Latest news with #KgomotsoRamolobeng
IOL News
05-06-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
Bail Fund pilot project for prisoners to be launched in WC
The Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services conducted visits to correctional facilities in South Africa after concerns were raised about overcrowding. The committee was also concerned that 2,613 detainees have been granted bail of less than R1,000 but cannot afford this amount. Image: File OVER 2600 detainees have been granted bail of less than R1000 but cannot afford this amount. They are regarded as prisoners of poverty. These were some of the findings when the Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services conducted visits to correctional facilities in South Africa, following concerns about overcrowding. They found that some families do not want to pay bail for some juvenile offenders because of the mischief they would cause in the community, and they believe that they would be better off in detention centres awaiting trial. The committee was also reacting to the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services (JICS) progress report on the proposed Bail Fund for prisoners of poverty. On Tuesday, the JICS explained to the committee that the fund is a resource outside state institutions to advance bail monies for deserving remand detainees. Committee Chairperson Kgomotso Ramolobeng said that work still needs to be done, including an extensive public participation process to establish whether communities would be in favour of such a fund, which would allow offenders awaiting trial to be reintegrated into communities. The committee heard that a pilot project will soon be launched, likely in the Western Cape, to test the functioning of the fund. Remandees accused of certain crimes (gender-based violence, for example) will likely be excluded. The JICS held engagements with the Bertha Foundation, the Department of Correctional Services, the National Prosecuting Authority, and civil society to plan a way forward. The meeting resulted in support for the launch of a pilot project, an institutional base for the pilot project – Africa Criminal Justice Reform at the University of the Western Cape, and an unsolicited offer of philanthropic funding covering nearly half of the cost of the pilot. Ramolobeng said several committee members believed that communities feared accepting awaiting trial offenders back into communities due to the fear of re-offending. 'During recent oversight visits to correctional centres, we noted lots of awaiting trial detainees, including juveniles. They indicated families do not want to pay even these low amounts, believing that the youths cause mischief in their communities. Our impression was that if they were inside a detention centre, they were out of the family's hair,' she said. Ramolobeng said the committee will engage JICS and other stakeholders once it has sight of a more comprehensive plan. The committee found that correctional facilities are also releasing less offenders than what they are admitting due to the longer prison sentences imposed by the courts.
TimesLIVE
04-06-2025
- Business
- TimesLIVE
Bail fund for accused who cannot pay is mooted, test project likely in Western Cape
The Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services (JICS) is working on a proposed bail fund for deserving remand detainees who have been granted bail but cannot afford to pay it. There are 2,613 detainees who have been granted bail of less than R1,000 but cannot afford the amount, making them "prisoners of poverty", the inspectorate told MPs on Tuesday. The correctional services committee heard a pilot project will soon be launched, likely in the Western Cape, to test the functioning of the fund. The JICS said the fund would benefit only those accused who the courts have determined will stand trial, are not a danger to the public, will not commit further offences while out on bail, will not present a danger to state witnesses and have a fixed address. Remandees accused of certain crimes, for example gender-based violence, are likely to be excluded. The inspectorate, headed by former constitutional court judge Edwin Cameron, has discussed the project with the department of correctional services, the National Prosecuting Authority, civil society and others in a working meeting to plan a way forward. A pilot project with the assistance of the Africa Criminal Justice Reform team at the University of the Western Cape is envisaged as the next step. MPs were told half the costs of the test case would be covered by "unsolicited philanthropic funding" and "the JICS will consider how to secure further funding". Correctional services committee chair Kgomotso Ramolobeng said she would like greater public input before the project is rolled out. Ramolobeng said several committee members were of the opinion that communities feared accepting awaiting trial offenders back into communities due to the risk of reoffending. "During recent oversight visits to correctional centres we noted lots of awaiting trail detainees, including juveniles, where low amounts of bail under R500 were set. On inquiry from the committee, they indicated families do not want to pay even the low amounts in the belief the youths caused mischief in communities. Our impression was that if they were inside a detention centre, they were out of the family's hair," she said. MPs wanted to know how offenders in the programme would be monitored after release and input regarding the ease of the bail money being forfeited if it was not paid by the accused and their families.
