No. 264.(11) The Act removed fine defaulters from prison by diverting them into community service programs, which are the responsibility of the Probation and Parole Service. On 1 November 1991, the Probation and Parole Service was removed from the Department of Corrective Services, renamed the Community Corrections Service, and added to the responsibilities of the recently formed Department of Courts Administration.(12) On 23 June 1993, the Community Corrections Service was renamed the NSW Probation Service.(13) It was probably around this time that the parole function of the Service was transferred from the Department of Courts Administration to the Department of Corrective Services. The Probation and Parole Services then operated as separate agencies. FOOTNOTES 1. Annual Report for the Department of Corrective Services, 1972-73, p.36. 2. loc.cit. 3. Annual Report for the Department of Corrective Services, 1997, p. 22. 4. Annual Report for the Department of Corrective Services, 1972-73, p.36. Chan, J.B.L., Doing Less Time: Penal reform in crisis, The Institute of Criminology Monograph Series, No. 2, Sydney, 1992, 5. Chan, J.B.L., Doing Less Time: Penal reform in crisis, The Institute of Criminology Monograph Series, No. 2, Sydney, 1992,., p.51. 6.loc.cit. 7. Chan, op.cit., p.87. 8. Proclaimed 30 May 1986. NSW Government Gazette, 1986, Vol. 2, p.2493. 9. Proclaimed 8 January 1988. NSW Government Gazette, 1988, Vol. 1, Part 1, p.114. 10. Chan, op.cit., p.100. 11. Proclaimed 22 January 1988, NSW Government Gazette, 1988, Vol. 1, Part 1, p.356. 12. NSW Government Gazette, 1 Nov 1991, p.9207. 13. NSW Government Gazette, 24 June 1993, p.3061.