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June 15th, 2013 
Peter Nolan
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Victorian Premier Denis Napthine says it is unlikely the state’s parole system will be scrapped despite its recent failures.
The parole board has come under intense criticism after it was revealed Adrian Ernest Bayley was on parole when he raped and murdered ABC employee Jill Meagher last year.
The State Government has engaged former High Court Justice Ian Callinan to review the state’s parole system, and recommend changes.
Dr Napthine has told 7.30 Victoria he believes the system can be improved, and will not be completely scrapped.
“I think personally it would be unlikely that it is scrapped, because the alternative to a parole system is that prisoners when they reach the end of their sentence just walk out without any supervision whatsoever, without any controls, and I think the consequences of that may be worse,” he said.
“I’m an amateur when it comes to these matters. That’s why we have professionals like Justice Callinan examine it and give us those recommendations.
“But I think it will be about how we improve the parole system, rather than scrapping it.”
Earlier this week the Victorian Sentencing Advisory Council described the parole board’s decision to release Bayley as a “catastrophic error”.
In a statement, the Adult Parole Board of Victoria said changes made to the system this year have strengthened the scrutiny of sex and violent offenders on parole.
It said no system can eliminate the risk of reoffending, but parole provides incentives for offenders to reform.
Topics:
prisons-and-punishment,
law-crime-and-justice,
melbourne-3000,
vic,
australia
Source Article from http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-06-15/victorian-premier-napthine-says-parole-system-can-be-improved/4756136
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