Academic and media reports suggest that many released prisoners commit another crime and are sentenced. However, South Africa lacks a standard definition for recidivism or a consistent way to measure it. This means that no one knows the true rate. Researcher Marelize Schoeman explains why tracking recidivism matters.

Why is the definition of recidivism so important?

Recidivism is not simply reoffending. The word comes from Latin. It means “to fall back”. It describes when an individual who has already served a sentence commits another crime and is arrested, convicted or sentenced again.

A high recidivism rate, therefore, reflects not only reoffending, but the criminal justice system’s failure to rehabilitate offenders and prevent further crime.

According to academic research, South Africa’s recidivism rate ranges from 55% to 95%. Media reports claim it to be as high as 80% to 97%.

These figures, however, can only be regarded as estimates. South Africa lacks a standard definition of recidivism. This has led to researchers and criminal justice institutions – including the Department of Correctional Services, the South African Police Service and the National Prosecuting Authority – using different definitions and measurement methods. This produces inconsistent data and inaccurate recidivism statistics.

The lack of a shared definition and common understanding has resulted in recidivism being used as a buzzword. This is done to create public sensation, score political points or claim programme success without any credible or generalisable evidence.

As a result, policymakers and service providers in the criminal justice sector don’t know whether:

policing, sentencing and rehabilitation programmes are effective

correctional centres are overcrowded due to repeat offenders

parole and reintegration efforts are successful.

This absence of reliable information hampers the criminal justice system’s ability to deliver effective prevention services, support parolees after release, reduce reoffending and build safer communities.

How can South Africa better define and address the problem?

The first step is to have a uniform definition of recidivism across the criminal justice sector. Then the rate can be measured accurately. Without accurate data, resources can be wasted on crime prevention and rehabilitation programmes that do not work. Effective initiatives will remain unnoticed or underfunded. You can’t manage what you can’t measure.

The second step is to improve record-keeping and create a central digitised databank for sentenced offenders. This databank would hold key information, such as personal details, previous convictions, the nature of each offence, and other risk-related factors that could influence an offender’s rehabilitation prospects.

This information should be accessible to the prisons, police and prosecutors. The courts, parole boards and accredited rehabilitation service providers should also have access.

Currently, there is no central record system. The police service maintains all criminal record information. To obtain a person’s criminal record, a form and the individual’s fingerprints must be submitted. An official then checks the database for any previous convictions, offence details and sentencing information. This largely paper-based system is prone to delays, human error and inaccuracies.

Many offenders use aliases or do not have identity documents.

A uniform identification system, using digitally captured fingerprints or iris scans, would be a more effective way of identifying and keeping records of individuals with a criminal record.

Digitising this process has been planned since 1996, but hasn’t happened. Fragmented systems, weak accountability, outdated infrastructure, governance bottlenecks and late deliveries have delayed it.

What difference will the database make?

Making these improvements would change how South Africa measures, understands and manages recidivism. A uniform definition would replace guesswork and political rhetoric with a clear, evidence-based standard.

Policymakers, researchers and practitioners could use a common language to make comparisons and coordinate strategies.

The focus could shift from viewing recidivism merely as individuals reoffending, to the criminal justice system’s effectiveness in breaking the cycle of crime.

A centralised, digitised offender database would reduce human error and improve data reliability, making it possible to identify and do what works.

Public trust in the criminal justice sector might improve, enhancing rehabilitation outcomes and building safer communities.

What countries have cracked this?

Countries like the United Kingdom, Norway, Finland and Sweden, Canada, New Zealand and Singapore have adopted a uniform definition of recidivism. They use it to measure the performance of their criminal justice systems.

The effectiveness of these steps is clear in Norway and Singapore. The two countries have some of the lowest recidivism rates in the world at 20% and 21%, respectively. The UK’s recidivism rates have declined from 31.6% in 2010 to 26.5% in 2023. In New Zealand, performance data is used to target high-risk groups and strengthen rehabilitation efforts.

These countries use biometric databases in law enforcement and correctional facilities. The databases help to identify offenders, track parolees and manage prisons. Authorities can identify ex-offenders who commit new crimes.

Recidivism statistics are also used as key performance indicators across the criminal justice system. They guide funding and programme development.

In South Africa, a review of the parole board system which began in September 2025 offers the Department of Correctional Services an opportunity to define what recidivism means.

This step could create the basis for developing a central record system for both incarcerated offenders and those under community corrections. The system could later be expanded across the entire criminal justice network.

Written by Marelize Isabel Schoeman, University of South Africa and republished with permission from The Conversation. The original article can be found here.

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The DA demands that both the Western Cape Provincial Police Commissioner and the Minister of Correctional Services urgently appear before Parliament, said Nicholas Gotsell, DA NCOP Member on Security & Justice.

This incident comes on the back of the recent escapes at Wynberg and Strand Police holding cells. Those escapes occurred while detainees were in SAPS custody, whilst this escape happened inside a maximum-security correctional facility – the place where security is supposed to be at its strongest, he said.

Helderstroom is intended to house some of the most dangerous offenders in the country and it is tasked not only with detention, but with rehabilitation and the protection of the public. A breach at this level indicates a failure at the very heart of the Department of Correctional Services’ security and operational controls, according to the DA.

“When a prisoner serving a sentence for a serious crime walks out of a maximum-security facility, the public is justified in asking whether Correctional Services is capable of performing its constitutional mandate. The escape from a maximum security facility by a single inmate, points to a criminal justice chain that is failing at every stage; from arrest to court process to incarceration,” Gotsell said.

Last week, following the escapes from SAPS holding cells, the DA wrote to the Chairperson of the Select Committee on Security and Justice requesting the urgent appearance of both the Western Cape Provincial Police Commissioner and the Minister of Correctional Services to account for the repeated and escalating breakdowns occurring in both policing and correctional security environments. The DA has again written to the Chairperson to bring the latest incident to her attention and to request that the requested meeting be prioritised. Urgent and crucial interrogation is required.

Minister Pieter Groenewald must explain:

• How this escape was possible from inside a maximum security facility;

• Whether internal collusion is suspected or being investigated; and

• What immediate steps are being taken to prevent further breaches?

At a time when communities in the Western Cape are experiencing a surge of crime due to criminal justice failures, the State cannot allow violent, unrehabilitated offenders to return to the very communities they harmed, Gotsell concluded.

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National Commissioner of Correctional Services, Makgothi Thobakgale, confirmed the incident during a media briefing on Tuesday 4 November.

The attack – which occurred last week – comes about a month after the authorities’ announcement of a management intervention at the prison in a bid to address systemic failures at the facility.

“Correctional officials Mr Wuve Rubushe and Mr Mendo Somdyala were performing routine duties in Unit D3 of the Remand Detention Facility, shortly after breakfast had been served. At approximately 08:47, remand detainee Bonginkosi Jali, aged 46 and detained for theft, requested to use the toilet facility and was unlocked from Communal Cell 208.

“At that time, two other remand detainees, Ricardo Krotz, aged 28 and charged under POCA-related offences, and Andre Gouws, aged 22 and detained for murder, were in the passage performing cleaning duties. Tragically, all three were armed with sharpened objects.

“The assault began when Jali emerged from the toilet facility and attacked Mr Somdyala, stabbing him. Despite his injuries, Mr Somdyala managed to run to the unit office for assistance, where Mr Rubushe was stationed. The three detainees pursued him into the office and continued their attack on both officials,” Thobakgale said.

Another official, who arrived at the scene, called for backup and the additional officials disarmed and removed the attackers.

“Force had to be used to stop the assault. The detainees were immediately taken to the facility hospital, treated by the resident doctor, and later transferred to an external hospital. Sadly, Bonginkosi Jali and Andre Gouws died on the same day, while Ricardo Krotz succumbed to his injuries on 31 October 2025.

“Both officials were also taken to Constantiaberg Hospital for further medical care and have since been discharged. We remain deeply thankful for their bravery and continue to support them and their families as they recover from this traumatic event,” the Commissioner said.

He added that the “use of force in this case was unavoidable to preserve life”.

“Every incident involving force is subject to full investigation to ensure compliance with the Correctional Services Act.

“Transparency and accountability remain cornerstones of our operations, and all relevant oversight bodies and the families of the deceased have been informed,” the Commissioner noted.

Cracking down

Thobakgale noted that the initial management intervention at the facility “disrupted entrenched practices and illicit networks that had thrived in the absence of proper control”.

“This inevitably provoked resistance and resentment among those who had benefited from the previous state of affairs, creating tensions that, regrettably, culminated in the incident of 29 October 2025,” he said.

Preliminary investigations indicate that the incident was gang-related and targeted at asserting dominance in the facility, following “the department’s renewed enforcement of discipline and order”.

“Jali was reportedly a self-proclaimed “General” of the 26 Gang [and] this incident serves as a stark reminder of the deep-rooted gangsterism challenge that continues to threaten safety within correctional facilities.

“Gang activities undermine security, disrupt rehabilitation, and endanger lives. Let me be clear: gangsterism has no place in our correctional system. It destroys the very essence of rehabilitation and corrodes the moral fabric of our centres.

“The department has been implementing a comprehensive Gang Combating Strategy focusing on intelligence-led operations to detect and neutralise gang influence, enhanced staff training to identify and prevent gang mobilisation, stricter internal controls to close security loopholes, and expanded rehabilitation and reintegration programmes offering inmates education, vocational training, and psychological support to break free from gang culture,” he said.

A new Area Commissioner – Ntomboxolo Kungune – has been appointed to the Pollsmoor facility to “reinforce leadership stability”.

“Her extensive experience, most recently as Area Commissioner of Drakenstein, will be invaluable in steering this Management Area toward renewal and improved performance. The team deployed by Head Office on 29 September 2025 will remain on site to sustain the momentum, oversee the implementation of corrective measures, and guide the transition toward a secure, compliant, and rehabilitative environment.

“We must confront this challenge not with fear, but with resolve and unity. Our mission remains clear – to restore order, uphold safety, and promote rehabilitation. Together, as a department and as a nation, we can defeat gangsterism, rebuild trust, and ensure that correctional centres remain places of transformation rather than turmoil,” Thobakgale concluded.

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This after security breaches at the facility revealed weaknesses in core operational procedures – compelling the National Commissioner to intervene.

“In recent months, Pollsmoor has experienced a series of serious security breaches that exposed weaknesses in the management of warrants, court appearances, and inmate identification processes.

“These incidents cannot be taken lightly, as they have the potential to undermine public confidence in the correctional system and compromise the broader criminal justice value chain,” Thobakgale noted.

The incidents include cases of mistaken release and an inmate assuming the identity of another.

Furthermore, in July, a raid at the facility led by the National Commissioner uncovered more than 110 cell phones, sim cards, sharp objects, drug paraphernalia, drugs and cash.

“[The] erroneous release of remand detainee John Henry Mpelo due to failures in verifying warrants, the mistaken release of Inganathi ‘Thembalethu’ Daba under another detainee’s identity, and the case of Jordan Adams, who exploited weaknesses in record management to assume a false identity.

“While all three offenders were subsequently re-arrested, these breaches point to deep systemic vulnerabilities in fingerprint verification, record reconciliation, and overall operational discipline. Investigations are underway, and there will be accountability and consequences for those found to have neglected their duties,” he said.

The management intervention is aimed at instituting “corrective measures, restore stability, and strengthen management practices at the facility”.

The intervention will be led by highly experienced department officials, Abel Mashaba and Michael Mafukata who will be deployed to Pollsmoor until the facility regains its footing.

“Pollsmoor is one of South Africa’s big five correctional facilities, strategically located to service numerous courts in the Cape Town metropole and surrounding districts. Its role in the criminal justice system is pivotal.

“Any instability here has a ripple effect across law enforcement, the judiciary, and community safety. We cannot afford to allow breaches of this magnitude to continue unchecked. This intervention is therefore not only necessary, but non-negotiable,” Thobakgale explained.

He added that the intervention is part of a broader plan to strengthen capacity and management at facilities across the country.

“The department has been making targeted appointments to stabilise facilities and strengthen governance structures. These interventions are not limited to management levels alone but also focusing on growing the frontline workforce that powers the correctional system.

“These developments demonstrate the zeal with which we are working to increase the pool of correctional officials, strengthen institutional capacity, and stabilise facilities. The intervention here at Pollsmoor must be understood in this broader context.

“We are committed to decisive action whenever lapses occur, while continuing to build a correctional system that is professional, accountable, and resilient,” Thobakgale concluded.

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The Constitution is the foundation of this country’s law. It is one of the finest legal documents ever written and we are justly proud of it.

The Bill of Rights applies to every person in the country, saint and sinner. That includes Thabo Bester.

Bester is a murderer, rapist, fraud and con-artist. But his rights and the rights of other people like him in South African prisons are protected by the Constitution, as they must be.

Section 35 of the Constitution says that every prisoner has the right to “conditions of detention that are consistent with human dignity, including at least exercise and the provision, at state expense, of adequate accommodation, nutrition, reading material and medical treatment”.

Bester and several hundred other prisoners are being kept alone in small cells 23 hours a day, with only an hour to exercise.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime published minimum rules for keeping prisoners. These are known as the Mandela Rules. They define solitary confinement as “the confinement of prisoners for 22 hours or more a day without meaningful human contact”. It may only be imposed in exceptional circumstances. Keeping someone in these conditions for 15 consecutive days is considered torture.

The Jali Commission in 2005 found that solitary confinement “is a product of our past and should not be resorted to as a norm by prison officials in the new democratic order”. The Commission found that “it is commonly accepted that solitary confinement is one of the worst forms of torture that can be imposed on another human being”. The Commission also found no scientific evidence to justify keeping people in these conditions.

Without meaningful human contact, and often without a way to keep the time, prisoners lose track of the days of the week. Their mental and physical health deteriorates. An inspection by the Judicial Inspectorate of Correctional Services of Ebongweni prison in 2021, found all the prisoners in isolation were on antidepressants. (See also The Impacts of Solitary Confinement.)

One does not have to have sympathy for Bester. Some of his many victims no doubt wish him the worst, understandably so. But the Constitution is unequivocal: everyone must be treated with dignity and not to be tortured. Upholding the Constitution, even for people we dislike, is the way to achieve a less violent, more humane society.

The prisoners being kept in these conditions are for the most part extremely dangerous. The state has to keep them in prison to protect everyone else’s rights. But prisoners’ rights should not be restricted more than necessary.

We degrade our society if we allow the state to torture people. Once we start accepting that human rights are for some but not for others, we start a descent into inhumanity.

The law in a constitutional democracy, the best type of state yet invented, is there to protect all of us from unrestrained state vengeance. It applies to you and me. And it even applies to awful people like Thabo Bester.

This article was reposted with permission from GroundUp. The original article can be found here.

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The offender, identified as Graine Martin, escaped from custody on 9 September, while working as part of facility’s Agricultural Programme.

He was serving a 12-year sentence for three counts of assault and theft, after being sentenced on 29 August 2023.

“Following an intensive search operation, involving SAPS and members of the community, the escapee was found deceased. Preliminary observations indicate that he took his own life through hanging,” the department said.

A police report has been opened with the SAPS with an inquest expected to be conducted “in line with applicable procedures”.

“A full-scale investigation is to be instituted to determine the circumstances surrounding the escape and subsequent death of the offender,” the department said.

Call for G4S termination at Mangaung

Meanwhile, the Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services has called for the immediate termination of government’s contract with the private security service G4S, that manages the Mangaung Correctional Centre.

This follows a briefing from DCS on unnatural inmate deaths, with specific reference to Mangaung, Goodwood and Oudtshoorn correctional centres.

Committee chairperson Kgomotso Anthea Ramolobeng accused G4S of “acting as a law unto themselves,” highlighting the committee heard that G4S only provided a report last week on the unnatural death of an inmate that occurred in March 2025, in Mangaung.

According to the statement, in March this year, an inmate at Manguang died following a search operation in which “offenders were allegedly assaulted and tortured”.

The inmate – who was an asthma patient – sustained “severe injuries, including blunt force trauma from tonfas and complications from pepper spray exposure” and died the following day.

The committee heard the contractor presented pre-drafted statements to officials to sign off to ensure their versions aligned. Officials were allegedly also advised to assault the inmate on his body and not the face in order to hide the marks.

“In addition, the committee heard that throughout the investigation into the incident, G4S and its employees sought to conceal the truth and obscure the investigation. This is viewed in serious light as it is tantamount to defeating the ends of justice.

“G4S’s refusal to provide reports about the March incident to DCS and only complied on 4 September, which amounts to refusing to take responsibility,” Ramolobeng said in a statement.

The centre gained infamy following the escape and subsequent re-arrest of convicted rapist and murderer, Thabo Bester, in 2022 and 2023.

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GroundUp spoke to a prisoner, John (not his real name), who is terminally ill with cancer. He struggles to walk and his eyesight is deteriorating. He says he often has to rely on other inmates to help him with basic tasks.

John is serving a life sentence and has applied for medical parole in a bid to spend his final days with his wife and family. Since applying last year, he says the process has cost him over R140,000 in fees for private doctor assessments, a lawyer, and other expenses.

Louis Snyman, associate attorney at Beyers Incorporated, told us that private attorney fees for the process can run between R20,000 and R30,000. If the prisoner needs to go to the doctor, then transport and security must also be covered, and can run to R50,000.

John says he remains hopeful, though he knows that his chances are slim.

“It’s unbearable to know that my husband is in pain and I am not there to hold him, comfort him, and to take care of him in the way that I promised,” his wife told GroundUp.

Flaws in the system

In the 2024/25 financial year there were 80 medical parole applications, according to Department of Correctional Services (DCS) spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo. Of these, 27 were rejected, 38 were accepted and 15 applicants died before their applications were finalised. In the preceding three years, there were 214 applications with 91 rejected and a total of 15 deaths.

The Correctional Services Regulations set out six pages of information needed for a medical parole application. The information required should include: doctors’ reports on the prisoner’s health, reports from correctional officers, details of the inmates crimes, and information about what support is available for the prisoner if they are released on medical parole.

The 21 medical conditions considered include infectious diseases such as severe cerebral malaria, non-infectious conditions such as certain stage four cancers, dementia, and cardiac disease with multiple organ failure. Conditions not on the list may be considered with adequate motivation.

Nxumalo says allocating a medical parole application to a Medical Parole Advisory Board is supposed to happen within one day. After the assessments, the board takes this into its monthly meeting and is supposed to inform the correctional centre within three days.

“Medical parole is supposed to be a very straightforward process,” says Snyman.

But in practice, Snyman has found that while some prisons made this process efficient and clear, others caused months of frustration to no avail.

“There’s no uniformity,” he said.

He suspects results depend on trivialities, like whether the inmate is well-liked by wardens or whether a particular staff member is on duty when the application is made.

The first medical parole application he made on behalf of a prisoner was in 2022. The prisoner was confined to either his wheelchair or his bed. Doctors estimated he had about six months to live.

“Modderbee [prison] was quite an experience for me, because everything that the law states was, in my opinion, not followed.”

When Snyman did get a response, it was a PDF with the medical parole outcomes of sixteen cases, not his alone.

“Not one medical parole application was accepted. There was no correspondence. There was no feedback. There was nothing.”

He remembers having to break the news to the family.

He says at the core of medical parole is the belief that South Africans, no matter their crimes, have the right to dignity and healthcare. “They deserve that level of dignity, not to die in a four-by-four steel cell with 20 other people,” said Snyman.

Ministerial review

A review of the overall parole system was announced by the responsible minister back in 2015, in response to “endless litigations due to inefficiencies which led to delays”, according to a recent departmental report on its progress.

The review was recommended for tabling to Cabinet in 2023, but according to the report, the department is “currently engaging internally with the executive authority prior to finalisation”.

The proposed solution is a three-tier system of parole boards, though it is not yet clear how this would affect medical parole.

According to the report, the department is also in the process of changing financial and organisational structures to improve staffing. Five positions on the medical advisory parole board were advertised in several provinces in March 2025. At least one member per province must be in place for the functioning of the board.

Poor outcomes

An official at the prison oversight body, the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services (JICS), speaking anonymously, told GroundUp the prison “environment significantly contributes to deteriorating health among inmates, particularly those who enter the system with terminal or chronic illnesses, which tend to worsen during incarceration”.

“For those with legitimate needs, being denied parole can lead to frustration, hopelessness, and behavioural issues within the facility, which also affects staff morale and operations.”

The official said that in recent months, new requirements, not yet public, including a formal risk assessment for inmates, have been added, further slowing down the process.

Dr Chesné Albertus, senior lecturer at the Department of Criminal Justice and Procedure at the University of the Western Cape, said one of the flaws in the current law is that it largely relies on the written recommendations of a correctional medical practitioner, rather than a more thorough independent confirmation.

“Room for error and unfair outcomes are possible as a result.”

She said the exact powers and functions of the Medical Parole Advisory Board also need clarification.

Albertus believes that the reason for the low number of successful applications may be in part because of the shortage of medical professionals in the correctional system.

Secondly, medical practitioners on the medical parole advisory board may be overly cautious, especially because prisoners whose health happens to improve do not need to return to prison.

She said prisons in South Africa rarely do a good job of offering palliative care to dying inmates.

Written by Elna Schütz for GroundUp and republished with permission. The original article can be found here.

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Commissioner Thobakgale emphasised that successful reintegration depends heavily on the oversight of guardians, urging both families and communities to take a more active role in ensuring compliance with parole conditions.

“Guardians play a crucial role in helping parolees reintegrate successfully. They are expected to provide consistent guidance and ensure adherence to parole conditions. Unfortunately, some parents become overly defensive when violations occur, while others are unaware of the parolees’ whereabouts or allow them out at night, contrary to their restrictions. Community members must also step in and report violations,” he said.

The Mamelodi operation formed part of a nationwide monitoring campaign focusing on parolees convicted of Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF). Conducted under the Women’s Month programme, the initiative seeks to curb reoffending.

“We focused on Mamelodi due to the high GBVF-related parole caseload. It is critical to ensure that these individuals do not reoffend,” Thobakgale explained.

The joint operation, carried out with the Emergency Support Team (EST), South African Police Service (SAPS), and Gauteng Crime Prevention Wardens, involved visits to 44 parolees’ homes.

As a result, Community Corrections officials were instructed to re-educate guardians on their duties, with the possibility of appointing alternative guardians where necessary. Parolees who were absent during visits were issued warnings, and Thobakgale cautioned that repeated breaches could lead to parole being revoked.

One parolee was returned immediately to a correctional facility after being found consuming alcohol, a clear violation of his parole conditions.

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In response to a Parliamentary question, DCS clarified that it does not hold direct authority to discipline G4S employees, as this responsibility falls under the company’s internal processes. However, the Department retains the power to suspend or withdraw certificates of operation of any G4S employee deemed unfit for duty under the Correctional Services Act and related contractual provisions.

According to information submitted to the Department, between April 2023 and the present:

• 19 employees were suspended

• 12 were dismissed

• 20 resigned before investigations were concluded

These cases were linked to allegations of corruption, dereliction of duty, and security violations.

The Department further confirmed that financial penalties had been enforced. Since the inception of the contract, a total of R2.5 million has been recovered from Bloemfontein Correctional Contracts (BCC), the consortium managing the facility, with G4S as subcontractor overseeing daily operations.

The Supervisory Committee, which adjudicates on compliance matters, meets every two to three months to consider observation notices. Its rulings become binding within 14 days unless contested by either party, and the Department enforces penalty decisions when necessary.

In terms of independent oversight, the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services (JICS) remains the primary watchdog. JICS is mandated to inspect correctional centres, ensure humane treatment of inmates, and report on corruption and systemic failures directly to Parliament.

The revelations underscore persistent concerns over the management of Mangaung Correctional Centre, one of only two privately run prisons in South Africa. While DCS can enforce penalties and restrict operations, critics argue that the reliance on G4S’s internal disciplinary procedures continues to raise questions about accountability and transparency in cases of misconduct.

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The DCS acknowledged that several correctional officials have been implicated in contraband smuggling. Actions taken include suspensions, internal disciplinary hearings under the DCS Disciplinary Code, and referrals to SAPS for criminal investigation and prosecution. Some cases have already resulted in arrests, while others remain under investigation or await disciplinary outcomes. The department reiterated its zero-tolerance stance towards corruption.

In the second quarter of the 2024/25 financial year, a heightened “Operation Clean-up” was carried out across multiple facilities, including Thohoyandou. This initiative led to the confiscation of drugs, mobile phones, and other prohibited items, with arrests of both external suppliers and internal facilitators. Intelligence gathered jointly by DCS and SAPS continues to guide such operations.

The DCS has committed to making relevant audit and inspection reports public, subject to operational security considerations. The most recent findings show improved contraband detection measures, such as the installation of body scanners and enhanced perimeter security at Thohoyandou. Nevertheless, the department continues to face challenges in curbing internal collusion and evolving smuggling tactics.

As of June 2025, Thohoyandou Correctional Centre was operating at approximately 135% of its approved capacity. Measures to reduce overcrowding include parole policy reviews, transfers of low-risk inmates, and infrastructure maintenance to increase usable space.

Mechanisms to ensure accountability include integrity testing, lifestyle audits of high-risk officials, collaboration with SAPS on corruption cases, enforcement of the DCS Code of Conduct, and anti-corruption strategies. Whistle-blower protections and confidential reporting channels are also in place, with guilty parties facing dismissal, prosecution, and referral to oversight bodies.

The department emphasised that these efforts form part of an ongoing campaign to strengthen prison security, uphold the rule of law, and restore public trust.

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