Lax probation staff left Bell free to murder

By PATRICK GOWER

Triple killer William Duane Bell could have been locked up in prison before he committed the RSA murders - but probation officers did not act when told he had offended while on parole.

The Herald can reveal that the Community Probation Service missed a chance to get Bell back inside Paremoremo a week before the killings on December 10, 2001.

A probation officer knew Bell was charged with assault one month before the murders but failed to begin a "recall application" that could have put him back before the Parole Board on December 4.

The Probation Service admits that Bell, who had been paroled part-way through a five-year sentence for a violent robbery in 1997, could then have been sent back to prison that day if the board accepted the application.

Bell was sentenced yesterday to a record 33-year non-parole period for the murders.

In the High Court at Auckland, Justice Judith Potter said the attacks had been carried out in a "brutal, callous and ruthless fashion".

The findings of a Government-ordered investigation into the management of Bell's parole were released afterwards and reveal that the botched recall application was one of several serious failures by the Probation Service.

Tracey Mellor, a senior Probation Service official who worked on the investigation, said the service now acknowledged that Bell could have been back in prison had the staff involved followed procedure with the application.

"Technically, that does appear to be a possibility when you look back at the circumstances."

Ms Mellor said in their "judgment" it was unlikely that Bell would have been recalled by the Parole Board anyway.

She also believed the recall hearing - which can happen two weeks after an application - would probably not have been held until mid-December, leaving Bell free to kill.

Bell was convicted of the assault charge on December 13, the day before his arrest for the RSA murders, and told to appear for sentencing if called upon.

The investigation also identified other flaws in the management of Bell's parole, including:

* No action was taken when Bell screwed up the piece of paper that outlined his parole conditions and threw it in the rubbish bin whenhe first reported to a probationofficer on his release in July 2001.

* The probation officer then failed to set up an appointment with a Corrections Department psychologist or an assessment for drug and alcohol counselling. Both were special conditions laid down by the Parole Board and were required to be set up within 72 hours of his release.

* The probation officer also failed to make a required visit to check Bell's home address.

* Instead of reporting weekly as required, Bell was first given a fortnightly reporting requirement and then not required to report for almost five weeks while his probation officer was "absent".

* Bell's case notes were not fully completed, so much of the probation officer's work was not recorded.

These latest failings by a government department come after the Herald revealed that police missed two chances to arrest Bell for other charges in the week before the RSA killings.

The Acting Minister of Corrections, Margaret Wilson, acknowledged the mistakes made by the Probation Service and offered her "deepest sympathies" to the families of Bell's victims.

"While there is no evidence that these errors would have changed the horrendous events that followed, I deeply regret that some mistakes were made in the management of Bell's case."

The Corrections Department reviewed Bell's probation file straight after his arrest for the RSA murders.

The investigation found a number of "systemic and management issues [at the Mangere probation centre] that were contributing to low morale and performance failures such as the poor management of Bell's parole".

When Bell was paroled, his probation officer had 10 months' experience and was one of the most senior officers at the Mangere centre.

On at least four occasions out of 12 when Bell reported, he was seen by someone other than his supervising probation officer.

The department refused to say if any employees had lost their jobs, but said "appropriate steps have been taken".

It said a recent review of the Mangere centre had provided assurance that sentences were being properly managed.

But Act MP Stephen Franks said it was "politically calculating" to release the reports on the day of sentencing.

"The Corrections Minister has known for many months of the errors and omissions.

"Once Bell had been convicted there was no legal reason whatsoever why these reports should not have been released when they were completed."


Longest non-parole periods in NZ history

December 12, 2002: