KEY POINTS:
The Sensible Sentencing Trust is demanding to know whether Graeme Burton was part of a "zero-tolerance" system that closely monitors the country's worst offenders.
The National Offender Warning System closely watches paroled offenders who present a risk to themselves, the public or community probation staff. It was introduced in 2001 after the Auckland RSA triple massacre at the hands of William Bell.
Trust spokesman Garth McVicar said it was important to know whether Burton, who broke parole and now faces 23 charges, including murder, was registered in the system.
"If he was, why did it take so long to act when he breached parole, and if he wasn't, why wasn't he?" Mr McVicar asked.
The Corrections Department said it would not comment until after an internal review of the management of Burton's parole.
Burton first broke his parole conditions on December 5, when he phoned his probation officer instead of meeting him. He was given a formal warning.
But Corrections did not lodge a complaint until December 19, a week after Burton failed to report at all. A warrant for his arrest was issued three days later, and the Parole Board recalled him to prison on December 29.
Corrections said a preliminary review of the case showed action was taken in a "timely and appropriate" manner.
According to a department document, the offender warning system aims to "identify and effectively manage a relatively small group of offenders who present a significant risk to themselves, the public or community probation service staff".
No breaches of parole are tolerated for those on the register. Probation officers are "to carefully consider the range of sanctions available for every instance of non-compliance, take appropriate action and document the reasons".
National's law and order spokesman Simon Power said whether Burton was part of the offenders warning system was crucial to investigations into his parole.
