Dear Editor
The DA has submitted written parliamentary questions to Minister of Correctional Services, Pieter Groenewald, probing the very slow progress in overhauling South Africa’s broken parole system, because the DA can reveal a serious and growing problem of parolees re-offending.
The DA calls on the Minister to urgently account for why parole reform has stalled and to set out a concrete timeline for change.
A DA parliamentary question has exposed that in two years, the rate of parolees re-offending has increased more than 50%.
The system meant to rehabilitate parolees is failing.
The number of parolees committing serious crimes has risen from 1 989 two years ago to 3 036 in the 2024/25 year.
And the re-offence trend goes beyond violent crime. Parolees committing “minor” offences has skyrocketed from 1 796 two years ago, to 2 873 in the 2024/25 year. This is a staggering 60% increase in re-offending over two year.
The percentage of parolees who go on to commit crimes is startlingly high – more than 1 in 10 parolees became violent repeat offenders.
These are not technical breaches, but acts of violence and destruction that devastate families, erode trust, and make communities less safe; caused by persons let back into communities by the Justice system. Dangerous criminals are repeatedly released into communities, where they commit new crimes with devastating consequences.
Despite over a decade of promises to reform the parole system, successive ANC Ministers have failed to act, and now Groenewald is doing the same.
With a court backlog exceeding 50 000 cases and public confidence in SAPS and the justice system collapsing, this crisis cannot be ignored any longer.
South Africa cannot afford more empty promises and failed policies. A decisive overhaul of the parole system is urgently needed to protect communities from repeat offenders and to restore public confidence in the justice system.
Regards
Janho Engelbrecht MP
DA Spokesperson on Correctional Services