Police investigating murderer and prison escapee Philip John Smith

A spokesman said: “Generally, police are unable to respond to inquiries seeking to determine whether an individual is under police investigation.”

“However, in relation to this incident, we can confirm that we are in the early stages of our investigation as a member of the public has made a complaint about an inmate at Rimutaka Prison.”

The high-profile criminal was jailed for life in 1995 for murdering the father of a young boy, whom Smith was convicted of sexually abusing.

In 2014, he made international headlines for After temporary release, he fled to South America.

However, his escape was short-lived as a tourist at a Rio de Janeiro hotel recognised Smith because he had seen him on the news and called the police.

At the start of today’s hearing, Smith’s attorney Craig Tuck requested a recess, citing police investigation and other reasons.

But panel convener Neville Trendle said the board was unaware of the nature of the investigation and would set it aside.

The hearing also revealed that Smith was found with two mobile phones in his cell last month, in violation of the Corrections Act.

The discovery of the contraband resulted in Smith’s security clearance being upgraded from low-medium to high.

Smith told the committee that a hearing referee had referred the misconduct to police for consideration to determine whether they wished to prosecute, or allow it to be dealt with through an internal disciplinary process.

The committee heard Smith’s second recent misconduct involved hiding a lighter in a packet of porridge, which resulted in him losing his prison privileges.

This was Smith’s first parole hearing since he was sentenced last year to 24 months in prison (to be served concurrently) for fraud.

After registering a number of companies, Smith dishonestly lodged GST and income tax returns and applied for COVID-19 business support relief. He received about $53,000.

He was also convicted in 2006 and 2010 of fraud involving the Inland Revenue Department (IRD).

Trendel pressed Smith on why he had committed this recent crime.

Smith said he had “pessimistic thoughts” about parole at the time.

“It seemed like a hopeless situation and I felt like I would never get out of prison.”

When Smith said he “wasted” most of his money, Trendel asked him where specifically, noting that too much was spent on the prison cafeteria.

“You can assume I didn’t spend all the money on the kettle. I gave it to different people and it was basically misused because it was illegal money and I threw it away,” Smith said.

Trendel said Smith continued to commit crimes while in prison, which gave the board no confidence in releasing him back into society.

“The important thing is,” said Smith, who has not committed any violent or sexual crimes in the past 28 years.

“These are offences that will land you in jail, but the committee is concerned about the risk of you reoffending, not just violent and sexual offences,” Trendle responded.

Tucker, on behalf of Smith, said he had served 28 years in prison and the committee had to take into account the length of his sentence and the need to reintegrate him into society.

But Trendel said the board’s job was to consider the risk of his sentence.

“It’s not about the time he spent, it’s about looking forward.”

Smith is still working with a psychologist, and upcoming therapy will focus on “everyday life,” deception and safety planning issues.

He has also been researching personality-related issues and how they affect his decision-making, and identifying dangerous thoughts and behaviors.

Issues discussed about his release plan included Smith’s desire to live in the North Island, despite him previously agreeing to abide by his victims’ request and live in the South Island.

Ultimately, Smith’s parole application was denied and Trendell said he still had a lot of work to do to build trust and confidence that he would abide by community rules.

Smith will appear before the board again in 12 months.

Repeated litigation

In recent years, Smith Several civil cases against the Correctional Services Department and other government agencies.

Those challenges included the corrections department’s refusal to allow him to wear a wig or necklace or listen to certain speakers in prison, or to allow men incarcerated in a prison dedicated to child sex offenders to have sex with each other.

In May this year, He lost a lawsuit challenging whether preventing prisoners from having sex violated human rights..

In another recent case, Smith unsuccessfully sued the parole board.

A The High Court ruling issued earlier this year Smith claimed the board had “misunderstood” the provisions of the Parole Act 2002 when considering his eligibility for parole.

Tara Shaskey joined NZME as news director and Open Justice reporter in 2022. She has been a journalist since 2014 and previously worked at Stuff, covering crime and justice, arts and entertainment, and Māori issues.