Snowtown serial killer James Vlassakis to face random drug testing on parole

James Spyridon Vlassakis, one of the Snowtown serial killers, will be subjected to random drug testing as a condition of his parole. The 45-year-old will be released to the Adelaide Pre-release Centre at some point, where he will be monitored and participate in programs to aid his transition back into the community.

The Parole Board chair, Frances Nelson KC, said Vlassakis would "at some point" be moved to the centre, which allows prisoners to transition from custody to the community. "We automatically do that with every life-sentence prisoner because it allows for a period of adjustment," she said.

Vlassakis was 18 when, in 1998, he took part in the murder of his half-brother Troy Youde, and later pleaded guilty to four of the Snowtown killings. He was jailed for life but, because he helped authorities, was given a 26-year non-parole period.

Nelson said Vlassakis would be liable to random drug and alcohol testing, and would be required to report weekly to a community corrections officer. "He'll have to report weekly to [a] community corrections officer and he has a very experienced officer in charge of his case," she said.

"He can't leave the state without Parole Board permission, he can't contact any of the victims' families, there are some geographical exclusion areas where he cannot go because of proximity of victims' families," Nelson added.

"He is liable to random drug and alcohol testing, he must obey the conditions at the pre-release centre [and] he'll be sent off for psychological intervention," she said.

Nelson acknowledged that Vlassakis had tested positive to drugs several times in jail, and said it was "quite likely" that he would be sent back to prison if he failed a drug or alcohol test while on parole. "We take that sort of thing fairly seriously," she said. "He doesn't have a drug problem currently that we can see."

The decision to approve Vlassakis's release has been "very distressing" for families of those he murdered by the Snowtown killers, Commissioner for Victims' Rights Sarah Quick said. "Despite the fact that they had prepared themselves for this outcome, the news still really came as a shock," she said.

"It did result in anxiety and grief," Quick added.

Police Minister Michael Brown said restrictions on Vlassakis were purely a matter for the Parole Board, but that he was confident "the maximum level of conditions that are appropriate will be implemented".

"We're talking about someone who's now going to be on parole for the rest of their life," he said.