# Correctional Services minister Pieter Groenewald warns against granting parole just to ease prison overcrowding. In a parliamentary question, Groenewald revealed that over 18-thousand parolees reoffended in the past three years, including 493 accused of murder and 624 of rape. Theft and housebreaking were the most common offences. From 2022 to this year, more than 46-thousand inmates were released on parole, but over 28-thousand parole violations were recorded over five-years, mostly due to reoffending. Groenewald emphasised urgent parole reform to protect public safety.
Public safety at risk as over 18,000 parolees reoffend in 3 years