New Zealand Parole Board -

Parole Hearing

Under section 21(2) of the Parole Act 2002

Ashley Benjamin ARNOPP

Hearing: 25 March 2024

On the papers

Members of the Board:

Sir Ron Young – Chairperson

Dr J Skipworth

Mr L Tawera

DECISION OF THE BOARD

1. Mr Arnopp, who is 37 years of age was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder in 2008.  Subsequent to that he was convicted of assault in 2011 within prison. Prior to the murder conviction he had six pages of convictions involving significant property offending, breaches and violent offending.  He was released on parole and then recalled in December 2023.
2. Today, he was due for a parole hearing but he waived his attendance.  In the waiver he said that he was preparing an address to present to the Board.  He was strengthening his release plan and he was instructing his lawyer to represent him until he was ready to do so.  His counsel filed brief submissions.  He said that Mr Arnopp wanted to propose treatment as part of any release plan but if he was required to do the Drug Treatment Programme he would do so.
3. [withheld].
4. Mr Arnopp’s recall was based, as we have said, on worrying behaviour and deterioration of his commitment to parole including a deterioration of his relationship with Community Probation and the use of methamphetamine.  Mr Arnopp has a history of the abuse of drugs and alcohol, particularly related to his offending and so any use of drugs is viewed as serious by the Board.
5. At the moment he is waitlisted to do the Drug Treatment Programme later this year.  We think after that it may well be appropriate for him to be released to a Residential Community Drug and Alcohol Programme.
6. And so we will see him again in January 2025 with the hope that he has completed the Drug Treatment Programme and has organised a release proposal based around a drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre.