As of June, the total inmate population across South Africa's 243 correctional centres is 170 518.
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The chairperson of the portfolio committee on correctional services, Kgomotso Ramolobeng, has called for tougher monitoring of parolees and probationers as thousands remain unaccounted for.
On Thursday, Ramolobeng briefed the media on overcrowding in South Africa’s correctional centres. Overcrowding increases the burden on an already constrained correctional budget and human resources, given that employee compensation accounts for approximately 70% of the department’s expenditure.
Inmate population
As of June, the total inmate population across South Africa’s 243 correctional centres is 170 518. This includes 62 927 remand detainees who are still awaiting trial or who are still waiting for their court cases to conclude. The number also includes 422 state patients who are incarcerated in correctional facilities instead of psychiatric hospitals. Sentenced inmates are 107 169, with a bed capacity of 107 054.
The number of those who are still awaiting trial includes 14 640 foreign nationals. Sentenced foreigners who are in SA’s prisons are 13 266. This brings the total number of foreign nationals in SA’s prisons to 27 906.
According to Ramolobeng, the country has recently signed a prisoner transfer agreement with Botswana, which provides a framework for the repatriation of sentenced offenders to serve their sentences in their home country.
“Such bilateral agreements have the potential to ease pressure on correctional facilities, reduce incarceration costs and strengthen rehabilitation by allowing offenders to remain closer to their families and their support networks,” said Ramolobeng.
“So we do recommend that the department must also outline this that they’ve done with Botswana to other SADC countries, and they must bring on board Home Affairs. We require an improved integration of immigration and sentence management system, a coordinated data sharing strategy to identify inmates eligible for lawful deportation at the earliest possible stage, faster processing of repatriation and immigration matters once sentences have been completed.”
Parolees
Ramolobeng further addressed the abscondment of parolees, which she described as a “thorny matter”.
“The committee is increasingly concerned about the number of parolees and probationers who abscond from community correction supervision. The committee is deeply concerned that the department currently records 29 320 parolees and probationers as absconders from community correction supervision.
“We welcome efforts that have seen more than 6 000 absconders traced since 2021, but more must be done to strengthen supervision, improve tracing capacity and ensure closer cooperation between the department and Saps to protect communities and maintain confidence in the parole system.”
Adding to the crisis are 2 624 parolees and 395 probationers who committed crimes in the 2025/26 financial year.
“While [the] department has indicated that this figure includes historical cases dating back many years, [it]nevertheless highlights the scale of the challenge facing community corrections,” said Ramolobeng.
The committee has recommended an investigation into the effectiveness of electronic monitoring as an alternative to incarceration, rather than as a minimum sentence for offenders, and as part of the tracking and tracing of parolees.
“The committee expects the department to strengthen its monitoring and tracking systems, improve cooperation within the South African police service in tracing absconders and ensure that enforcement measures are applied consistently.
“Parole remains an important rehabilitation tool, but it must be accompanied by effective supervision that protects communities and maintains confidence in the criminal justice system.”
