Making a Decision to Apply for Recall

Introduction 

When considering whether to take recall action, the probation officer must determine:

• whether the grounds for recall are met
• whether the grounds for interim recall are met, and
• whether the offender is on life parole and should be referred to the CPPS operations helpdesk for consideration by the general manager, CPPS.

Factors to consider 

When making a decision about recall action, consideration should be given to the following:

• safety of the community
• whether the offender is included on the Offender Warning System (OWS)
• the wider context of the sentence management of the offender
  compliance with:
  - standard conditions, and
  - special conditions
• current circumstances
• any behaviour that causes concern or brings about greater risk to the community, including the offender putting themselves into a high-risk situation
• any alert or concerns expressed by:
  - a psychologist
  - significant others, e.g. family/whānau, or
  - the police.

Service manager oversight 

Discuss all possible recall action with the service manager before taking action. Details of the discussion and the decision made, including the rationale for the decision, must be recorded in IOMS casenotes.

A service manager must check the application before it is forwarded to the NZPB.

Reference: Recall Application Checklist for Service Managers on Corrnet.

Offenders on OWS 

Action must be taken immediately following serious or repeated acts of non-compliance for offenders on OWS.

Reference: See this volume, part VII, chapter 3, section E OWS Offender on Parole, for more information on guidelines for enforcement action required for OWS offenders on parole.

Further offending 

If an offender has been charged with a further offence that is contributing to the decision to recall, CPPS can assume that the police had ‘reasonable grounds’ to make the arrest, if new charges have been laid.

The probation officer must consider making an application for recall when they are made aware of the offending/arrest/charge.

Consideration should also be given to the nature and seriousness of the new offending, within the context of the original offence and the circumstances of the offender.

The case need not have been heard in court before the recall application is made.

The following actions should occur:

• obtain a copy of the police summary of facts, and
• seek an indication of how the offender intends to plead.

If an application for recall is to proceed, this information should be included in the application documentation.

If the offence is not punishable by imprisonment, but indicates an increase in risk to the community, an application for recall should be made under section 61(a), Parole Act 2002 – the offender poses an undue risk to the safety of the community or any person or class of persons.

Legislative reference: Section 61 (a) Parole Act 2002.

Note: Conviction for offending is not necessary before considering recall action.

Procedure 

The following table outlines the steps to take to determine whether to proceed with recall action after reviewing all offender information.

Note: All decision-making regarding recall action must be made in conjunction with the service manager.

Next steps

If a decision is made to commence recall action, the next steps are to:

• document the decision-making process, and
• prepare the recall application.

Go to: Chapter 6, Preparing an application for recall, for more information.