A convicted murderer and child molester was able to flee to Brazil while on temporary release from prison because staff didn’t contact the man he was supposed to stay with and border officials didn’t have a comprehensive system to identify criminals, according to a New Zealand government report released Thursday.
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In addition, his ability to obtain a passport while still in prison highlighted a lack of information sharing between relevant agencies about individuals in the criminal justice system who were barred from leaving the country.
The report describes the failure of Corrections and the Department of Internal Affairs who had a number of opportunities to stop Smith from carrying out his plan.
Phillip Smith as he checked into a hostel in Brazil.
– When police were notified that Smith was at large, the crime squad should have been engaged earlier, and an urgent request to Interpol made.
“One person had his employment terminated, two have been censured, so there has been a degree of accountability, but we’ve got to improve the system, take on board a few of the recommendations which have been made by the inquiry and improve the safety and security for all New Zealanders”, Mr Lotu-Iiga said.
Rio’s Cidade Maravilhosa Hostel, where Phillip Smith was arrested.
Tony Ellis has been Phillip Smith’s lawyer since 2002.
The findings of a high-level inquiry headed by retired High Court judge Dr John Priestley QC and Simon Murdoch have been released this afternoon.
There were also problems in how Corrections administered the temporary release programme including issues with how sponsors are vetted for suitability, getting an itinerary of activities and verifying compliance.
But it found Corrections did not “adequately assess or mitigate Mr Smith’s risk”, including a failure to properly monitor his running of a business while in prison, which gave him access to money.
“For his victims this has been a awful time and I have apologised to them”, he said in a statement.
Passengers were shocked to hear they had shared a flight with a fugitive killer.
Smith fled the country while on a three-day release from a North Island prison, sparking a manhunt in South America.
The report says the fact Traynor was used to get the passport isn’t relevant because the agency had no information about Smith’s status as a prisoner under any name.
The report highlights a number of embarrassing missteps and shortcomings it says were links in a chain that allowed the escape.
The inquiry found shortcomings in various agencies’ systems and processes and made 39 recommendations to remedy them.
It “agreed in principle” to reviewing the practicality of deactivating passports for serious offenders, “whether by the Department of Corrections seizing them or Internal Affairs cancelling them”.
His escape led to a wider Government investigation, the results of which were released in a 150-page report today.
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In a joint statement, Justice Minister Amy Adams and Corrections Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga acknowledged serious mistakes were made.
