The Portfolio Committee on Police has confirmed today that the DNA Act has to be amended. All clauses and sections applicable to the Convicted Offenders Bill (CO Bill) have been approved and the final approval is scheduled for next week before moving forward for Parliamentary approval.
Action Society is pleased with the progress made. “We believe that with all the different stakeholders joining us in criticising the postponement of the Portfolio Committee meeting last Friday, the message was clearly brought forward of how urgent it is to get this amendment of the Bill approved,” commented Ian Cameron, Director of Community Safety at Action Society.
“There is no time to drag feet on this. The longer it takes for this Bill to be amended, the more murderers and rapists get released without their DNA samples being taken. Thousands of cases could essentially be left unsolved because of this.”
Read more here: https://actionsociety.co.za/action-society-in-anticipation-until-co-bill-is-officially-adopted-next-week/