Probation reports resume

Press, 18 March 1988, Page 1

Probation reports resume

The refusal of the Probation Service in Christchurch to supply pre-sentence reports ended yesterday. Matters were brought to a head after Mr Justice Holland instructed the Crown solicitor, Mr David Saunders, to issue a subpoena ordering the senior Christchurch probation officer to appear before him and to produce a report on a youth who was to be sentenced for rape. j • Counsel for the youth, Mr Tony Garrett, told his Honour in the morning that there was no probation report for his client. He said that he had asked the Probation Office to provide a copy of a recent report prepared on his client on another matter but the request had been refused. His client had been jailed for six months in January. Mr Justice Holland then told Mr Saunders to subpoena the senior probation officer to produce the report by 2 p.m. when the youth would be sentenced. Apparently the senior probation officer was in Wellington but the report was produced before the Court resumed.

I Six probation officers were in court, including the acting chief probation officer,! Mr Alan Rogers, when the case was called in the afternoon.

Both Mr Justice iHolland and Mr Garrett said they had been told that the industrial action was over- I