Philip Smith exploited holes in system - review

Phillip John Smith. Photo / NZH

Convicted murderer Phillip Smith exploited holes in Government systems that allowed him to allegedly flee the country, a multi-agency review into his escape has found.

The report, prepared by six agencies including the Ministry of Justice, Corrections and Customs, was submitted to the Government today.

Ministry of Justice chief executive Andrew Bridgman, whose agency led the review, said the report focused on longer-term measures to minimise the risk of offenders leaving New Zealand to avoid justice.

Smith, a convicted murderer and paedophile, was able to allegedly leave the country after applying from prison for a passport under his birth surname, Traynor, which had no criminal convictions entered against it.

The report said it was clear that relevant agencies did not have access to full or accurate information about Smith.

He was able to exploit those gaps to flee the country, which showed further measures needed to be taken to improve the identity information available to the criminal justice system, the report said.

Both short- and long-term measures could be implemented by relevant ministers to address the holes which Smith exploited in his escape -- including better information sharing between various agencies.

The report also recommend the justice sector improved its unique identifier system, including its personal record number, so data on offenders, including their official names as well as potential and proven aliases, could be matched.

Police and Corrections access to identity information held by the Internal Affairs and Immigration also needed improvement, as did Internal Affairs' access to offender information so informed decisions could be made on issuing and recalling passports, the report said.

The existing processes for notifying Customs about individuals of high interest was another area flagged for improvement, so border alerts might be better placed to identify and stop such offenders leaving the country.

A further update was expected to be provided to government ministers in March next year.

Meanwhile, the suppression surrounding the police summary of facts into Smith's alleged escape from New Zealand has been lifted by an Auckland District Court judge -- but the contents have been heavily redacted.

The information released had already been widely reported on, his lawyer Tony Ellis told the court earlier.

It said Smith had applied for the passport while he was imprisoned at Auckland Prison in Paremoremo.

The inmate was later imprisoned at Spring Hill Correctional Facility and had been approved for short term release under the programme.

It was during one of those short term releases that Smith failed to turn up at a sponsor's address and boarded a flight to South America.

He was subsequently located in Brazil and extradited to New Zealand last month.

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The story so far:

* 1992-95 - Sexually abused his neighbour's son in Carterton

* 1995 - Murdered the father of the boy he was abusing while on bail for extortion, and later sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum non-parole period of 13 years

* 2013 - Smith begins 12-hour temporary releases

* November 6, 2014 - Smith is collected from prison by an approved "sponsor", a family member. That same day he leaves the country using a passport in the name Phillip John Traynor and flies to Chile and then Brazil

* November 13 - Smith was caught at a hostel in Rio de Janeiro

* November 28 - Smith is deported from Brazil

* December 9 - Wanganui man Christopher Clifton is charged with making a false declaration which helped Smith get the passport to flee the country

* December 16 - Smith pleads not guilty to escaping custody and unlawfully obtaining a passport