The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) wishes to advise that the privacy of offenders may not be invaded.

1. MEDIA STATEMENT
PRIVACYOF OFFENDERS MAY NOT BE INVADED
The Departmentof Correctional Services(DCS) wishestoadvise thatthe privacyof offendersmay
not be invaded.
Thisfollowsnumerousrequestsfromvariousmediahousesformore detailedinformation,following
the placementof OffenderOscarPistoriusundercorrectional supervisionasapprovedbythe Kgosi
Mampuru II Correctional SupervisionandParole Board(CSPB) on15 October2015.
DCS iscurrentlyresponsible forapproximately230,000 offendersandawaiting-trialpersons,with
about51,963 paroleesand17,061 probationersunderthe systemof communitycorrections.Asper
the Correctional ServicesAct,Act111 of 1998, all personssubjecttocommunitycorrectionsmustbe
supervisedinthe communitybycorrectional officials.Suchsupervisionmustnotinvade the privacy
of the personconcernedmore thanisnecessarytoensure compliance withthe conditionsof the
communitycorrectionsimposed.Tothisend,DCSdoesnotpubliclydisclose specificdetailsabout
individualoffenders.AsDCShasprovidedsufficientinformationonPistorius,henceforth,no
additional informationonthe saidoffenderwill be publiclydisclosed.
DCS alsowishestore-iterate thatthe decisionbythe Kgosi MampuruII managementtorelease
Pistoriuslastnight(19 October) wasnotunusual,andnot preferential treatment.Thiswaspurelyan
operational decisiontakenbyofficials,andthisis notthe onlycase where thishashappened.The
implementationof decisionsof the CSPBisthe prerogative of the relevantoperational officials.
It mustalso be emphasizedthatthe sentence imposedbythe courts,onpersonssubjectto
communitycorrections,isnotreduced.Itonlyaffectsthe wayinwhicha sentence willbe served,
whichmeanspart of the sentence maybe servedoutside acorrectional centre,undersupervisionof
officialsfromDCS,andsubjecttocertainconditions.
Conditionsrelatingto communitycorrectionsmaystipulate,butare notlimitedto,thatthe person
concerned:
 isplacedunderhouse detention;
 doescommunityservice inordertofacilitate restorationof the relationshipbetweenthe
sentencedoffendersandthe community;
 seeksemployment;
 where possibletakesupandremainsinemployment;
 takespart intreatment,developmentandsupportprogrammes;
 isrestrictedtoone or more magisterial districts;
 livesata fixedaddress;
 refrainsfromusingalcohol orillegal drugs;
 refrainsfromcommittingacriminal offence;
 refrainsfromvisitingaparticularplace;
 refrainsfrommakingcontactwitha particularpersonor persons;
 refrainsfromthreateningaparticularpersonorpersonsbywordor action;

2.  issubjectto monitoring;and
 issubjectto suchother conditionsasmaybe appropriate inthe circumstances.
All personssubjecttocommunitycorrectionsmustbe supervisedinthe communitybycorrectional
officials.Offenderssubjecttocommunitycorrectionsare closelymonitored,toensure thatthey
complywiththeirparole conditions.
If a personsubjecttocommunitycorrectionshasfailedtocomplywithanyaspectof the conditions
imposedonhimor her,dependingonthe nature andseriousnessof the non-compliance,that
offendermaybe:
 reprimanded;
 instructedtoappearbefore the Correctional SupervisionandParole Board,orotherbody
whichimposedthe conditionsof communitycorrections;or
 arrested.
IssuedbyGCIS onbehalf of
The Departmentof Correctional Services
20 October2015