Correctional Services moves to revive electronic monitoring for parolees amid legal dispute

The Department of Correctional Services said on Tuesday it is moving to resuscitate the procurement of electronic monitoring devices for parolees while still involved in litigation with a service provider.

Procurement push despite legal challenge

National Commissioner Makgothi Thobakgale told the Correctional Services Portfolio Committee that the department has submitted a document to the State Information Technology Agency (SITA) to continue with the procurement process. He said the department has “tentatively received positive consideration from Integrated Justice System (IJS) funding for electronic monitoring” and that “what is left now is for SITA to process as much as they can as we are in arbitration with the service provider.”

The department has allocated R15 million to kickstart the procurement. Thobakgale said the previous contract was cancelled “because the procurement did not go through SITA” and added: “We will continue to push for the procurement so that we can have the system put in place.”

Minister backs monitoring, suggests users pay

Correctional Services Minister Piet Groenewald confirmed the department was dealing with the issue and said: “There is a process of litigation when it comes to that, but there is progress.” He also said, “If things were to go my way, anyone wanting parole, must pay for the devices themselves. ‘I respect human rights but that is if I could have my way.'”

Groenewald said electronic monitoring devices will play a major role in proper control and monitoring of parolees and warned: “We should not be held at ransom on the electronic bands.” He added that the devices could assist to detect “if a parolee used drugs or alcohol.”

Briefing followed concerns about untraceable parolees

The briefing to the committee followed reports that the department cannot account for 27,797 high risk parolees who have absconded. The department told the committee that more than half of those who cannot be traced 15,860 are “archived absconders” released between 1991 and 2004, and that those cases are listed as “non-active” and remain separate from current caseloads.

Thobakgale said tracing of parolees released prior to 1994 continued and that the department “no longer define absconders as active, inactive or archived.” He said the figure of 29,320 is the recent total “as of 29 May 2026, and it includes all.”

Who is involved in tracing

Thobakgale said community corrections officials, the Emergency Support Team security officials and SAPS track down absconders. He rejected the suggestion the department pays no attention to parolees, saying: “The impression created is that there is no attention given to parolees and around parole. This is factually incorrect.”

Deputy Commissioner for Community Corrections Gustav Wilson told the committee parolees were not supervised between 1991 and 1994 and that the number of absconders from that period stood at 24,221. He said specialised track-and-trace teams were established in 2021.

Wilson said there were 8,303 absconders between 2021 and 2026 and that 6,060 had been traced during the same period.

Capacity and re-offending data

A presentation to the committee showed the department’s community corrections unit has 234 offices, 62 satellite offices and 861 service points. It reported the department had 491 vehicles for use by 1,764 officials, of whom 933 were monitoring officials.

The department said it has a caseload totaling 52,773, with each official handling an average of 87 cases instead of the intended 30. Over the past six years a total of 14,265 parolees re-offended in serious crimes, including theft, assault, rape, robbery, assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm and house‑breaking.

Thobakgale said the department has set aside a quota of 1,500 from the 6,000 new recruits to serve in the community corrections unit.

Next steps

The department said it will continue to press SITA to process procurement while arbitration with the service provider continues and to establish the electronic monitoring system for parolees.