Release Jennings report, say NSW Labor

9 Feb 2012, 4:10 pm   -   Source: AAP
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The NSW government must release a report on how sex killer Trent Jennings went missing from a psychiatric hospital, the state opposition says.

The NSW opposition wants to see the full report disclosed on how a sex killer went missing from a psychiatric hospital, saying people have a right to know how the system "failed so badly".

Trent Jennings, 26, allegedly assaulted a man he had met online while he was on day leave from the facility in Morisset near Newcastle last December.

After five days on the run, Jennings was arrested after being spotted sleeping in a car at Byron Bay, on the state's far north coast.

Jennings had been committed to the hospital after killing his gay lover Giuseppe Vitale during a drug-fuelled sex romp in 2003.

NSW Mental Health Minister Kevin Humphries on Thursday released a summary of a chief psychiatrist's report on the escape, which recommended leave monitoring be improved and greater monitoring of patients' internet access.

But opposition mental health spokesman Adam Searle has demanded the full report be made public.

"Minister Humphries needs to release the chief psychiatrist's report without delay, front the cameras and explain what further action he will take," he said in a statement.

"The public is entitled to know whether there are any security holes at psychiatric facilities."

A spokesman for Mr Humphries said the full report had not been released because it contained confidential information about Jennings.

"Because it contains a significant amount of personal and confidential details, it is not appropriate to release the full report," the spokesman told AAP.

Jennings is accused of visiting the home of a 50-year-old man he met online while he was on day leave on December 29 last year, assaulting him, tying him up and stealing his car.

Jennings returned to the Morisset facility but allegedly left in the man's Mercedes-Benz B200 the next day.

He was pulled over by police that night, but they had not been alerted to his escape and let him go.

Mr Humphries on Thursday said it was "vital that we learn from events like this", and that he had asked NSW Health to "take forward these recommendations".

But he added the case was unusual and "overall, our system is working well".

"In the vast majority of cases, treatment is effective and, over time, people recover and return to the community in a safe way," he said in a statement.

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