New Zealand Parole Board -

Parole Hearing

Under section 21(2) of the Parole Act 2002

Peter George DAVIS

Hearing:      28 May 2020

at Rimutaka Prison via VMR from NZ Parole Board, Head Office Wellington

Membersofthe Board:    

• Sir Ron Young – Chairperson
• Assoc Prof. P Brinded Dr G Coyle

Counsel:         Mr R Eagles

DECISION OF THE BOARD

1. Mr Davis was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder and unlawful sexual connection, the latter resulted in a preventive detention sentence. He has a serious history of violence and sex offending in his past prior to his 1992 imprisonment for the above offending.
2. We saw him last in December 2019. At that stage he had seen a private psychologist no further rehabilitation was required but he needed detailed release planning. The possibility was release to the [withheld]. The concern was he had no real support in the community other than professional support.
3. As to the current situation Mr Davis, according to the psychological report, has had a total of three guided releases. He told us today two of those were to the mid North Island when he was in another [prison] not Rimutaka.
4. Mr Davis has a 2005 safety plan that the psychologist noted needed updating. He has very little support in the community but it is true to say that there is no realistic prospect of him improving his personal support from prison given he has been in prison for 28 years and that he does not have any background or history in the [withheld] area where he proposes to be released.
5. We spoke to him today and he has had some ideas, should he be released in [withheld] to the [withheld], as to what he might do there.  He talked about providing help and support to the [withheld] and as well he had a number of other ideas for community involvement through groups relevant to his own age.
6. He talked briefly to us about the need to stay away from young children and families relating to his high-risk situations. He showed us his montage which illustrated his high- risk situations, the support he might have in the community and the activities he might undertake. Mr Davis said that he was going to put the montage on the wall of his accommodation.
7. There are several things that Mr Davis needs to do before we could be satisfied he was no longer an undue risk.
8. Firstly he needs to update his safety plan. It is now 15 years old and circumstances have significantly changed for Mr Davis.
9. Secondly as we said last time he does need to have a reintegration hui so that he can understand what support there is and his supporters can understand his situation. It would be valuable to us if we could have minutes from that meeting.
10. Finally we think there should be further guided releases for Mr Davis. He is on minimum security classification so we hope that can occur. He has been in prison for 28 years now and will need regular guided releases to familiarise him with the community outside of prison. In particular it would be helpful if he could be taken to his [withheld] residence so he could familiarise himself with his accommodation.
11. In the circumstances therefore remains an undue risk. We will see him in six months’ time by the end of November 2020.