Question:
A reader wants to know why, on rare occasions, some accused persons are declared as “dangerous criminals”.
Answer:
Introduction
Our reader’s question will best be answered by referring to the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein (“the SCA”) judgment in Petersen v The State (Case no 295/2021) [2023] ZASCA 26 dated 16 March 2023 (SCA) (hereinafter referred to as “the accused”), who was declared a “dangerous criminal” by the High Court in Cape Town.
Case law (Afrikaans: “regspraak”) (previous similar cases) in respect of this issue is rare (scarce/infrequent)! This is confirmed by the SCA in paragraph [7] of its judgment where the following is stated, namely –
“[7] Indeterminate sentences, as provided by sections 286A and 286B of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 (‘the CPA’), have seldom been imposed since the sections were promulgated on 1 November 1993. They were enacted to protect the public against extremely dangerous criminals. The Booysen Commission was established to inquire into the ‘Continued inclusion of psychopathy as a certifiable mental illness and the handling of psychopathy as a certifiable and other violent offenders’. It made recommendations regarding the handling and release of dangerous and violent offenders, including sex offenders. As a result of the Commission’s recommendations, sections 286A and 286B of the CPA were enacted*”.
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[This is only an extract of an article that is published in Servamus: December 2023. This article is available for purchase.]