Durban - Action Society welcomed the National Council of Provinces' (NCOP) adoption of the DNA Bill and appealed to President Cyril Ramaphosa to waste no time in signing the Bill into law.
Action Society, a non-profit civil rights organisation, said the NCOP adopted the Criminal Law (Forensic Procedures) Amendment Bill, better known as the DNA or CO (convicted offenders) Bill, without any amendments.
"President Ramaphosa must make haste in finally signing the DNA Bill into law. We are now just one step away from technically making South Africa a safer place against serial criminality," said director of community safety at Action Society, Ian Cameron.
The organisation said according to DNAforAfrica, 96 785 violent crime offenders have been released on parole since 2016 without submitting a DNA sample.
The organisation said the NCOP approval is the final approval step before it goes to the president.
“When passed, it will make it mandatory to take the buccal (DNA) samples of all arrested, charged or convicted persons in respect of certain offences listed in Schedule 8, as well as waiving the expired two years the police had to take samples of convicted detained offenders,” said Action Society.
The organisation said it took seven years to get the bill approved by the National Assembly and was finally introduced in August 2021 after it had threatened legal action.
“The delay led to thousands of arrested, charged or convicted Schedule 8 offenders being released from detention without capturing their buccal DNA samples. Action Society, Andrew Whitfield (DA MP), and DNAforAfrica were vital in pushing the Bill through the legal process,”said the organisation.
DNAforAfrica founder Dr Vanessa Lynch also welcomed the adoption of the bill by the NCOP.
Lynch said a DNA database supported by the government is one of the most powerful tools for identifying serial offenders.
She said allowing a convicted offender to be released without their DNA sample having been taken represents a lost opportunity to reduce the high rate of criminals re-offending in the country.
Passing the bill would give survivors of sexual violence more confidence in the criminal justice system in reporting crimes, she added
"If the system works effectively, many of the victims of serial murder and GBVF offenders will now see justice," said Cameron.
However, Cameron said they are aware of the immense DNA backlog the police face.
“(We) hope that passing this law will at least be a starting point to link arrested, charged or convicted persons with any previous crimes going forward," she said.