Report of the Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services on Visit to
Lindelani Place of Safety in Stellenbosch on 19 October 2004:
The
Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services, having undertaken an oversight
visit to
A.
Introduction
The
The
facility was established in 1991 as a facility providing accommodation to
children in need of care (for example, due to abuse in the home environment) in
terms of the Child Care Act. However,
since 1996 its mandate has changed to provide accommodation for awaiting trial
children placed in terms of the Criminal Procedure Act.
B.
Delegation
The
following members of the Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services visited
the
a Mr.
D Bloem (Chairperson)
b Ms.
LS Chikunga
c
d Mr
S Mahote
e Mr
MS Moatshe
f Mr
MJ Phala
g Mr
LJ Tolo
h Mr
CM Morkel
Objectives of the
visit
The objectives of the visits were to:
a Investigate
problems and conditions within alternative institutions to prisons for children
awaiting trial.
b Focus
on key areas of concern to the Committee including provision of education and
training programmes, rehabilitation initiatives and the existence of gangs.
Findings
The following are the findings of the
Committee in respect of the
1. Offender
Statistics
Lindelani
has the capacity to accommodate approximately 60 children between the ages of 8
and 14 years. The majority of the
children stay at Lindelani for less than 3 months. However, a few children may stay for longer
than 6 months and one child has been in Lindelani for over a year while
awaiting trial.
Key issues and problems:
a Many
of the children do not receive visits from their parents as they come from all
over the Western Cape and sometimes their parents cannot afford to travel to
see them. In some cases, the parents
have not been traced as some of the children were living on the streets.
b A
concern was raised by a member of staff that the separation of children in
terms of age groups is not happening adequately and thus 8 year olds are kept with
12 year olds in the same sleeping quarters.
2. Education,
Training and Recreation
Schooling
is compulsory and all of the children at Lindelani go to school on the
premises. The children are grouped
according to their competencies on four different levels ranging from Grade R
to Grade 8. Many of the children are
illiterate and have received no prior formal schooling. There are 6 teachers who provide education
and training in the following areas:
a Afrikaans
b Numeracy
and mathematical skills
c Xhosa
d Life
orientation
e English
f Arts
and crafts
g Cane
work
h Leatherwork
i Cooking
skills
j Computer
literacy
All
children attend school in groups at different time slots throughout the day for
about 2 hours in total a day. There are
only about 5 or 6 children in a class, which allows the teacher to give each
child sufficient attention.
Key issues and problems:
Educators
used to be provided and managed by the Department of Education, but this has
recently changed and now they will be accountable to the Department of Social
Development. The implications of this
change are still uncertain. In terms of recreation, it was stated that the
children are mostly confined to their dormitories. They do have the opportunity to play soccer
outside when the weather is good. While
there is an existing covered courtyard area, the floors are not level and it is
thus dangerous for the children to play in this area. The management expressed the desire for a
swimming pool for the children.
3. Care
Lindelani
has the following professional staff available for care service to the
children:
a 2
occupational therapists.
b 3
social workers, of whom 1 is on contract.
c 42
child care workers and 2 child care contract workers.
The
facility offers 24-hour nursing care.
Children are referred to Stellenbosch hospital when they require
hospital care. A number of doctors are
on call to the facility when their services are required. Children who have been identified as having
extreme psychological problems are referred to an external psychologist.
Key issues and problems:
a The
social workers develop an Individual Development Plan and longer term Care Plan
for children when they enter and leave the institution. However, sometimes the Care Plan is not
implemented by external role-players when the child leaves the institution
because of, for example, a shortage of space in recommended facilities (such as
reform schools).
b A
concern was raised that some of the care workers were not adequately equipped
to care effectively for the children, even though they have all had some
training in this regard. The planned
establishment makes provision for 48 care workers but only 42 have been
appointed. This means that at times
there is only 1 care worker on duty in a dormitory for 20 children when 3 are
required.
4. Security
The
child care workers provide security within the premises. External and perimeter security is outsourced
to a private company. Three external
staff members are on duty at any one time.
The
rooms where the children sleep are never locked, enabling the child care
workers to keep an eye on activities in the rooms at all times. There are meant
to be 3 child care workers on duty at any one time in the living areas.
Key issues and problems:
a The
security fence around the perimeter is flimsy and it is very easy for the
children to escape from the institution. The Department of Social Development
has stated that there will be no funding for facility repairs during this
financial year.
b The
rate of escape is high. Most escapes
occur when the children are going to or coming back from school as the school
is a short distance away from the sleeping facilities. Escapes also occur when the children are
taken on outings. In one month alone, 17
children absconded from Lindelani of whom only 12 were returned or came back to
the institution. It was stated that a
number of children leave Lindelani to procure drugs.
5. Gangs
and drugs
Many
of the children who come to Lindelani use hard drugs such as Tik and Mandrax
even though they are very young. The
need to procure money to buy drugs was cited as a reason by many of the
children for their crimes. Some of the
children stated that they do not have access to drugs within the institution
but that they do have access to twak (tobacco).
Prison-aligned
gangs such as the 26s and 28s exist within the institution. The management of the institution explained
that the children come from communities in which the gang culture is rife and
they bring this culture into the institution when they arrive. In addition, even though Lindelani is not a
prison but a place of safety, the children do not differentiate it in that
way. Thus prison gangs as part of prison
culture exist in Lindelani too. Rapes do
occur within the institution.
Key issues and problems:
a The
management states that one of the reasons for the high rate of escape is that
the children want to go outside to procure drugs.
b It
is a concern that rapes occur within this facility amongst children of very
young ages.
6. Policy
and legislation
The
child care system in currently in a transitional phase. The Department of Social Development is in
the process of review in order to identify needs and the most effective ways of
addressing these needs in terms of the provision of State facilities. A policy framework will be developed by
November 2004 and by December 2004 the review process should be completed. From June 2005, the implementation phase,
together with staff of the institutions, will begin.
Key problems and issues
a While
the review process is underway, financial decisions, particularly with regard
to the upgrade of facilities, has been put on hold. In addition, institutions, including
Lindelani, are in a state of flux and staff are unsure about the future of the
institution.
b The
social worker at Lindelani stated that contrary to Section 29 of the Correctional
Services Act, No 8 of 1959[1] which states that
children awaiting trial must be brought to court every 2 weeks, lately there
have been many postponements and this is occurring only on a monthly
basis.
c The
social worker at Lindelani stated that there are problems around the legal
representation of children, particularly in terms of the Legal Aid Board.
Lindelani is taking measures to address this situation by faxing letters to the
prosecutors asking for details of the lawyers attached to each case.
Recommendations
The Portfolio Committee on Correctional
Services makes the following recommendations:
a The
facilities at Lindelani seem much better and more conducive to rehabilitation
than those that the Department of Correctional Services can afford to offer to
children. However, it is painful for the
Committee to see such young children locked up in an institution. The Committee encourages the speedy
finalisation and implementation of the Child Justice Bill and looks forward to
the implementation of the spirit of the Bill that requires that all alternative
measures be explored before placing a young child in an institution while awaiting
trial.
b The
Committee identifies the lack of involvement by parents as a key concern. All
efforts should be made to:
·
Facilitate
access of parents to their children by, for example, ensuring that parents are
located and know where their children are and assisting parents with transport
costs to visit their children when they cannot afford to do so. The involvement of parents is a cornerstone
to effective rehabilitation.
·
Hold
parents responsible for their children. The location of parents by family
finders has been identified as a problem by the Committee. Where family finders stationed at the courts
are unable to do so, all efforts must be made by other role-players such as the
prison or place of safety staff to ensure that parents are located. Where parents are in a position to do so, they
must be encouraged to take responsibility for the care and well-being of their
children and be provided with the support and tools to do so.
c The
Committee recognises the value of a review of the child care system and the
need for long term planning. However, in
the light of the high number of escapes at Lindelani, it is recommended that
the Department of Social Development and the Department of Public Works take
immediate measures to improve the perimeter fencing around the institution to
reduce the chance of escape. The fact
that many children who abscond do not return to the facility is a concern. In addition, it was reported to the Committee
that decisions regarding the care of children are made by the management, with
the idea that there is a high chance that these children will escape. For example, poor quality clothing and shoes
(which last for a very short time and require constant replacement) are bought
for the children because the management does not want to spend too much money
on these items, which often disappear when the children abscond. It thus makes financial sense to the
Committee that the fencing problem be addressed as a matter of urgency or other
security measures be put in place to reduce escapes.
d The
lack of facilities such as reform schools has been identified as a central
concern by the management of Lindelani.
Social workers recommend the placement of sentenced children in reform
schools but due to the shortage of space at these schools, children often have
to wait for long periods of time before these become available. In the interim they may be returned to their
communities and may commit additional crimes.
The Committee recommends that sufficient facilities, such as reform
schools, be provided by the Department of Education.
e In
addition, the Committee recommends that more efforts are made by the
role-players in the relevant departments to coordinate efforts with regard to
children in need. This includes, the
police, correctional services, justice, social workers and education. Failure to coordinate may have important
consequences for the child. It is the
responsibility of all the departments to ensure that together they develop
implementable strategies and ensure sufficient facilities to ensure that the
rehabilitation of a child in trouble with the law is prioritised.
f Cases
against children must be prioritised and finalised as soon as possible to
ensure that they spend as little time as possible in an institution while
awaiting trial. The law stating that a child must appear before the magistrate
every 2 weeks must be implemented effectively.
g The
Committee will call the Legal Aid Board to account for problems that have been
identified in terms of the allocation of lawyers to children who require these
services.
The
Committee will also submit a report on the findings and conditions at Lindelani
to the Department of Social Development.
Report to be considered.