Zimbabwe to Introduce Parole System
The State Parole Board will be established to set conditions for early release from prison.
Zimbabwe to Introduce Parole System
The Government is undertaking a comprehensive review of existing policies and regulations to facilitate the effective implementation of the parole system and establish community correctional centres.
The Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, in partnership with the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service (ZPCS), are working to implement the system that is outlined in the new Prisons and Correctional Service Act.
President Mnangagwa recently reassured the ZPCS of continued Government support to enable the organisation to fulfil its constitutional mandate while officiating at a pass-out parade of correctional officers at Ntabazinduna Training School.
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Parole is the conditional release of prisoners before they complete their sentences. The new Act has provision for the establishment of the State Parole Board and sets conditions for early release from prison.
Zimbabwe to Introduce Parole System
The system needs ways of measuring how each prisoner considered for parole would have met the required conditions.
An inmate can be released through a decision made by the President, the State Parole Board, the Commissioner General of Prisons, or the Minister responsible for Prisons and Correctional Services.
The State Parole Board is authorised to release inmates on day parole.
Some of the considerations for granting parole include whether an inmate has displayed meritorious conduct, self-discipline, responsibility and was industrious while in prison.
Persons to be released early must not present undue risk to society when on parole, and their release must contribute to the rehabilitation and reintegration of the inmates into society as law-abiding citizens.
