Release of Offenders
2,623 offenders were released in the last reporting year. The Board made 2,217 discretionary releases and 406 non-discretionary releases.
A non-discretionary release is where an offender appears before the Board at the end of their sentence, having reached their Statutory Release Date. These individuals must, by law, be released. The only role for the Board is in setting their conditions of release.
Discretionary releases, by contrast, are where the Board decides to release an offender on either parole or home detention (and very occasionally compassionate release). The paramount consideration for the Board when deciding to release an offender from custody must always be the safety of the community.