Victoria's Adult Parole Board has admitted it made a mistake when it failed to revoke Adrian Ernest Bayley's parole, but insists community safety has always been its first priority.
The statement by the board, which hit out at the former High Court judge who wrote a report strongly critical of its operations, is the first time it has responded to months of criticism in the wake of a series of high-profile murders committed by parolees.
Bayley was on parole, following rapes committed more than a decade earlier, when he murdered Ms Meagher in a Brunswick laneway last September.
Responding on Wednesday to the scathing report from former judge Ian Callinan, the Adult Parole Board said that while protecting the community was its main priority, human behaviour was unpredictable and risk could not be totally eliminated.
The board said it admitted to Ms Meagher's husband, Tom, that it made the wrong decision when it did not revoke Bayley's parole after he pleaded guilty to assaulting a man in Geelong.
It expressed its regret and apologised for the decision, which it said was made in good faith.
"The board acknowledges a failure to identify the escalating risk that Mr Bayley posed to the community," it said.
"The board was not asked or advised to cancel Mr Bayley's parole but acknowledges now that it should have done so."
Bayley was both on parole and on bail, while he appealed his assault sentence, when he murdered Ms Meagher. Because he was appealing the sentence, he had not been jailed for his parole breach.
The board also said that Victoria Police had not opposed Bayley's bail application, and that the management of prisoners released on parole was the responsibility of Corrections Victoria.
A police spokeswoman said that when Bayley appealed his assault sentence and applied for bail, "Victoria Police was of the view that the magistrate had access to the offender's prior history and was aware of all the circumstances of the case when considering the application for bail.
"Victoria Police has a number of processes ... in place to notify Corrections Victoria of potential breaches by parolees.
"In this case, Corrections Victoria were notified on a number of occasions about the alleged offending and behaviour of this defendant. It is their role to then make recommendations to the Adult Parole Board."
The board said reports that Bayley had not appeared before it before being paroled were incorrect and that he appeared twice, with his case being considered a further five times.
Mr Callinan said in his report that it was not easy to understand why the serial rapist wasn't jailed when he was convicted of the Geelong assault, and the parole board had cause and opportunity to cancel his parole.
He said the board's decisions were tilted in favour of offenders, not victims, and it did not give enough prominence to public safety.
But the board has insisted it always placed community safety at the forefront of its considerations when granting parole.
"Contrary to Mr Callinan's assertions, we have always acted with community safety as the paramount consideration in the granting and cancellation of parole," it said.
"The interests of offenders have always been subordinate to the protection of the community. We cannot, however, predict human behaviour and no system can completely eliminate risk."
Wednesday's statement also rejected a suggestion in Mr Callinan's report that Bayley's parole file did not contain a detailed analysis and chronology of his history.
While the board admitted its filing system was antiquated, it did not accept the files were chaotic. It said they were voluminous, containing items such as the prisoner's criminal record, a number of reports and victims' submissions.
The statement said the board took into account the attitude of victims and had 651 people on a victims' register who were routinely notified of a parolee's progress, likely release and release date.
Mr Callinan said that "if safety to the public is truly to be the paramount consideration, [the board should be] more risk averse than it has become."
He said the board was too focused on the rehabilitation of offenders, to the detriment of community safety, and operated under the assumption that prisoners had a right to be paroled.
Some of the 23 recommendations in his report, released on Tuesday, would have the effect of significantly reducing opportunities for parole, including one which would require the parole board to rule out parole for serious offenders unless they could prove there was a "negligible risk" they would commit other crimes.
The board said it would co-operate in implementing the proposed reforms.
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