Vol. 459 No. 8
6 Mr. Lawlor asked the Minister for Justice the number of legal actions outstanding against the State arising out of criminal offences committed or allegedly committed by prisoners on temporary release from prison; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16522/95]
7 Mr. O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Justice the current administrative procedure regarding the review of sentencing; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18948/95]
20 Mr. Martin asked the Minister for Justice the plans, if any, she has to introduce new proposals or guidelines to govern the temporary release of prisoners; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16517/95]
49 Mr. Leonard asked the Minister for Justice the number of prisoners on full-time temporary release at present; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16519/95]
115 Mr. E. Byrne asked the Minister for Justice the number of persons convicted of crimes while on temporary release in the most recent year for which figures are available; the plans, if any, she has for the establishment of a parole board to ensure that such releases are carried out in an orderly manner with due regard to all the circumstances; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16514/95]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 6, 7, 20, 49 and 115 together. The statutory authority for the release of most sentenced prisoners rests with the Minister for Justice under section 2 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1960. While I make the decision in many cases, for administrative reasons this is not always possible. In cases where I do not authorise a release the decision is taken by a senior official of my Department following consultation with the prison governor and the Garda Síochána.
When offenders serving longer sentences, including life, have served seven years of their sentences they are entitled to have their cases reviewed by the sentence review group. This is a non-statutory body chaired by Ms Mary Kotsonouris, a former judge of the District Court. Recommendations by the group are submitted to me for decision in each case.
In the case of offenders who do not qualify, on the basis of length of sentence served, for consideration by the sentence review group a system of review meetings is operated at all the prisons and places of detention. These meetings, which are always attended by a senior official of my Department, enable the views of the various agencies dealing with an offender - such as the prison governor, prison staff, psychiatric and psychological services, chaplains and the probation and welfare service, — to be fully taken into account in the management of their sentences which may in suitable cases include the granting of temporary release.
Temporary release arrangements are, in effect, our system of parole, which is a feature of prison systems worldwide. Paroles are an important vehicle for reintegrating an offender into the community in a planned way. While due regard must be had to any risk which a particular release might pose, the generally accepted view is that the risk to the community would be even greater if, in certain cases, attempts at planned reintegration of offenders were not made since they must return to the community anyway on the expiry of their sentence.
Where temporary release is granted it is always subject to conditions. In all cases there is the condition that the person released must be of good behaviour. Other conditions could include supervision by the probation and welfare service and reporting at regular intervals to a Garda station etc. Temporary release automatically ends if any conditions are breached, in which event the individual concerned can be immediately returned to custody without warrant.
While the system of temporary release is soundly based, I am also aware that, due to a shortage of prison accommodation, some offenders are granted temporary release earlier than would otherwise be the case. I do not believe, however, this problem can be addressed by means of changes to the guidelines under which the system currently operates. No matter what system or set of guidelines was in place, it would have to operate as the present system does on the principle that those released are, on the basis of the best advice available, the most suitable candidates for release on the day.
The document entitled "The Management of Offenders — A Five Year Plan" which was published last year, contains in chapter 5, a review of the current temporary release arrangements together with a number of specific proposals for the future. These proposals provide for a reduction in the number of unsupervised releases in favour of a system when the majority of releases would be closely supervised by the probation and welfare service. The plan also provides for an increase in the number of prison spaces and this aspect is currently under active consideration.
The establishment of a prisons board and a parole board are among a number of options being examined actively in accordance with the commitment contained at paragraph 119 of the Programme for Government, published in December, 1994. The outcome of this examination will, in the first instance, be brought before the Government for its consideration as soon as possible. There is one outstanding legal action, and one claim for damages which may result in legal action, against the State arising out of criminal offences allegedly committed by prisoners while on temporary release from prison. The legal action relates to a claim for damages arising from a malicious wounding conviction dating from 1992. The claim arises from a conviction for malicious damage and arson in 1993. Legal proceedings have not been initiated in the latter case.
On 13 December last a total of 408 offenders were on temporary release. These releases were granted for various periods of time as appropriate, ranging from a few hours to weekly renewable temporary release. Records are not maintained in such a manner as to indicate the number of offenders convicted of crimes while on temporary release.
Does the Minister accept the probability that thousands of crimes are committed by people on temporary release? Does she further accept that one of the main criterion used for granting temporary release is the lack of prison spaces and that it is entirely wrong in any democratic society to use this criterion to decide whether an individual should be granted temporary release and allowed back into society where he may prey on people?
I do not accept the probability that thousands of crimes are committed by people on temporary release as I do not have evidence to support it. With respect, I do not think the Deputy has any such evidence either. I am not in the business of creating a new rumour that thousands of crimes are committed by people on early release. A person on early release who commits a crime and is caught by the Garda is immediately returned to prison to serve the rest of his sentence.
I agree there is a shortage of prison spaces. There was a shortage of prison spaces when I came into office on 15 December last year but I hope to have addressed this issue by the time I leave office. The reality is that improved laws and detection rates have led to the conviction of more people and a need for more prison spaces. I am glad to say that I recently created 33 additional places in St. Patrick's Institution. I am actively working to ensure that more prison places can be made available as soon as possible.
The Minister said one of the conditions for granting temporary release is that the person must be of good behaviour. Given that she cannot say the number of offences committed by persons on temporary release, who monitors the adherence to or breach of that condition? If the Minister has no statistics in this respect this means nobody monitors what these people do when they are released and she is presiding over a chaotic system of temporary release.
A person is considered to be of good behaviour if he is not caught committing another crime. Other proofs include supervision by the Probation and Welfare Service and reporting to Garda stations on a regular basis. Those conditions oblige the offender to go to the Garda station or to report to the Probation and Welfare Service. It is a condition of release that the prisoners must be of good behaviour and the way it is monitored is based on whether they come back into prison again. One has to assume that they are of good behaviour unless they return, having committed a crime.
When I asked the Minister in a previous question how many people were returned to jail having committed an offence, she was not in a position to reply with the information because the statistics are not kept. How is the Minister presenting this temporary release system when good behaviour is one of the conditions of release yet there is no evaluation or monitoring of the behaviour of former prisoners? It seems a chaotic, unevaluated and uncertain system that is dominated by ad hockery. The Minister gave the impression earlier that this was a carefully considered process but on the basis of her replies today that there are no statistics as to what happens to prisoners after their release and no information as to whether they reoffend, it is not a considered and carefully evaluated process.
Deputy O'Donnell is correct in the sense that I have already said, and will say it again at the risk of boring Members, there is a system in place from which it is very difficult to pull this information out. I share Deputies' frustration and am working to change the position so that whoever inherits my job will not inherit the difficulties I have inherited in trying to pull out statistical information.
People on temporary release either for a short or long period are in some instances subject to conditions such as reporting to Garda stations or to be of good behaviour and if they do not come back to prison, one assumes they have been of good behaviour.
In the midst of what is unquestionably a mammoth crime wave, surely the very least people can expect when the Minister cannot provide the necessary prison places and people are allowed out on temporary release, though still under the theoretical control of the prison system, would be the introduction of electronic tagging for people on temporary release?
Electronic tagging is used in other jurisdictions and I am having it examined. Recently, a senior garda visited a jurisdiction in which this is available and I recently had a discussion with a group of Texan judges. I do not know whether Texas is a good example because they have 160,000 people in their State prisons, one million people in their county prisons and a plethora of other situations. Their large volume of prison places is fully utilised. I am examining electronic tagging and I will certainly let the Deputy know the outcome of my examination.
We know that the number of temporary release orders is increasing every year, given the shortage of space in prisons. I understand that in 1993 there were 3,500 orders for full temporary release. Is the Minister in possession of the 1994 figures?
No, I am not. I will communicate with the Deputy.
Will the number be an increase on the 1993 figure?
I am not in a position to estimate anything.
Would it be helpful to everybody if the Minister would publish the Garda Commissioner's report on crime for 1994?
That report has been approved for publication and as far as I know the mechanism is in place and is probably being laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas even as I speak. The reports normally only come out at this time of the year and I can give Deputies the dates of the previous four or five reports.
