Criminals on Parole Committing Murders

Added by Annika L. Krugel on April 19, 2011

A problem in the Victoria Police’s computer systems failed to identify seven criminals who committed murder while on parole as parole violators.

According the the Herald Sun, the seven criminals had either been charged with other offences while on parole or had acted in such a way that would have led to their parole being cancelled had the police been aware of them being on parole at the time.

Instead, a secret reports reveals that a failing in the LEAP computer system used by the police resulted in the criminals committing murders when they should have been behind bars.

The report revealed that in the period between July 1, 2008 and November 17, 2010, 11 parolees were charged with murder, seven of whom were also charged with other offences that should have seen their parole cancelled. However, the police in charge of each case did not know that the criminals were on parole and as a result did not report them to the Parole Board.

The report was written in December of last year, and recommended immediate priority to solving the problem. In response, Detective Superintendent Gerry Ryan said “It’s currently in the process of happening – these things take time unfortunately.”

It was decided as far back as 2005 that the LEAP system should be replaced, at a cost of $59 million. However, several technical and cost issues surrounding its predecessor, the LINK, has delayed any such action.