Members’ Recess Prison Visits: reportback

Meeting report

CORRECTIONAL SERVICES PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE
16 May 2005
MEMBERS’ RECESS PRISON VISITS: REPORTBACK

Chairperson:

Committee Programme

SUMMARY
The Committee met to discuss their Programme of Action. Members then provided reportbacks on recent visits to Correctional Centres during the constituency period and recommended improvements. The reports would be consolidated into one report and tabled and debated in the House. Shortages of staff and office space remained a problem in some facilities. Some facilities were made of corrugated iron and this made it easy for inmates to escape. Correctional Services officials in Grootvlei had complained of racism.

Some of the sentences passed by magistrates left very much to be desired. Magistrates were not willing to use their discretion when sentencing offenders and were ‘making criminals out of law-abiding citizens’. Overcrowding remained a problem in most Centres visited. The Minister of Correctional Services would soon release some of the awaiting trial inmates.

MINUTES

Committee Programme
The Chairperson presented the Committee’s programme and invited Members to propose any amendments. The programme was a guide and more items could be slotted in at any time should it become necessary. He said that Mr Selfe had suggested that the committee should also discuss a recent newspaper report on the fires that burnt part of the Pollsmoor Correctional Centre and a report on the new Parole Board.

Mr J Selfe (DA) was concerned that the Committee would not meet between 16 May and 31 May 2005. The briefing by the National Council of Corrections, scheduled for 10 June 2005, should not be limited to the status of inmates who had been sentenced to death but must also include other things that fell under the Council’s mandate. On the 27 April 2005 the Minister of Correctional Services made an announcement that there would be an early release of some inmates. It would be appropriate to have the Minister or the Department to come and give more information on the proposed release of inmates.

The Chairperson said that the two weeks break was due to the overall programme of Parliament and the Committee could not do anything about it. The Extended Public Committees were responsible for the long break. The Chairperson would communicate with the Minister to find out when he could be available to brief the Committee.

The Committee adopted the programmes with the suggested amendments.

Members’ visit reportbacks
The Chairperson said the reports would be combined into one comprehensive report that would be tabled and debated in the House.

Mr S Moatshe (ANC) said that he had visited the Atteridgeville Correctional Centre in Tshwane. The Correctional Centre was established as a satellite of Pretoria Central Correctional Centre. It was established as a temporary measure but would be upgraded to become a normal Correctional Centre. It had a capacity of 800 but was accommodating 1 118 inmates and was therefore overcrowded. It was made of corrugated iron and partitioned with hard boards. It accommodated people who were serving sentences ranging from three months to seven years. It was easy to escape from the Correctional Centre but fortunately nobody had so far escaped from it. There was gangsterism and sexual activity. The external area of the facility was not suitable for a facility that was accommodating people who were hardened criminals. The acting Head of the Correctional Centre had since been appointed in a full capacity.

He also visited the Odi Correctional Centre that was not so overcrowded. At some stages it had people who were still awaiting trials but those had since been moved to Pretoria Correctional Centre. There was no gangsterism and the officials were in full control of the Centre. The hospital seemed to be in good condition. One person had escaped from the facility in 2003 and this made it clear to the authorities that they were negligent at times. The inmate had phoned the Centre two days later and asked them to come and pick him up from his home. A person had been appointed to become the Head of the Centre. There was no major skills development in Odi Correctional Centre.

Ms S Rajbally (MF) asked if there were any rehabilitation centres in the two Correctional Centres mentioned thus far.

Mr Moatshe replied that there were no rehabilitation centres and there was also little in terms of skills development. Skills development was not extensive as he would have expected.

Mr Selfe said that he had visited St. Albans Medium B Correctional centre. The Centre was overcrowded. It had 1 400 inmates whereas its capacity was 923 inmates. The number had since been reduced due to the transfer of problematic inmates to other facilities. The staff were very professional and committed to their duties but were demoralised by a whole range of factors, including poor communication between the National Commissioner’s and the Correctional Centre. Junior administrative staff who had access to the intranet were frequently the first to know about the National Commissioner’s instructions. This undermined the management relationship. The seven-day staff establishment was being instituted in a haphazard manner and had led to resentment and unexplained shortages of staff. The facility had received graduates from colleges but graduates immediately went into in-serving training. They were therefore not available for employment. There were many vacancies and ‘acting positions’ The staff establishment of the authority dated back to the 1980s and did not take into account the new role of rehabilitating inmates or the increasing number of inmates. The facility was relatively old and the most significant problem was the shortage of space for both inmates and staff. The Acting Head of the Centre had to share an office with three other staff Members. When the office was being used for the Board of Parole hearing, she had to move out into the passage and work there. The facility was implementing the ‘bags policy’ but there was no place where visitors could leave their bags. There were no halls and people had to eat their meals inside overcrowded cells

There was a hospital that accommodated people from the whole of Eastern Cape province. There was a number of people who were suffering from HIV and the number of AIDS deaths was increasing exponentially. The hospital was relatively well run but there was no permanent doctor. The previous district surgeon was no longer available to serve the hospital. In many cases the inmates had to be transferred to Livingstone Hospital.

There was a large number of juveniles and gang violence. The largest gang Membership came from the youth. The Centre had to accommodate gangs in different cells to minimise fights. At one point they had to remove beds because inmates used beds to make sharp instruments to use as weapons. The management was doing the best it could to get everything under control.

He recommended that the communication and staff morale should be improved, the facility should be upgraded and the staff increased. The facility had a farm but could not employ more inmates to work there because of shortage of staff to supervise them. This had a negative impact on the rehabilitation of inmates.

Mr Selfe had also visited the C-Max in Kokstad and was impressed with what had been achieved there. It was less than half full because it accommodated inmates with long sentences. It was also faced with the shortage of staff. The average period that was being served by inmates was 50 years. Inmates were put through three phases. There was an induction phase where supervision and adherence to policies was very strict. Inmates spent 23 hours out of 24 hours in their cells. They were let out for ten minutes for a shower and one hour for exercise in a small courtyard. This phase normally lasted for three moths. There was a period of about two years in the second phase in which they started with rehabilitation programmes on one to one basis. They still spent 23 hours in their cells. During the third phase, the pre-transfer stage, they were allowed to go out more, eat together, exercise in bigger area and watch videos. The emphasis was on correcting offensive behaviour rather than rehabilitation. Any inmate who committed an offence during the stages was sent back to the first stage.

The facility was open in 2002 and was therefore fairly new. It was very clean, modern and electronically operated. There had been no escapes and it was unlikely that there would be any due to the high security in the facility. It was also experiencing shortages of staff. Kokstad had limited recreational facilities and most people were not prepared to work there. Accommodation for staff was also problematic and only a fraction of the staff could be accommodated in department housing. Some staffmembers were forced to pay R700-R1000 for single rooms in town and this was hitting their pockets very hard.

Mr Selfe also visited the Port Shepstone Correctional Centre that had a prefabricated structure and was also overcrowded. There was little that could prevent inmates from escaping. The management of the Centre had requested that attention should be given to fast tracking the building of a new facility.

Mr Seaton said that Kokstad had a problem in that there was no kitchen within the facility. Food was brought in from other prisons. This was not acceptable and should be sorted out. The construction of a proper facility in Port Shepstone would commence next year.


Mr Selfe said that the Correctional Centre did provide three meals per day as required. The Correctional Centre authorities insisted that the current arrangement was working well for them. There was relatively a small number of inmates who worked in the Centre.

The Chairperson said that the Committee should go and check if the Kokstad Correctional Centre was not experiencing problems due the absence of a kitchen.

Ms S Chikunga (ANC) said that staff normally did not take notes during briefings and consequently forgot what they were told. He asked if Mr Selfe had observed this during his visits.

Mr Selfe replied that people did not always take notes and sometimes heard only what they wanted to hear. The fact of the matter was that there was a problem. The moment somebody said that he or she did not hear something, it gave an opportunity for rumours to start circulating. Whatever communication efforts were in place should be doubled. Attention should be given to ensuring that there was a hierarchy of communication so that people hear things in the right sequence.

Ms W Makgate (ANC) said that she had visited the Zeerust Correctional Centre for females. The inmates would be transferred to Potchefstroom Correctional Centre. There was a shortage of doctors and nurses. Last year there was an escape of inmates and a doctor was held hostage. Doctors were now scared to work in the area. There was a small farm and the Centre had no kitchen. It was difficult to provide three meals per day. Some people who were still awaiting trail had been there since 2002. There was also a shortage of facilities for the disabled.

She also visited the Rooigrond Correctional Centre that was a maximum security facility for the former Republic of Bophuthatswana. It was not fit for human beings and also not suitable for the rehabilitation of offenders.

The Chairperson said that there was a person in the Centre who did not have legs. It was interesting to know who helped the person to take a bath or access other services in the facilities.

Mr L Tolo (ANC) reported that he had visited the female and youth sections in Thohoyandou, Limpopo province. Things were looking much better than last year. Overcrowding per cell had decreased. There was a woman who had a little baby in a cell. She was arrested for stealing a sunlight soap priced at R3, 50 and sentenced to prison. Another woman was sentenced to ten years imprisonment for robbing her boyfriend of R80. There was something wrong within the system. The City Press newspaper had reported that, at Thohoyandou Prison, a woman had been sentenced to 30 days in prison, with the option of a R500 fine, for stealing a bar of soap valued at R3.50. The problem was not confined to the Thohoyandou Correctional Centre. Traditional leaders could assist in solving such minor cases. The Committee should look at such issues because they were contributing towards overcrowding in correctional centres.

Mr S Mahote (ANC) said that any form of crime should be condemned. He asked how much the government was spending on accommodating and feeding a prisoner per day. He wondered if magistrates gave attention to alternative sentences when handing down the sentences. Most magistrates did not care about reducing the level of overcrowding in correctional centres. The woman in Thohoyandou could have been sentenced to community service. One was not saying that overcrowding should be reduced at all costs.

Ms W Direko (ANC) said that it seemed that some people were more important than others. The kind of sentences that were imposed to some people made one wonder if serious consideration was taken of personal circumstances of the offender.

Mr N Fihla (ANC) said that he, together with colleagues from the Justice and Constitutional Development and Safety and Security Committees, had organised a crime awareness campaign. They visited the Nelson Mandela University. The topic of the campaign was "Crime and Punishment". The panel answered various questions from students. It was critical for the community to understand the law and how it affected them. There were usually problems when a person was released on parole or correctional supervision.

Ms L Chikunga (ANC) visited the Middleberg Correctional Centre. It had a capacity of 337 inmates but was currently accommodating 439. The average rate of overcrowding was 114 and the highest number was 148 sentenced males who were still to be sentenced. It had 115 occupied posts and the ratio was one officer for 6 inmates. It had been identified as a centre of excellence. The issue of sick leave was causing some problems. People normally submitted doctor’s certificates if they had been absent from work for three days. This was resulting in absenteeism. To control this, a person was not expected to exceed ten days a year. The Centre had overspent on its budget due to overtime. The staff turnover was two for every two months and this was high.

Six disciplinary matters were instituted in 2004/05. Economic offences were very high and this was followed aggressive crimes. Gangsterism in the Centre was dormant because unit managers were always available to attend to problems before they got out of hand. There were people who had appeared 44 times before magistrates and their cases had still not been finalised. Some of the sentences imposed were very unreasonable. There was a lady who was imprisoned for public indecency. She was arrested while drunk and coming from party. She was sentenced to six months in imprison or a fine that was over R1000. There was a tone of racism from some magistrates and this was evident from some of the sentences that were passed.

70% of the inmates were accepted back by their families and communities. Lack of employment opportunities after release from prison was a major problem. Some people were unemployable because they were released before they could complete their training. A total of 151 people had been released on parole since October 2004 but no inmate had been released on parole on medical grounds. The Centre was doing well in terms of skills development.

With regard to the caring of inmates, there were two nurses who provided an eight hours service. Patients who required 24 hours service were normally transferred to Witbank hospital. There was also a doctor who visited the facility once a week. Mother-child care services were rendered by officials from the Department of Health who visited the Centre. There were 16 confirmed cases of HIV/AIDS. The issue of HIV/AIDS in the facility needed to be attended because officials were not clear on what they were supposed to do. Some nurses did not adhere to basic standards when rendering services. One would found medicines for eyes, nose and ears mixed together and this was a recipe for disaster. The facility served two meals per day instead of three.

A Member said that the justice cluster should sit down and discuss some of the issues raised in the reports.

Mr Mahote could not undertake any visit due to some other matters that he had to attend to.

Ms Direko said that she had received a call alleging that the police at Grootvlei Correctional Centre had murdered a boy. She made some enquiries and visited the Grootvlei Correctional Centre. The boy was still awaiting trial. The report on his death revealed that he was not assaulted. Apparently the boy just collapsed while sitting on his bed. The preliminary report showed some swelling in his brains and this was possibly caused by drugs. There were inmates who had been awaiting trial for more than two years. A warder was concerned that awaiting trial inmates spent too much time doing nothing. There were too many youth in detention awaiting trial for some time and none of them were white. The reason was that white social workers were very quick to ensure that any white boy was release from the centre within a day or two. This seemed to suggest that black youth belong in prison. There had been some movement towards releasing the youth since the visit. Offenders should be released into the hands of institutions like NICRO, child welfare and social workers so that they could be meaningfully reintegrated into the community.

The Department of Correctional Services was not to blame for overcrowding because it only carried out instructions passed by the judiciary.

The Chairperson said that he had visited seven Correctional Centres. The Zeerust Centre was a make shift facility and was not meant to house female inmates. It was meant to accommodate 18 people but currently had 32 inmates. It had one bath and one toilet and this was unacceptable. The Centre was not a maximum security facility and there was a woman who was serving 30 years. The inmates were in the process of being moved to Potchefstroom.

Officials in the Grootvlei Centre had raised the issue of racism. White boys normally spent a day or two before they were released.

Mr Bloem said that in Thohoyandou, a woman had been sentenced to four months in prison, with the option of a R2 000 fine, for stealing a deodorant worth R16. A woman was sentenced to six months in prison, without the option of a fine, for branding someone a witch. A woman was sentenced to six months in prison, without the option of a fine, for calling someone a lizard; a woman was sentenced to 30 days in prison, with the option of a R500 fine, for stealing a bar of soap valued at R3, 50; and a woman was sentenced to 30 days in prison, with the option of a R500 fine, for stealing 1kg of washing powder . Direct imprisonment for petty crimes was contributing to the problem of overcrowding in Correctional Centres and the Committee could stop overcrowding should it put its mind to it. Magistrates were not willing to use their discretion in sentencing offenders and where making criminals out of law-abiding citizens.

The Chairperson said that in Johannesburg there were three inmates who had been awaiting trial for three years and they still did not know when their cases would be finalised. It should be clear that the Committee was not condoning crime but justice must be done. The government was spending R114 per day on feeding a woman who had stolen soap. Such money could be used for other things like increasing the salaries of Correctional Services officials. The problem could be solved if discrepancies in relation to sentencing were exposed.

The Minister had announced that he would soon be releasing some inmates and the Committee would engage him on that soon. Not a single person had opposed the Minister’s intention. The real problem was people who were awaiting trial, could not afford bail or were imprisoned for petty crimes.

The Durban-Westville Centre had very big problems. The Committee would go there to see what was happening.

The Chairperson requested Members to forward written reports to the Committee clerk so that they could be consolidated into one comprehensive report.

The meeting was adjourned.