NCJ Number
87553
Date Published
Unknown
Length
62 pages
Annotation
Victoria's Sentencing Alternatives Committee (Australia) recommends that the parole and remission system currently used be retained with some modifications.
Abstract
The Australian Law Reform Commission recommended the abolition of parole for Federal and State prisoners. After making a detailed examination of reasons for the Commission's criticism of parole and its application to Victoria's parole system, the committee decided that the benefits of the parole system far outweigh its defects. However, the committee believes that the court's ability to refrain from fixing a minimum term where the sentence is not less than 2 years is unduly restrictive. It recommends that the provision be amended to allow the court to consider the nature of the offense, the criminal history of the offender, and any other relevant circumstance renders to determine the appropriateness of fixing a minimum term. The committee further recommends using volunteers to ease the shortage of parole officers. Under current legislation, a court has no power to fix a minimum term for an offender sentenced to life imprisonment; however, such an offender can be paroled by executive action. The committee recommends that these offenders be assigned a determinate prison sentence so the parole period may be fixed. Finally, the committee recommends that the parole board draft a statement of the criteria used in parole decisionmaking and that the current system of parole from youth training centers be retained with modifications. Attachments include the constitution and proceedings of the committee, the text of legislative provisos considered, and the functions of a parole board member.