Dear Members of the Portfolio Committee: Draft White Paper on Corrections in South Africa, December 2003

Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to comment on the Draft White Paper on Corrections in South Africa, December 2003.

Based on research that has been conducted in 2001 and 2002, focusing on, "An examination of South African Correctional Services' policy with respect to children living with their mothers in prison: with specific reference to Pollsmoor Prison" (Alley, D., 2001, 2002), input will be given. In addition, the focus on children and women prison was a former initiative of the Centre for Conflict Resolution's Prisons Transformation Programme, which was at the time, under the banner of the Youth Programme.

To this end, we wish to make the following contributions to the Draft White Paper on Corrections in South Africa, December 2003, under the categories, "Women Offenders with babies/ children, i.e. 12.4; 12.4.1; 12.4.2; and 12.4.3" .

• Firstly, comments on these categories will be outlined by making recommendations to the Draft White Paper. The comments that are made in "italics", indicate the specific additions that we wish to include as outlined in the draft white paper; and
• Secondly, a more detailed summary and explanation is given with regards to the recommendations made in this document.

In reality the situation of women prisoners is very different from that of male prisoners and particular attention should be given to the situation of women. The majority of women who are sent to prison, have frequently suffered physical or sexual abuse. In most societies women have the primary responsibility to the family. They are in most cases the sole carer for their children and family. Thus to maintain this important contact between mother and child, needs sensitive consideration on the part of the Corrections and justice system. Due to the defaults and anomalies of our social and economic architecture, the Department of Correctional Services is faced with an enormous task and that is to change the lives of those who have erred.

How can the above addition be practically implemented?

• Step One:

Prior to the accused entering the Correctional Services' System or Prison -
Police may need to consider the following:-

- The police should make use of their powers to release arrested mothers on bail, so that they do not need to have their babies and young children in prison. Police should, "at their discretion", endeavour not to send mothers with children to prison for certain offences such as petty crime or theft, by making use of the Criminal Procedures Act No. 51, Section 59 as their guide. It is important to remember that these are women with children and they cannot run away. Police should use their discretion and release petty offenders on their own cognisance.

The following typology outlines the general crimes and offences committed by female offenders in South Africa's prisons. This is outlined as per province based on the nine provinces of South Africa. This information may be deemed necessary when ascertaining whether mothers may be able to serve their sentence under supervision away from a correctional centre in their own home. The table further outlines the high incidences of economic crime with a total of 1412 committed by women in South Africa. A report of the Academic Social Security Research Unit of the University of Cape Town's Children's Institute, (2001-2002) highlights that poverty, unemployment and inequality in South Africa has increased. They say the following: "Various studies have found childhood poverty rates to be as high as 60 to 70%, with 20% of children suffering from stunting due to malnutrition, and 30% residing in households with food insecurity... Not only is there a dire need for social security provisioning, there are also the State's obligations, as defined within the national and international legislative frameworks to which South Africa subscribes, which call for efforts to ensure the basic rights and standards of living for children, as well as basic social security benefits for the family and child" (University of Cape Town's Children's Institute, 2001-2002).

These audited statistics were provided by the office of Inspecting Judge Fagan, dated February 2003.

According to a report by Judge Fagan, the Inspecting Judge of Prisons Judicial Inspectorate of Prisons, during the period October 31, 2002, there were 1 174 unsentenced females in South African prisons.

• Step Two:

Prior to the accused entering the Correctional System or Prison - Prosecutors may need to consider the following:-

-Prosecutors of the Justice Systems should make use of admission of guilt and payment fines that are manageable for the accused, and bail amounts should be more affordable.

-Prosecutors should consider pre-trial diversion such as plea bargaining, affordable bail, electronic monitoring and diversion programmes offered by non-governmental organisations such as the National Institute for Crime Prevention and the Rehabilitation of Offenders (NICRO).

- Prosecutors and magistrates should at best try and keep women with children and those who are pregnant out of the Correctional System altogether and to look at other options.

-Furthermore, magistrates need to steer away from long sentences. Is it necessary to have a mother in prison with her child who has an offence of housebreaking with a sentence period of four years?

-If it is a serious offence, and diversion is not an option, magistrates should try once again to give the mother affordable bail. The Criminal Procedures Act 51 of 1977 outlines all the procedures. More use should be made of this.

The Department of Corrections should work more closely with the Police and the Prosecutors of the Justice Systems in order to make the above proposal possible. This view is further outlined in the Draft White Policy, December 2003, 6.2.2, where it indicates, "The Department's core business is rehabilitation through correction and human development in secure, safe and humane detention or in community-based correctional supervision. This has an impact on the role that the DCS plays in both the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS) Cluster and the Social Sector Cluster of Integrated Governance. It also impacts on the role that these cluster departments play in relation to support of the Department of Correctional Services' mandate. within the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS), the Department must take its place as a key component of the integrated justice system, and correct the practice, which has been to treat Correctional Services as the other side of the fence in the criminal justice system". This intervention would make the following proposed "step three" unnecessary in many instances. This will also serve to benefit not only the women with babies and children in prison - but impact squarely on addressing the over-crowding factor in our prisons in South Africa.

• Step Three:

On Accused entering the Correctional System or Prison - Commissioners may need to consider the following:-

-Commissioners and Heads of Prisons need to be imaginative and make use of the Criminal Procedure Act Section 63A No. 51 of 1977, where it indicates "the commissioner and heads of prison can on behalf of a prisoner who have committed certain non-violent offences, apply for release from prison".

-Community based sentences under correctional supervision should be seen as other alternatives instead of prison.

Inmate mothers should not be prohibited to undertake training courses or any form of development in prison due to unavailability of child minders.

Specific Recommendation to Category 12.4.3 - Mother and Child Units
"Mother and Child Units needs to accommodate not more than four inmate mothers with their babies/children in a communal cell; such units should have all the requirements that a nursing mother would normally require. Furthermore, prison staff working in the mother and child units need to be trained in child care, growth and development.

Based on research conducted, Mother and Child Units in South African prisons, are not doing justice and are not effective. The units are over-crowded, and the implementation in each prison differs. Prison staff try to, at best, make the environment of the inmate mothers conducive to and comfortable for children.

South African prisons do not have proper facilities to adequately provide for young children living with their mothers. The children spend the entire afternoon and night locked up in a cell with grown women, who sometimes have sexual relationships and very often smoke cigarettes and tobacco in the cells. It is anticipated that living in institutions such as prisons and being exposed to regular incidents of physical and verbal abuse between adults will have a negative effect on these young children and how they view themselves and their place in society. The admission of a mother with her infant to the Mother and Child Unit should not be viewed as a privilege for the mother. The needs of the infants should be regarded as first priority. Many of the women who are admitted to correctional centre/prisons may be from unstable family backgrounds. Some are very young. Others have been subjected to abuse. Helping a woman to form a warm and positive relationship with her child, as well as helping her to learn good child-care practices and to improve her self-esteem and confidence, will not only benefit the child, but may also mean that the woman herself is less likely to lapse into crime.

Similarly, it is crucial to understand that what seems to be a very comprehensive policy can not be adequately implemented in existing prisons in South Africa. Prisons were not built to accommodate babies and children. Prisons were designed and built to house prisoners. In some South African prisons, cells are converted into Mother and Baby Units to enable the facility to accommodate these mothers. In Diepkloof prison for example, a visit revealed that they had 12 female inmates in their Mother and Baby Unit, which was basically a communal cell. (Workshop: Babies Behind Bars, Diepkloof Prison, Johannesburg, South Africa, September 2002). All babies were younger than 12 months old. A nursery was made available for the older children who are housed in single cells with their mothers. The courtyard at the Diepkloof Prison was accessible to these children, but we cannot get away from the fact that the courtyard is enclosed by high walls with electric fencing above it. There is still a strong feeling of being restricted from the outside world.

In other South African prisons, for example, Heidelberg, East London, Port Elizabeth, Rustenburg and Nelspruit, female offenders are accommodated in male prisons, but separated from male prisoners due to the shortage of accommodation and the over-crowding factor.

"Créche facilities should be built outside of the walls of the prison.

The policy adequately addresses the type of infrastructure that is to be put in place, but this is not being implemented in practice. Correctional Services needs to ensure that prisons adhere to the principles outlined in their policy, where it indicates "Normalisation: The infant should be exposed to activities and opportunities which promote developmental needs from the perspective of normal development and their exposure to the 'normal' activities in a correctional centre/prison must be minimised". (Policy on Infants : Order 1, Chapter 21, 2002). To reach and to obtain "normalisation", emphasis need to be specifically placed on the building of outside créche facilities.

The policy of the South African Correctional Services has taken into account all the needs pertaining to the best interest of the child in prison, based on research conducted (Alley, D, 2001). However, due to a number of reasons, such as a shortage of staff and educare facilities outside prisons, South African Correctional Services' authorities have not been able to effectively implement legislation and policy relating to babies/children with their mothers in prison. Children are living in prisons in South Africa without being exposed to normal surroundings for example educare centres, playing in a park, or the outside environment without being restricted by steel-gates and bars. With all its best intentions, the South African prisons are unable to meet the needs of these children. Irrespective of the murals, fancy cots, little courtyards, stimulating toys, etc. that are available to assist in providing for the best interest of the child in prison, one cannot get away from the obvious issues. The child is restricted from the outside environment and soon becomes aware of its surroundings. Children conform to those surroundings. Research undertaken at the female section at Pollsmoor Prison and current assessment shows that, as children grow from infancy stage to 14 months, they are so institutionalised that they are able to recognise the sound of the keys used to lock and unlock their cells. They identify the warders and become aware of lock-up times; three and four year olds were unable to verbalise a basic sentence in their mother tongue. They are in an institution and one cannot argue otherwise (Alley, D, 2001). During the period 1999, the first groups of children were allowed access to the creche facility outside of the walls of the prison. These children were so severely traumatised that it was shocking to witness the severity of the damage that the prison environment had on them. For example, the children were afraid to walk on the grass; they marveled at cars passing by; birds; trees; the wind blowing against their face, etc.

There are no available human resources to support mothers and babies in prisons. Members (warders) are already overwhelmed by their daily tasks and do not have the time to take babies for walks in prams outside of the walls of the prison. South Africa does not have adequate resources to offer the best environment for mothers with children. There is also inconsistency in the implementation of the policy. Pollsmoor Prison is the only female prison that has a crèche outside of the prison walls, where children experience normal conditions.

The crèche at Pollsmoor Prison, initiated by the Centre for Conflict Resolution, was inaugurated on the 25^th May 1999, and currently has nine educare teachers, six of whom are inmates and two of whom are "outside" qualified educare teachers. The educare teachers were trained and certificated by Grassroots Educare Trust. To date, Grassroots have trained two groups of inmate educare teachers; two of whom were released and have set up their own day care facilities in their own community. This was an added benefit, since it provided them with income and an opportunity to move away from the cycle of violence and crime. The crèche at Pollsmoor Prison currently accommodates 46 children, seven of whom belong to female inmates. The remaining 39, are children of the members (warders). The crèche at Pollsmoor Prison staff is proud to indicate that it is the first to be built outside of a prison and also the first in South Africa where children of inmates and those of members (warders) attend the same crèche facility. In this way the facility is financially sustained. Since its inauguration, the crèche conducted two concerts in an effort to fund raise; both the members (warders) and inmate children participated. At the time, a building was identified for the créche at Pollsmoor Prison, which assisted greatly in the reduction of the costs in institutionalising the créche. The sustainability of the créche is made possible with a the monthly payments that the members (warders) make for their children's attendance at the créche. The children experience quality and a high level of education and are extremely well cared for. The facility embraces South Africa's democratic values and is represented of all race groups.

In conclusion, the Pollsmoor Prison case study that was undertaken, provides evidence on how a developmental programme for children in prison could alleviate the traumatic experiences that they face whilst being locked away from a normal environment. It is evident that it is possible to build similar structures such as the Pollsmoor Prison crèche in other provinces. Different levels of government, that is, national and provincial, could possibly benefit from this research, via input into their specific Correctional Services' policies. These policies could ultimately enhance implementation at the structural level in prisons, as in the case of Pollsmoor Prison (Alley, D., 2001, 2002). Other findings that the research has outlined that were not envisaged by the researcher at the time, was that the institutionalising of a crèche facility outside of the walls of the prison did not impact one-hundred percent positively on the children of inmates. This was depicted in the fact that the inmates children, being exposed to the outside world during the day and by late afternoon being locked up, impacted negatively, since they became boisterous. The children, in the age group of two years, in particular could not understand why their mothers could not take them out of the cell and why they needed to stay in the cell, (return to a prison cell and be locked up at 16h00 or alternatively 19h00). Over weekends, the crèche facility was closed and the children could again not leave the prison environment.

When looking at the ideal situation, Correctional Services may need to consider in time, to house inmate mothers with children in a transitional centre or half-way house. Former research conducted, outlines a carefully designed policy that could be used to address the harsh realities that children in prison experience (Alley, D., 2001, 2002) It explores the possibility of creating alternatives to prison for children and their incarcerated mothers; for example, the creating of transitional centres such as the Paramatta Centre in New South Wales, Australia.

Making the prison environment more conducive to inmate mothers and their children, is however, not enough should we want to address the current problems facing our society. We need to realise that the impact that incarceration has on inmates and children does not end once they are released from prison. It appears that when these mothers and their children return to their communities and their families, they often experience difficulties in their relationships. It appears as though the effects of prison makes it difficult to readjust to society and family life.

Our former President of South Africa, Dr Nelson Mandela, said the following based on his experiences in prison:

"Prison not only robs you of your freedom, it attempts to take away your identity.
Everyone wears a uniform, eats the same food, follows the same schedule. It is by
definition a purely authoritarian state that tolerates no independence and individuality. As
a freedom fighter, as a man, one must fight against the prison's attempt to rob one of
these qualities."

"Relationships are distorted, you are thrown into the most intimate contact with other
people, perhaps sharing cramped living quarters with them day and night and then they
are just whisked away. One can be in extraordinarily intimate circumstances with
someone for months, and then never see the person again. It is dehumanising, for it
forces one to adapt by becoming more self-contained and insulated."

"Visits from family are the cause of both joy and despair. The light moments in prison
could not make up for the low ones. Winnie was allowed to visit on a number of occasions
when I was in Pretoria and each time she brought Zenani, who was then beginning to walk
and talk. I would hold her and kiss her if the guards permitted, and towards the end of the
interview, hand her back to Winnie. As Winnie was saying goodbye, and the guards were
ushering them out, Zeni would often motion for me to come with them, and I could see
from her small puzzled face that she did not understand why I could not"
(Stern,V., 1998:107).

The Correctional Services and the Justice Systems need to adequately address the issues concerning sending mothers with children to prison. Alternatives, for example, whether the inmates can serve their sentence under house arrest, or possibly halfway-houses or transitional centres where female inmates with babies/children can be housed should be looked at. Centres built in areas such as New South Wales and the United States have had good success rates. The inmates need to be screened and assessed thoroughly to ascertain whether they will be able to live on such premises. Foster care should be the last resort and prison should not be an option for children at all.

The theories regarding attachment theory and the deprivation of maternal care are relevant for policy makers concerned with children of inmates who spend their early developmental years behind bars. Correctional Services' polices that indicates children are allowed to stay with their mothers in prison up to the age of two years and legislation indicates five years; need to take the effects that the deprivation of maternal care have on children. To understand the impact that prisons have on the lives of the children, it is important to remember that prisons are an artificial environment in which to rear children. Furthermore, the question to be asked is: how do children cope when their mothers are sent to prison? There have been many global debates that have centred on the psychological damage suffered by children who are living with their mothers in prison (Ainsworth, 1954). Some individuals, who support the arguments that children should not be taken away from their inmate mothers base their argument on research which suggests that children who are taken away from their mothers at an early age, display a range of emotional distress. (Ainsworth, 1954). Those arguing against babies living with their imprisoned mothers, believe that children should not be allowed to live in a prison and should be placed in foster-care homes or with relatives. If we allow children to live with their mothers in prison, we need to focus on how to improve prison conditions and the environment to fulfil the needs of these children. Prison policy needs to determine and incorporate what is best for these children. Unless our policies, practices and the implementation thereof, take into account the needs of children, we will be guilty of sentencing these children to a lifetime of trauma and problems resulting from spending their delicate formative years in prison. Scholars such as Bowlby, provide us with good evidence that a child's early experiences of being separated from their mother cause severe physiological distress and illnesses in their later years (Bowlby, 1951; 1973; 1977; 1988;). Much recent theories provide further evidence of the effects that children suffer because of being separated from their primary carer. Baunach., (1985)., illustrates in her theories how children could be accommodated in mother and baby units in prison rather than being removed from its mother. She focused on nursery care in prison; family units in the community; extended visiting; as well as parenting programmes. Baunach indicates that "for new-born babies, the development of a close, initial relationship between mother and child during the first year of life may overshadow the negative aspects of the prison environment". She also speculates considering the older child, an artificial child-friendly environment may influence the child's perception to the extent that they see imprisonment as not being bad. She also gives a brief overview that mothers have a vested interest in their children's well-being which can be exploited for rehabilitative means.

Discussing issues concerning the effects of having children in South African prisons with their inmate mothers, demands careful planning and implementation. Too often we implement programmes without considering the nature of the problem. We need to look at our population and the communities the inmates come from. The South African Correctional Services Department often focuses on staff capacity, funding, adequate beds, or other general issues that concern the prison facilities. According to the Correctional Services' policy on female offenders, the well-being of women is viewed as one of the most important structures and building blocks of society. The policy states that "bearing in mind the great contribution of women to the welfare of the family and the development of the society, the social significance of maternity and the role of the mother in the family and in the upbringing of children, the Department of Correctional Services is committed to taking all the appropriate measures to ensure the full development and advancement of women who find themselves in prison. This will include giving them the necessary self-confidence to develop and transform into responsible, caring citizens" (Correctional Services policy document: Offender Management, 2000).

Our point of departure should be towards best international practice. The problems facing children living in South African prisons, compared to other prisons in Australia, England, Wales and the United States could possibly guide South African Correctional Services' authorities and policy makers, when addressing issues concerning children in prison, in order to ascertain what constitutes the best international practices. Furthermore, the Pollsmoor Prison case study, could be seen as a best practice for South Africa.

If women are generally a low risk, the question is whether they need to be placed in prison with young children in the first place. From former research conducted, It appears that the best institutions for mothers and babies are those that try to ensure that the female inmate mother is in a better state and will be in a better position to care and provide for her child at the end of her sentence than she was at the beginning. This can be seen in the operations of the Parramatta Transitional Centre in Parramatta, New South Wales which provides a minimum security community-based facility. This facility's main aim is to prepare selected female inmates of New South Wales correctional centres for their post-release responsibilities in a safe, drug-and alcohol- free environment. The Centre is a pre-release half-way house for the female inmates. From this Centre the women go into the community for counselling, education, employment and recreation. The Centre serves as a bridge between corrections services and the community, by narrowing the gap and creating the possibilities for the women to reintegrate into society upon release from prison. The New South Wales Parramatta Centre is an impressive model, designed for rehabilitating mothers and babies. (Research Report, Alley, D., 2001,2002).

The Centre for Conflict Resolution wish to thank the Portfolio Committee for the opportunity for making these brief comments.

Dawn Alley

(A more detailed research report on, "children / babies and inmate mothers in prison" can be made available on request)