Privacy of offenders may not be invaded
The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) wishes to advise that the privacy of offenders may not be invaded.
This follows numerous requests from various media houses for more detailed information, following the placement of Offender Oscar Pistorius under correctional supervision as approved by the Kgosi Mampuru II Correctional Supervision and Parole Board (CSPB) on 15 October 2015.
DCS is currently responsible for approximately 230,000 offenders and awaiting-trial persons, with about 51,963 parolees and 17,061 probationers under the system of community corrections. As per the Correctional Services Act, Act 111 of 1998, all persons subject to community corrections must be supervised in the community by correctional officials. Such supervision must not invade the privacy of the person concerned more than is necessary to ensure compliance with the conditions of the community corrections imposed. To this end, DCS does not publicly disclose specific details about individual offenders. As DCS has provided sufficient information on Pistorius, henceforth, no additional information on the said offender will be publicly disclosed.
DCS also wishes to re-iterate that the decision by the Kgosi Mampuru II management to release Pistorius last night (19 October) was not unusual, and not preferential treatment. This was purely an operational decision taken by officials, and this is not the only case where this has happened. The implementation of decisions of the CSPB is the prerogative of the relevant operational officials.
It must also be emphasised that the sentence imposed by the courts, on persons subject to community corrections, is not reduced. It only affects the way in which a sentence will be served, which means part of the sentence may be served outside a correctional centre, under supervision of officials from DCS, and subject to certain conditions.
Conditions relating to community corrections may stipulate, but are not limited to, that the person concerned:
- is placed under house detention;
- does community service in order to facilitate restoration of the relationship between the sentenced offenders and the community;
- seeks employment;
- where possible takes up and remains in employment;
- takes part in treatment, development and support programmes;
- is restricted to one or more magisterial districts;
- lives at a fixed address;
- refrains from using alcohol or illegal drugs;
- refrains from committing a criminal offence;
- refrains from visiting a particular place;
- refrains from making contact with a particular person or persons;
- refrains from threatening a particular person or persons by word or action;
- is subject to monitoring; and
- is subject to such other conditions as may be appropriate in the circumstances.
All persons subject to community corrections must be supervised in the community by correctional officials. Offenders subject to community corrections are closely monitored, to ensure that they comply with their parole conditions.
If a person subject to community corrections has failed to comply with any aspect of the conditions imposed on him or her, depending on the nature and seriousness of the non-compliance, that offender may be:
- reprimanded;
- instructed to appear before the Correctional Supervision and Parole Board, or other body which imposed the conditions of community corrections; or
- arrested.
Enquiries:
Manelisi Wolela
Tel: 0123072672
Cell: 076 062 2180
E-mail: Manelisi.Wolela@dcs.gov.za
