- About 36% of the parolees released to Delft in the past year reoffended.
- The DA has called for urgent parole reforms, citing early releases and lack of rehabilitation as factors behind gang violence and organised crime on the Cape Flats.
- Correctional Services Minister Pieter Groenewald plans to revise the 20-year-old parole system, emphasising improved risk assessments and community safety.
Up to 36% of parolees in some areas of the gang-ridden Cape Flats reoffend by committing crimes, including murder and rape, on their release on parole.
This is according to information contained in a parliamentary response from Correctional Services Minister Pieter Groenewald.
DA MP from the Western Cape Nicholas Gotsell asked Groenewald in a written question a range of queries about parolees released to the Cape Flats - specifically Manenberg, Grassy Park, Steenberg, Mfuleni, Delft, Elsies River, Ravensmead and Kleinvlei - since February 2024.
Groenewald's answer provides several statistics for February 2024 to February this year, showing that 652 prisoners were released on parole in this period.
Delft received almost a third - 201 - followed by Elsies River with 172.
Of these 652 parolees, 183 reoffended. Included in the offences committed by the 183 reoffending parolees were 17 murders and 11 rapes.
Of the 201 parolees released to Delft, 73 reoffended, meaning 36%, which is higher than the total overall percentage of 28% for the combined areas.
Out of Elsies River's 172 parolees, 52 reoffended, or 30%.
Grassy Park has the highest reoffending percentage of 60%, albeit it only received five parolees during the year, with three reoffending. The offences are absconding, and the other two are both possession of a firearm and ammunition.
In each of the 652 cases, the reason for the parolees' release was stated as: "Positive support system (Address confirmation)".
Furthermore, around 163 of the 652 parolees were assessed to be in the high-risk category.
In more than 70 instances, the original crime the parolees were serving time for was parole break. In many cases, the risk category of these offenders was only medium.
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These statistics, from just a part of the Cape Flats, prompted Gotsell to renew the DA's call for "an urgent overhaul of parole policy with a risk-based assessment system that factors in community impact and bars early release for violent and firearm-related offenders unless strict rehabilitation and reintegration conditions are met".
"There is a clear causal link between the combination of the lack of rehabilitation in correctional facilities and early release of violent offenders on the one hand, and the intensification of organised crime in the Cape Flats on the other. The revolving door of incarceration and parole is feeding directly into gang recruitment and drug trafficking networks, escalating the bloodshed and lawlessness," said Gotsell, according to a statement.
"The Department of Correctional Services cannot continue releasing individuals who return to fuel the very conflicts destroying these communities. The people of the Cape Flats and other gang-infested areas deserve safety, dignity, and real justice - not a system that perpetuates violence."
In December, Groenewald responded to a question by DA MP Alexandra Abrahams, focusing specifically on Delft. According to this answer, 721 parolees were released into Delft between 1 January 2019 and 31 October 2024. Of these, 121 were serving sentences for murder, 31 attempted murder, 99 sexual assaults, 21 assaults with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and 77 aggravated robberies.
Of the 721, 179 were reoffenders, and 31 had been killed.
According to the latest available crime statistics from October to December 2024, Delft had the second-highest number of murders, 72, just one less than Mfuleni.
READ | Living under fire: Residents of Delft fear for their safety amid gun violence
In a question relating to Groenewald overturning the release on parole of
Alison Botha's attackers, Theuns Kruger and Frans du Toit, Rise Mzansi MP Makashule Gana asked whether Groenewald intends "to introduce legislative, policy or regulatory changes to tighten the release of prisoners serving life sentences on parole".
"Yes, the minister of correctional services, during his 2024 Budget vote speech, indicated that review of the parole system should be expedited and finalised to ensure that the new reviewed system will be best suited for the people of South Africa," Groenewald answered.
Groenewald said the current parole system was introduced in 2004, based on a model developed in 1997 and legislated in 1998.
"For all practical purposes, the current system is now more than 20 years old and needs revision. For each organisation to function effectively, it is imperative that its policies and legislation are assessed and reviewed regularly," he said.
He said the department was starting a baseline study on the state of the parole system.
"The findings of this process will inform further areas of the parole system that need to be strengthened with special focus on offenders serving determinate sentences, lifers and those who are in the care of community corrections.
"The outcome should also lead to a revised and improved parole system which will serve the country for many years to come. It is also hoped that this process will produce a credible parole system as envisaged by the department and the citizens of South Africa."
