Rachel Anne BOYD 2/12/2021

Parole Hearing

Under section 21(1) of the Parole Act 2002

Rachel Anne BOYD

Hearing: 2 December 2021

at Auckland Regional Women’s Correctional Facility via MS Teams

Members of the Board: Ms K Snook - Panel Convenor

Ms C Tiumalu

Mr L Tawera

Counsel:                                            MsJ Fyfe

In Attendance:                                  [withheld]

DECISION OF THE BOARD

  1. Rachel Anne Boyd, 45, appeared for the first consideration of parole on a sentence of three years’ imprisonment for arson, three breaches of conditions and failure to answer bail.
  2. Ms Boyd committed highly concerning offending on 30 September 2019.  She set fire to her room in a hostel where 12 others were asleep.  According to the Judge’s sentencing notes she left her bedroom via her bedroom window.  She did advise a member of the public of what she had done and that saved lives.
  3. Ms Boyd was on parole at the time for an earlier arson committed on 15 January 2015.  On that sentence of five years four months she completed the DTP and the Kowhiritanga Programme.  She has other offending covering five pages.
  4. Ms Boyd’s sentence commenced on 12 March 2021, she is eligible for parole from 15 December 2021, and she has a statutory release date of 14 December 2023.  She has a RoC*RoI of 0.35309 and is on a minimum prison security classification.
  5. [withheld].
  6. Ms Fyfe represented Ms Boyd at the hearing today.  Ms Fyfe referred to the very sudden transfer of Ms Boyd from Arohata to Auckland Women’s.  This was due to bullying at Arohata.  Unfortunately, this means that Ms Boyd is now disconnected from her supporters who are in the lower North Island and [withheld].  Also, the programmes that Ms Boyd is recommended to participate in are not currently available at Auckland Prison.
  7. There is an internal psychological report, which we have not seen.  That apparently recommends one‑to‑one treatment with a psychologist to prepare Ms Boyd for either the Kimihia or the psychologist led Kowhiritanga Programme.  There will also be an assessment for her to complete the DTP again.
  8. Ms Fyfe referred to the important support now provided by [withheld].  He is seen as a stabilising influence.  We note that they have known each other for a long period, although the relationship only began just before Ms Boyd committed the breach offending in August 2020.
  9. We talked to Ms Boyd briefly about what happened for her on parole.  She said she was not allowed to live with [withheld].  She was forced to live in a halfway house where she was bullied and feared for her life and safety.  She did convey some of that to her probation officer, but ultimately her strategy was to engage in the arson offending when distressed.
  10. Ms Fyfe’s submission was that the Board should support a clear pathway for Ms Boyd.  We talked to the case manager.  At the moment, the pathway is pretty much as recommended by the psychologist.  The Kimihia Programme is not available in 2022.  There is a psychologist led Kowhiritanga Programme in Christchurch Prison starting in February 2022.
  11. Risk remains undue and parole is declined.  Ms Boyd is clearly at high risk of re‑offending.  She needs intensive treatment to assist her to reduce her risk.  We note her previous completion of the DTP and the Kowhiritanga Programme.  It seems to us that the appropriate way forward for Ms Boyd is for her to be offered one‑to‑one treatment with a psychologist as soon as possible.  Whether this is the treatment itself, or whether it is seen as preparation for her participation in an intensive group programme(s), we leave for the psychologist to determine.
  12. To support at least that one to one treatment being provided to Ms Boyd as a matter of priority we will schedule her to be seen again by a Board in June 2022 and no later than the end of that month.
  13. For that next hearing we ask for a psychological risk assessment prepared for the Board.  That assessment should take account of the treatment that Ms Boyd has previously completed, as well as the treatment she has completed with the psychologist before she returns to the Board.  It should contain clear recommendations about further treatment and assess any approved release proposal.

Ms K Snook

Panel Convenor