Parole Hearing

Under section 21(2) of the Parole Act 2002

Peter Wayne RYDER

Hearing:                                            Friday 20 August 2021

at New Zealand Parole Board Offices via Teleconference to Christchurch Men’s Prison

Members of the Board:                   Sir Ron Young – Chairperson

Prof. P Brinded

Counsel:                                            Ms N Pointer

In Attendance:                                  [withheld] – Case Management

DECISION OF THE BOARD

1. Mr Ryder, who is 62 years of age, was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder in 1994. Subsequently, he was further sentenced to imprisonment for charges of threatening to kill and assault with intent to injure in 2013. He was recalled in 2013 and this was his second recall.
2. He has previous convictions involving the abuse of alcohol, property and violent offending. His security classification is low.
3. We saw him last in September 2020. At that stage it was said he had completed all of his rehabilitation but in July 2020, he had assaulted a prisoner. He then had further sessions with a psychologist. We were told at that stage that [withheld] had refused his application for release, but a further application was thought possible.
4. As to the current position the psychologist in a report to the Board expressed their concern about his passive-aggressive approach. His failure to directly answer questions and the fact that he minimised both his previous assaults when he was recalled to [withheld] and also his 2013 assault when he was also recalled for violence. In addition, there was said to be a further assault in prison when he grabbed the young man by the throat.
5. He completed the further one-on-one sessions with a psychologist in March 2021.
6. Today Mr Ryder told us that he had learnt most from a session run by the prison chaplain on violence when he had been in his previous prison at Rolleston in 2020. He said it was a four-month programme and taught him the importance of being honest and open and treating people as he would want to be treated. The descriptions that Mr Ryder gave of the programme by the chaplain had effectively the same content that he would have had previously on rehabilitation programmes.
7. He is assessed at being high-risk of violent offending. [withheld] have again advised they would not offer Mr Ryder accommodation.
8. We are satisfied the way forward for Mr Ryder now is as follows. Mr Ryder now needs to continue to review the work that he has recently done both with the psychologist and with the prison chaplain relating to risk. He needs to understand and know his safety plan. He needs to show ongoing stable conduct over a significant period of time.
9. We are conscious that he has had two recalls and it is vital this time that he only be released when we are completely confident that his risk is no longer undue. He remains assessed at high-risk of violent offending.
10. As a positive development he is now on the Navigate Programme. That will allow him to be supported in further testing - especially important in Mr Ryder’s case.
11. Mr Ryder hopes to get on the release to work programme. We encourage him to do so. We hope that, assuming his conduct continues to be appropriate, that by September 2021 when his security classification is due for review there can be an override so that he can get down to minimum and apply for release to work.
12. We consider all of that will take some considerable time. Currently he has no confirmed accommodation, but he hopes to get accommodation through [withheld].
13. We will see him again, therefore, by the end of August 2022. In the meantime, we are satisfied he remains an undue risk.