No sense releasing inmates
THE DEPARTMENT of Correctional Services’s (DCS) response to the pandemic was to suspend visits to correctional centres for 30 days and to maintain physical distancing. However, with the rapid spread of the virus in the overcrowded centres a more drastic measure was needed.
On May 8, the Presidency announced the special placement on parole of about 19 000 low-risk sentenced offenders.
Recently the DCS reported that of the 243 correctional facilities, 157 are underpopulated, while 77 are more than 150% full. Why release offenders on special parole if there are facilities that have capacity?
Another concern is whether lowrisk offenders will return to crime. Many are from impoverished communities and have committed economic crimes (shoplifting and crimes of need) to provide for their families. With unemployment on the rise and restricted economic activity, coupled with a criminal record, the offenders may find it difficult, if not impossible, to find a job – which may lead to them committing the crime for which they were initially incarcerated.
Before an offender is considered for special parole, the Correctional Supervision and Parole Boards have to finalise all the processes, and the offender must have completed all rehabilitation and pre-release programmes.
Will these boards be able to process this many offenders over a short period? The new parole release policy allows the victim to have a say. This means the victims of 19 000 offenders must be contacted and informed.
An offender will be considered for special parole only after a victim-offender dialogue has taken place. The victim and the offender must be counselled before and after. Who will be responsible for counselling the victims of 19 000 offenders, and does the DCS have the capacity to prepare offenders for participating in these dialogues?
Early release will also affect the overburdened Community Corrections Section, which supervised 54 935 parolees in 2018. If an offender transgresses parole conditions, they can be arrested again. How will the offenders be placed back in correctional facilities without putting offenders and correctional officials at risk of Covid-19?
Pardoning thousands of inmates and the reasons it was decided upon, clash with restorative justice principles. In restorative justice, apart from the victim-offender dialogue, a conference may be called. This is a structured meeting between victims, offenders, and family and friends of both parties. This conference must be facilitated by the DCS. The government has to skip this part of the restorative process, which is important for reintegration, to enable them to pardon 19 000 inmates in a short period, as calling a conference for each of the pardoned inmates conflicts with governmental protocols and policy regarding gatherings and physical distancing.
Releasing 19 000 inmates into society with almost no hope of getting a job does not make sense. The social grant system is under strain and the inmates will become dependent on this system or many will fall back into crime. Perhaps it would be better to create safe spaces in government buildings that are not in use or send low-risk offenders to the underpopulated correctional centres to complete their sentence.