4.4 Bail applications/Unaffordable bail 4.4.1 In terms of section 63A of the Criminal Procedure Act, heads of correctional centres may apply for the amendment of bail conditions on account of prevailing prison conditions including whether the centre is overcrowded. The JICS reports that this provision is grossly under- utilised. Parliament had in the past been informed that heads of correctional centres stopped making use of this provision, because courts summarily turned down applications made in terms of it. 4.4.2 In 2010 the JCPS cluster reported that the category of inmates for whom the courts had not yet decided to grant bail stood at 37 865 at the end of May that year. This category placed enormous strain on the DCS, as it was impossible to divert them in terms of Sections 62 and 63 of the Criminal Procedure Act. The Committee is of the firm opinion that only when remand detention could be strongly motivated for, should it be opted for. 4.4.3 Judicial officers conceded that because the legislative provisions for bail were cumbersome, magistrates did not often take the time to determine whether the accused could afford the bail set, or whether it might be advisable to release them on a warning. The NPA representatives agreed that bail protocol should be revisited in order to simplify it.