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Consolidated Acts of Samoa 2015 |
SAMOA
Arrangement of Provisions
PART 1
PRELIMINARY
PART 2
PRISONS PAROLE BOARD
PART 3
RELEASE AND SUBSEQUENT
SUPERVISION OF OFFENDERS
PART 4
PAROLE OFFICERS
PART 5
MISCELLANEOUS
PRISONS PAROLE BOARD ACT 1977
1977 No. 7
AN ACT to establish a Prisons Parole Board and to make provision for the parole of offenders.
[Assent and commencement date: 25 August 1977]
PART 1
PRELIMINARY
1. Short title – This Act may be cited as the Prisons Parole Board Act 1977.
2. Interpretation – In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires:
“Chief Executive Officer” means the Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of Justice and Courts Administration;
“Court” means any Court exercising any jurisdiction in criminal cases;
“Minister” means the Minister of Justice and Courts Administration;
“offender” means any person undergoing a sentence of imprisonment;
“parole officer” means a parole officer appointed under Part 4;
“paroled offender” means any person for the time being under the supervision of a parole officer under or by virtue of this Act;
“Prisons Parole Board” or “Board” means the Prisons Parole Board established by section 4.
3. Administration – This Act is administered by the Justice Department under the control of the Minister.
PART 2
PRISONS PAROLE BOARD
4. Establishment of Prisons Parole Board – (1) There shall be a Prisons Parole Board consisting of the following 6 members:
(a) a Judge of the Supreme Court, who shall be the Chairperson;
(b) the Chief Executive Officer;
(c) the Commissioner of Prisons;
(d) three other persons, of whom 1 shall be a registered medical practitioner or a psychologist and 1 shall be a woman.
(2) A Board member appointed under subsection (1)(a) or (d) shall be appointed by the Head of State, acting on the advice of Cabinet,
for a term of 3 years, but may be re-appointed.
(3) An appointed member may resign from office by writing addressed to the Minister, and may be removed by the Head of State, acting
on the advice of Cabinet, for disability, neglect of duty, or misconduct.
(4) When any appointed member of the Board is incapacitated by illness, absence from Samoa or other sufficient cause, the Minister may
appoint in the member’s place to act temporarily as a member of the Board:
(a) a Judge of the Supreme Court or the District Court, in the case of a member of the Board appointed under subsection (1)(a);
(b) any person, in the case of a member of the Board appointed under subsection (1)(d).
(5) No appointment of a temporary member and no acts done by him or her as such, and no acts done by the Board while a temporary member
is acting as such, shall in a proceeding be questioned on the ground that the occasion for such an appointment had not arisen or
had ceased, or on the ground that a member of the Board acted as such while a temporary member appointed in his or her place remained
in office.
(6) A Board member referred to in subsection (1)(b) or (c) may authorise in writing a senior officer of his or her Department to attend
any meeting in the member’s place and while any such officer is attending any meeting he or she shall for all purposes be deemed
to be a member of the Board.
5. Jurisdiction of Board – The Board has jurisdiction in respect of persons undergoing sentences of imprisonment, and of persons released on parole under Part 3 after serving any such sentence.
6. Meetings and procedure of Board – (1) Meetings of the Board are to be held at such times and places as the Board or the Chairperson appoints.
(2) At any meeting of the Board, 3 members form a quorum.
(3) Subject to this Act and of any regulations thereunder, the Board may regulate its procedure in such manner as it thinks fit.
7. Functions and powers of Board – (1) The functions of the Board are:
(a) to decide as to the release on parole of an offender eligible for parole under section 10;
(b) to decide as to the remission, suspension, or variation of a condition of parole of an offender, or as to the imposition on any
such offender of an additional condition of parole.
(2) In considering any case under this section, the Board may have regard to any information or representation which in the Board’s
opinion may be of assistance in reaching a decision, including any information or representation concerning:
(a) the safety of the public, and of any person or any class or classes of persons who may be affected by the release of the offender;
(b) the welfare of the offender and his reformation and training in the prison in which he or she is detained;
(c) the sentence imposed by the Court and any comments by the Court when such sentence was imposed;
(d) any recommendation made by the officer-in-charge of the prison;
(e) a representation made by the offender or any person acting in his behalf;
(f) the probable circumstances of the offender if released;
(g) the likely response of the offender to supervision by the parole officer.
(3) Not later than 31 March in a year, the Board shall send to the Minister a report of its proceedings during the year ended on 31 December
before the making of the report.
8. Saving of Board members from liability – No member of the Board is liable to an action or suit whatsoever in respect of an act, error or omission in the exercise of any power or duty conferred or imposed on the Board or any member by this Act or any other Act.
9. Remuneration of appointed members – (1) An appointed member of the Board who is not a full time salaried employee of the Government of Samoa is to be paid such remuneration,
travelling expenses and other allowances fixed by Cabinet.
(2) All payments made under this section are to be paid out of money appropriated by the Legislative Assembly for the purpose.
PART 3
RELEASE AND SUBSEQUENT
SUPERVISION OF OFFENDERS
10. Eligibility for parole consideration – (1) An offender is eligible for consideration by the Board for release on parole upon the expiry of the following periods from the date of his or her reception in a prison after sentencing:
(a) ten years for an offender undergoing imprisonment for life, having been sentenced to death and the sentence having been commuted to life imprisonment;
(b) eight years for any other offender undergoing imprisonment for life.
(c) one year or after the expiry of one-half of the term of the sentence, whatever period is longer, for an offender undergoing a
sentence of 1 year or more other than a sentence of life imprisonment.
(2) The Board shall consider the case of an offender as soon as practicable after the expiry of the terms as provided in subsection (1)
and at least once in every period of 12 months thereafter.
(3) After an offender has become entitled to have his or her case considered for the first time under subsection (1), the offender may
apply to the Board for the further consideration of his or her case:
PROVIDED THAT no application under this subsection is to be made to the Board at any time within 6 months after the making of a previous application
under this subsection.
(4) A member of the Board may at any time after the expiration of the appropriate period provided for in subsection (1) request the Board
to consider any case, and on such request the Board shall consider the case at its next meeting.
(5) In considering any case under this section, the Board shall not be required to interview the offender but the Board or any member
of the Board may interview the offender at the prison in which he or she is detained or summon the offender before a meeting of the
Board.
11. Term of parole – (1) If an offender who is detained under a sentence of imprisonment of 1 year or more, not being imprisonment for life and not being
a person to whom subsection (3) applies, is released from detention before the expiry of the maximum term for which he or she is
liable to be detained under the sentence, the offender shall be on parole, from the time of release, until the expiry of the term
of the sentence, or for 1 year if the unexpired part of that term is less than a year:
PROVIDED THAT the Board may discharge from parole an offender who remains on parole after the maximum term of his or her imprisonment by virtue
of the requirement of a minimum of 1 year of parole prescribed in subsection (1).
(2) Where an offender detained under a sentence of imprisonment for life is released from detention, the offender shall be on parole,
from the time of his or her release, for the rest of his or her life.
(3) This section, so far as it is applicable to a person released from detention under a sentence of imprisonment of 1 year or more,
shall apply whether the release is under this Part, or is under a partial remission of his or her sentence under the Prisons and Corrections Act 2013.
(4) For the purposes of this section, cumulative terms of imprisonment are taken to be 1 term.
12. Parole order – (1) The Board shall order that the release on parole of any offender shall be subject to the general conditions set out in section 13,
and any special conditions as the Board thinks fit, and such conditions shall be incorporated in a parole order.
(2) A parole order shall be in writing and signed by a member authorised by the Board and a copy of the order shall be given to the offender
personally at a meeting of the Board prior to the offender’s release from prison.
13. Conditions of parole – (1) If an offender is released on parole, the following general conditions shall apply:
(a) within 24 hours after his or her release on parole, the offender shall report in person to the parole officer at the place stated in the parole order, or if he or she does not proceed directly to that place, then the offender shall report to some other parole officer within 48 hours of his or her release on parole;
(b) the offender shall report to the parole officer under whose supervision he or she is for the time being as and when he or she is required to do so by the parole officer;
(c) the offender shall give to the parole officer reasonable notice of his or her intention to move from his or her address; and if the offender moves to any other address, he or she shall, within 48 hours after arrival at that other address, notify the chief parole officer of his or her arrival, the new address, and the nature and place of his or her employment;
(d) the offender shall not reside at an address that is not approved by the parole officer;
(e) the offender shall not continue in any employment, or continue to engage in any occupation, that is not approved by the parole officer;
(f) the offender shall not associate with any specified person, or with persons of any specified class, with whom the parole officer has, in writing, warned him or her not to associate;
(g) the offender shall be of good behaviour and shall not commit any offence against the law.
(2) A parole offender is under the supervision of a parole officer in whose district he or she resides for the time being, or of such
other parole officer as the chief parole officer may direct.
(3) A paroled offender or his parole officer may apply to the Board for the remission, suspension, or variation of any general or special
condition of parole, and the parole officer may in his or her discretion, and in writing, suspend the condition until the application
has been heard by the Board and disposed of.
(4) A parole officer may apply to the Board for the imposition of any additional condition of parole in respect of any paroled offender
under his or her supervision.
14. Recall of offender released on parole – (1) Subject to subsection (2), the Board may, at any time while an offender released by the Board is on parole, direct that the offender
be recalled. On the giving of the direction, the parole is taken to be cancelled, and the offender may be arrested without warrant
by any constable, and shall continue to serve his or her sentence unless he or she is again released on the recommendation of the
Board under this Part or under any remission of part of his or her sentence, as the case may be.
(2) Wherever an offender in order to satisfy the requirement of a minimum of 1 year of parole established by section 11(1) remains on
parole after the expiry of his or her sentence, whether the sentence expired due to a partial remission or not, the offender may
be recalled only at the direction of a District Court Judge on the application of a parole officer. On the giving of the direction,
the parole is taken to be cancelled, and the offender shall be detained and shall serve the then unexpired term of his 1 year of
parole, unless the offender is again released on the recommendation of the Board under this Part or under any remission of part of
his or her sentence, as the case may be:
PROVIDED THAT such release does not operate to extend the term of the offender’s parole beyond the date on which that term would have expired
had he or she not been recalled.
(3) The powers conferred by this section may be exercised on such grounds as the Board or, as the case may be, the District Court Judge
thinks fit, and whether or not the offender has committed a breach of the conditions of parole.
(4) On an application to a District Court Judge under this section, the offender is entitled to be heard and may be represented by a
solicitor or counsel.
(5) An application may be dealt with in Chambers.
(6) A parole officer or a constable may arrest any such offender without warrant for the purpose of taking the offender before a District
Court Judge to be dealt with in accordance with this section.
(7) Sections 68, 69, and 73 of the Criminal Procedure Act 1972 applies, with any necessary modifications, to an application and the hearing thereof as if it were an information.
(8) Where a District Court Judge directs the recall of an offender under this section, the Judge may issue a warrant in the prescribed
form directing that the offender be returned to a penal institution in which he or she may be lawfully detained.
15. Term of parole to be deemed part of sentence – Whenever a person detained under a sentence is released on parole before the expiry of the sentence, the term of the sentence continues to run while the person is on parole as if the person were still serving the sentence; and the date of expiry of the sentence shall be determined accordingly.
16. Offence to breach conditions of parole – (1) A paroled offender who contravenes or fails to comply with any condition of his or her parole commits an offence and is liable on
conviction to a fine not exceeding 1 penalty unit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months.
(2) If a parole officer or a constable believes on reasonable and probable grounds that a paroled offender has committed a breach of
a condition of parole, that parole officer or constable may arrest the offender without warrant.
(3) The conviction and sentencing of a paroled offender under this section does not limit the power of recall conferred by this Part.
PART 4
PAROLE OFFICERS
17. Parole officers – (1) The Public Service Commission may appoint a chief parole officer and such other parole officers as are required for the purposes
of this Act.
(2) Despite subsection (1), the Minister on the recommendation of the Chief Executive Officer may appoint a person, or the holder for
the time being of any office or appointment, as a parole officer in a part time capacity for the purposes of this Act.
(2A) No person appointed under subsection (2) shall by virtue of that appointment become an officer or employee of the Public Service
and nothing in the law governing the Public Service shall apply with respect to that appointment.
(2B) A parole officer appointed under subsection (2) may be paid out of money appropriated by the Legislative Assembly for the purpose
such remuneration by way of fees, and such allowances, as may be determined by the Minister with the concurrence of the Cabinet.
(3) An appointment under this section may be held in conjunction with an appointment made under Community Justice Act 2008 or in conjunction with any office or appointment which in the opinion of the Chief Executive Officer is not inconsistent with the
powers and duties of a parole officer.
(4) A person appointed under this section is responsible to the Chief Executive Officer.
18. Powers and duties of parole officers – (1) A parole officer may, and shall when so required by the Board, report to the Board on the character and personal history of any person
released on parole or undergoing a sentence of imprisonment with a view to assisting the Board in determining the most suitable method
of dealing with his or her case; and may in such report advise the Board whether the offender would be likely to respond satisfactorily
to parole and whether any special condition of parole should be imposed.
(2) A parole officer shall:
(a) supervise all persons placed under his or her supervision, with a view to assisting their social rehabilitation and preventing the commission of further offences; and
(b) perform such other duties as may be prescribed by this Act or any other Act or regulations.
(3) In the exercise of his or her powers and duties, a parole officer has the powers, protection, and privileges of a constable, and
shall, in the manner set out in section 7 of the Police Service Act 2009, take and subscribe the oath set out therein, or to like effect, with substitution of a reference to “the Justice Department”
for the reference to “the Police Service”.
PART 5
MISCELLANEOUS
19. Regulations – The Head of State, acting on the advice of Cabinet, may make regulations necessary or expedient for giving full effect to the provisions of this Act and for the due administration thereof.
_________
REVISION NOTES 2008 – 2015
This is the official version of this Act as at 31 December 2015.
This Act has been revised by the Legislative Drafting Division from 2008 to 2015 respectively under the authority of the Attorney General given under the Revision and Publication of Laws Act 2008.
The following general revisions have been made:
(a) Amendments have been made to conform to modern drafting styles and to use modern language as applied in the laws of Samoa.
(b) Amendments have been made to up-date references to offices, officers and statutes. (e.g. reference made to “section 14(1) of the Police Service Act 1977” was removed and replaced with the “section 7 of the Police Service Act 2009”)
(c) Insertion of the commencement date
(d) References to the male gender have been made gender neutral
(e) Other minor editing has been done in accordance with the lawful powers of the Attorney General, where appropriate:
(i) “Every” and “any” changed to “a/an”
(ii) Present tense drafting style:
- “shall be” changed to “is/are” or “is/are to be”
- “shall be deemed” changed to “is/are taken”
- “shall have” changed to “has”
- “it shall be the duty” changed to “shall”
- “from time to time”, “at any time” removed
(iii) Removal/replacement of obsolete and archaic terms with plain language
- “notwithstanding” changed to “despite”
- “pursuant to” changed to “under”
- “in the case of” changed to “for”
- “where” changed to “if”
(iv) Numbers in words changed to figures
(v) Removal of superfluous terms: “the provisions of”
(vi) Section 17(2) further divided into 2 subsections.
(vii) Part numbering changed to decimal and re-titled Part 5 as ‘MISCELLANEOUS’.
This Act is administered by
the Ministry of Justice and Courts Administration.
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