Johannesburg -
Thanks to a new video link system, victims of crime can now be part of parole hearings for offenders without travelling long distances or being in the same room as them.
Justice Minister Michael Masutha on Wednesday launched the R10 million audio-visual system to be used in parole hearings.
Masutha said the system was aimed at putting crime victims at the centre of the criminal justice system.
“The offended have played a less central role in justice. Their feelings and concerns were not given the attention they deserve.”
Masutha said with the new system, crime victims would not have to travel long distances to attend parole board meetings, but do so via a video link at their nearest parole board office.
If the victim did not want their face to be seen by the inmate applying for parole, they would be able to be off-camera during the hearing.
The video conferencing system would also put a stop to situations like that of apartheid-era assassin Eugene de Kock, where the department denied him parole because there was no consultation with victims’ families.
De Kock took the department to court, and last week an out-of-court-settlement was reached.
The National Council for Correctional Services now has to consider him for parole on or before December 19.
Masutha will have to make a decision by January 31on whether De Kock will be granted parole or not. He was in charge at Vlakplaas, outside Pretoria.
He was sentenced to two life terms for six murders and a further 212 years’ imprisonment on other charges.
Instead of going to where the parole board was sitting, crime victims could now go to 53 correctional supervision and parole boards across the country to make their submissions.
The parole boards consider about 54 000 parole applications a year. Of these, only 5 percent had input from crime victims.
The department hoped the new system would improve the figure.
Masutha said of the about 157 400 people in custody, 70 355 are under community correction. Of these, there are 51 379 parolees, 17 399 probationers and 1 577 awaiting trial.
He encouraged crime victims to register at their nearest parole boards to be involved in the process.
“This will assist, and ease, tracing of complainants and the offended.”
Pretoria News