Prisoners Review Board of WA
The Prisoners Review Board of WA considers prisoners for potential release from custody, and sets or varies conditions of release and considers applications for the suspension and/or cancellation of orders. It considers re-entry release orders and makes recommendations about re-socialisation programs for various categories of prisoners.
A victim’s views and concerns can be considered when a decision is being made about whether to release the offender from custody, unless the prisoner has completed the full term of the sentence.
The Victim Support and Child Witness Service can help you prepare a victim submission before a decision is made to release a prisoner on parole, work release or home detention.
The Office of the Commissioner for Victims of Crime in the Department of Justice helps victims facing possible contact with an offender. The Victim-offender Mediation Unit can help in requesting a special condition on the offender’s release order.
A victim can ask to be informed about the offender's approaching release from custody and, where appropriate, the locality where the offender will live after release.
You can arrange to be informed of these matters by contacting the Victim Notification Register.
A victim who has made this request will also be informed if the offender escapes from custody.
The registry can also help with a victim's submission to the Prisoners Review Board.
Supervised Release Review Board
The Supervised Release Review Board determines the suitability of young offenders in detention to be released on a supervised release order.
Mentally Impaired Accused Review Board
The Mentally Impaired Accused Review Board reports and makes recommendations to the Attorney General on matters relating to people who are either unfit to stand trial or acquitted on account of unsoundness of mind and detained under custody orders issued under the Criminal Law (Mentally Impaired Accused) Act 1996.
The State Review Boards Secretariat provides administrative support to the above three boards.
You can contact the Prisoners Review Board in a number of ways:
Telephone: (08) 9423 8700
Email: prisonersreviewboard@justice.wa.gov.au
Or you can write:
Prisoners Review Board
GPO Box C127
PERTH WA 6839
Victim Notification Registry
Under the Victims of Crime Act 1994, victims can request to be informed about the impending release or escape of an offender in custody.
The Victim Notification Register (VNR) provides information about the court and correctional management of an offender to victims of crime once the offender is under the supervision of the Department of Justice, Corrective Services.
The VNR also does not make any decisions related to the sentencing and/or correctional management of an offender.
Upon release of an offender to a community based order, the VNR can provide the victim with information about the location of the Community Justice Service reporting centre only. Personal information about the offenders, including reporting appointments, is not available.
Even if the offence happened a long time ago – as long as the offender is either in custody or on parole, you are eligible to register and be kept informed.
Registering yourself is voluntary and subject to eligibility.
More information on the Victim Notification Register is available on the Victim Services for victims and offenders page.
The registry is co-located with the Victim Support Service at the District Court building in Perth.
Victim-offender mediation unit
The Office of the Commissioner for Victims of Crime in the Department of Justice offers mediation between victims and offenders through the Victim-offender Mediation Unit (VMU).
The VMU provides services to victims of crime where:
- an offender has been convicted and the court orders mediation or a pre-sentence report, or
- an offender is being considered for release and the victim is known to the offender.
The mediation is free, impartial and private and offers:
- reparative mediation, where a victim of a non-violent offence meets with the offender to discuss forms of compensation.
- protective conditions, where victims and offenders of more serious offences who are expected to be in contact, reach an agreement about the level and nature of any contact (if any) between them.
- victim-offender dialogue, where a victim wishes to meet the offender to discuss the impact of the offence. Victim-offender dialogue will only occur at the victim's request, and with the offender's consent.
In any event, offenders on parole or community-based orders are not permitted contact with their victim(s) under Corrective Services' victim/offender contact policy, unless that contact is approved by the Victim-offender Mediation Unit. The policy applies even if the offender is related to the victim.
If you receive unwanted contact from the offender while he or she is in prison you should report it to the VMU to enable the prevention of such contact.
More information on victim-offender mediation is available on the Victim Services for victims and offenders page.
