Dean Raymond PURDY 2/12/2020

Parole Hearing

Under section 21(2) of the Parole Act 2002

Dean Raymond PURDY

Hearing: 2 December 2020

at Christchurch Men’s Prison

Members of the Board: Sir R Young – Chairperson

Ass. Prof. P Brinded

Dr G Coyle

Counsel:                                           Mr M Starling

Support Persons: (withheld)

In Attendance: (withheld) – Case Manager

DECISION OF THE BOARD

  1. Mr Purdy is 57 years of age and was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder.  He first came to prison in 1991.  His security classification is low.
  2. Mr Purdy has had three recalls since his first release and he has been convicted of five breaches of special conditions and three other offences including two of escaping.
  3. To a degree his pattern is release (apart from his first release where he worked for a period of eight or nine months in the community) and speedy return to prison. The last two releases involved releases to (withheld) and (withheld) where quite quickly he left.
  4. We last saw him in May 2019.  At that stage he was beginning the STURP programme.  We thought that he needed to complete that programme and the hope was that he would then go onto the (withheld) and ultimately to the (withheld).
  5. As it turns out, that is what has happened.  As the psychologist noted, Mr Purdy has a history of offending, minimising and justifying and shifting blame for both his offending and his recalls.  Today he accepted that he was responsible for the recalls, that it was his actions that resulted in the recalls and that he said he no longer had the anti-authoritarian attitude that meant he was repetitively recalled.
  6. The report is that he did very well on the STURP programme, he is doing well on the (withheld) and that overall he has made very good progress.  Although he remains a high risk, the psychologist accepted that given the efforts he had made, he was ready for release to (withheld).
  7. The key, no doubt, for Mr Purdy is that while his behaviour within the prison can be adequate, it is learning to cope outside in the community and to work on his relationship with others that will be essential.
  8. He has been doing shopping from (withheld) and has had three guided releases to the (withheld).  We are advised that (withheld) hope to have a residence for him within six months.  In the meantime there is a possibility of an internal Release to Work programme being available given there is apparently to be further construction within the Christchurch Men’s Prison.
  9. Mr Purdy did not seek parole today.  At his counsel’s invitation, we will see him again by the end of May 2021.  We think that is an appropriate period to further test Mr Purdy and also identify whether or not (withheld) can offer a place for him within that six months.
  10. In the meantime, he remains an undue risk and cannot be released.

Sir Ron Young

Chairperson