The pilot project for electronic monitoring of parolees and probationers from South African prisons has been implemented. The project seeks to deal with overcrowding at correctional facilities and to minimise the possibility of violation of parole conditions.

The pilot involves 150 parolees, including 70 convicts with life sentences who are on parole. It will last for 12 months, at a cost of R6.8 million, according to Sonwabo Mbananga, media liaison offi cer at the Department of Correctional Services (DCS).

“This will ensure that certain categories of offenders serve their sentences in the community and thereby contribute to the alleviation of overcrowding in correctional facilities,” says government’s Justice, Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS) cluster.

It adds that the electronic monitoring of parolees and probationers will alleviate challenges of parolees absconding from the system of community corrections, while also reducing the risk of recidivism. “We hope that the strengthening of community corrections will encourage the Judiciary to explore alternative sentencing options, making incarceration a last resort.”

Each inmate will receive a bracelet that is connected to a satellite via signal, allowing correctional officers to monitor where these inmates are at all times. If the bracelets are tampered with, they set off an alarm.

The project has been expected to start for some time, with the DCS in 2010 saying it would be rolled out in 2011.