SA justice system under pressure: 16 000 bail absconders and rising repeat offences

More than 16 000 accused persons are skipping bail as over 18 002 paroled prisoners get re-arrested again for committing crimes.

This was revealed in responses by Police Minister Senzo Mchunu and his Correctional Services counterpart Pieter Groenewald in writing to parliamentary questions.

DA MP Kabelo Kgobisa-Ngcaba wrote to Mchunu enquiring about the number of bail absconders with currently active cases, among other things.

“There is a total of 16 012 bail absconders in the Republic that currently have active cases. It should be noted that bail is granted by the courts and is not enforceable by the South African Police Service,” Mchunu said.

There was a total of 4 516 bail absconders that have cases that are more than five years old.

A further 262 bail absconders with filed cases were foreign nationals.

“Filed cases implies that the case will re-open immediately should the suspect be arrested.”

Mchunu would not say how many of the bail absconders violent offenders were.

Instead, he said the classification of violent offenders is determined by the nature of the offence they were charged for.

“Absconders are re-incarcerated when found. When an absconder is incarcerated, and still in prison, they are no longer classified as an absconder.”

He said absconders could only be released when the case that they were arrested for has been finalised in their favour or when they have been granted bail.

In separate questions, Groenewald told Rise Mzansi MP Makashule Gana that a total of 18 002 parolees re-offended while still serving the parole period in the last five years.

Groenewald’s response showed that there were 2 832 parolees that re-offended in 2019/20.

The number decreased to 1 426 in 2020/21 only to steadily increase the following year to 1 617, and then rose to 2 164 in 2023/24 and 2 353 last year.

The minister said there were a number of rehabilitation programmes that were currently offered at the prisons.

These included social work services, psychological services, spiritual care, skills development, and formal education.

Groenewald said the rehabilitation programmes targeted risk factors that were more likely to change and fluctuate over time.

“The programmes are designed to help offenders to be able to cope conditions that promote criminal and offending behaviour.”

 He said correctional programmes were needs-based targeting offending behaviour based on the correctional sentence plans. 

“The programmes are non-therapeutic and aim to raise awareness, provide information and develop life skills. The offenders working in production workshops, bakeries, and farms acquire skills to contribute towards their social functioning.”

Groenewald added that the department provided offenders with sport, recreation, arts, culture, and library programmes.

“These programmes and services are provisioned in such a manner that they add value to lives of participants and are central to the rehabilitation plan of each offender in order to assist them to re-order their lives in a positive manner, taking their social economic and cultural background into account.

“These programmes aim to provide work opportunities to offenders for keeping them active, provide skills to be gainfully employed upon release.”

mayibongwe.maqhina@inl.co.za