1.1 The Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services in most, if not all, of its oversight reports, highlights the impact overcrowding has on, amongst others, service delivery to inmates and conditions of incarceration. It consistently recommends that interventions should be made to mitigate the effects of overcrowding. The first such recommendations were made as far back as 2005, yet the reduction in the inmate population is miniscule. This report draws attention to the role the judiciary could play in reducing the inmate population.