REPORT OF THE
PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON CORRECTIONAL SERVICES ON ITS 5 AND 6 AUGUST OVERSIGHT
VISITS TO POLLSMOOR AND MALMESBURY CORRECTIONAL CENTRES IN THE
1. Introduction
1.1 On 5 and 6 August 2009 a delegation of
the Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services undertook the Committee’s
first official site visits when it visited the Pollsmoor
and Malmesbury correctional centres in the
1.2. Most of
1.3 The report comprises an overview of
particularly the occupancy at the centres at the time of the visit, a number of
the Committee’s major observations as well as comments and recommendations. It
is important to note that more than anything the visits were aimed at giving
the Committee opportunity to acclimatise and get to know what the day-to-day
operation of a correctional facility involves, and the major challenges
impeding successful service delivery by the DCS. Much of what was observed
reflect challenges experienced in most centres across the country, and will
serve in giving direction to the Committee’s own oversight programme and
objectives for the coming four years.
2. Delegation
2.1 The delegation that visited Pollsmoor Correctional Centre on Wednesday, 5 August
comprised the following Members:
Mr V Smith (ANC)
(Chairperson), Ms W Ngwenya (ANC), Ms M Mdaka (ANC), Mr A Fritz (DA), Mr J Selfe
(DA) and Ms C Blaai (COPE).
2.2 The delegation that visited Malmesbury Correctional Centre on Thursday, 6 August
comprised the following Members:
Mr V
Smith (ANC) - Chairperson, Ms W Ngwenya (ANC), Ms M Mdaka (ANC), Mr A Fritz (DA) and Mr J Selfe
(DA).
3. Context
3.1 The Judicial Inspectorate for
Correctional Services (JICS) in its 2007/08 Annual Report identified a number
of challenges prevalent in
3.2 The centres identified for the
Committee’s first site visits were selected because they provided the
opportunity to contrast the old “Apartheid” style warehouse-type correctional
centres, and the newer more modern centres designed with the principles of unit
management in mind. Pollsmoor, the older of the two
centres was approximately 75% overcrowded at the time of the visit, and Members
experienced first hand how overcrowding impacted on the DCS’ service delivery
to inmates. The Medium A centre at Malmesbury on the
other hand is a Centre of Excellence (CoE) that at
the time of the visit was only overcrowded by 10 inmates and illustrated the
positive impact unit management had on the delivery of rehabilitation and
reintegration programmes, as well as on the maintenance of discipline and
security.
4. Pollsmoor Correctional Centre
4.1 The Pollsmoor
Management Area is situated in Tokai and comprises the following five centres:
Ø Admission
Centre, accommodating largely adult male remand awaiting-trial detainees, and
those offenders with further charges;
Ø Female
Centre is a Centre of Excellence (CoE) accommodating
female children, juvenile, adult unsentenced
(awaiting-trial) and sentenced offenders as well as pregnant women and mothers
with babies;
Ø Medium
A, accommodating male child and juvenile offenders as well as those juveniles
with further charges;
Ø Medium
B, accommodating male sentenced offenders and those with further charges; and
Ø Medium
C, the pre-release centre accommodating those male offenders who will be
released/paroled within the next two years [not visited by the delegation].
4.2 The Pollsmoor
management area can accommodate a total of 4 336 inmates, but on 3 August
housed 7 525, 4 892 of whom were remand detainees.
5. Malmesbury
Correctional Centre
5.1 The Malmesbury
correctional centres visited fall within the West Coast Management Area and are
situated in Malmesbury, approximately 65km outside of
Ø
Medium A, which is a Centre of Excellence (CoE) accommodating only male sentenced offenders; and
Ø
Medium B, accommodating male remand
detainees.
5.2. The Medium A centre started operating in
1997 and was designed in accordance with unit management principles. It
comprises amongst others an admission centre, six housing units (cell blocks),
a hospital unit, a pre-release unit, textile workshops, sports fields and
classrooms. The Medium B centre, a much older structure, was 213% overcrowded
at the time of the visit. It has none of the facilities available at the Medium
A centre and the remand detainees housed there spend
most of their time in the grossly overcrowded cells. The Medium A centre,
designed to house 1 338, housed 1 348 sentenced offenders at the time of the
visit, while the Medium B centre designed for 175, housed 382 remand detainees.
6. Observations
6.1 Pollsmoor
Correctional Centre
6.1.1 The Admission Centre, housing male remand
detainees was grossly overcrowded with one of the cells visited sleeping 80
despite having been designed to accommodate 35. The Centre can accommodate 1
619 detainees, but on 3 August 2009 housed 4 200. The conditions are unhygienic
and unhealthy with detainees spending most of their day in the cells, sharing
not only the single shower and toilet per cell, but many also sharing beds.
6.1.2
At the time of the visit, the Medium A
centre housed 45 unsentenced and 12 sentenced male
child offenders, and the Female Centre housed 5 unsentenced
and 1 sentenced female child offender, aged 15.
Children are accommodated separately from the juvenile and adult population.
Many of the child and juvenile remand detainees have been sentenced for petty
crimes but their parents or guardians either refuse or are unable to pay the
small bail amounts or fines that have been set for them. Some children were
serving sentences as short as 5 days, and the process of tracing their
addresses often took too much time for it to be a pointless exercise. Where it
is not possible to trace their parents or the children refuse to provide
physical addresses, the DCS has no choice but to detain them. While much is
done to ensure that they are placed in the Department of Social Development -
managed secure care centres, placement is not always possible as these
facilities also have limited bed space.
6.1.3
Only 291 of the 1 246 male juveniles had
been sentenced, and 742 of the 955 unsentenced male
juveniles had no bail for various reasons including that they were flight
risks, had committed serious crimes and were repeat offenders. The female
section accommodated 64 juveniles, of whom 39 were unsentenced.
As with the adult remand detainees, the unsentenced
juvenile detainees did not participate in any educational, development or work
programmes. Alarmingly 183 of the male juveniles had bail of less than R 1 000,
and only one had bail of more than R2 000. Although the Committee is pleased
that through a number of interventions introduced since Parliament’s last visit
in October 2007 the figures have been reduced by 15.39%, the number of
juveniles still remained too high.
6.1.4
At the time of the visit one foreign
national was being detained after having been arrested for not having the
necessary travel permits. Pollsmoor had no facilities
to detain foreign nationals awaiting repatriation and such individuals are
detained with other awaiting-trial detainees. The region transports illegal
immigrants to the Lindelani repatriation centre in
6.1.5
The
Committee found that the hospital section was well equipped and fairly well
managed. At the time of the visit 58 sentenced offenders and 35 remand
detainees were being hospitalised. Two wheel-chair bound sentenced offenders
were permanently accommodated in this section. Inmates with multi-drug
resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB) were admitted to an isolation ward. Some of the
inmates hospitalised were ill enough not to pose a threat to society and could
have been conditionally released to the care of a hospice or their families.
Detaining someone who was wheelchair-bound or so ill he or she could not
function was contrary to the principles of humane detention. The Committee
acknowledges that the cost of hospice care and the fact that many of the
offenders’ families are so poor they are unable to care for their ill
relatives, makes conditional release nearly impossible.
6.1.6
Officials informed the delegation that
sexual violence and gangsterism was particularly
prevalent in the overcrowded Admission and Medium A centres, but that it was
under-reported. The area did have a comprehensive anti-gang strategy but the
challenge persists. Upon admission offenders are made aware of the dangers of
joining prison gangs, but the fact that many offenders are already gang members
upon their incarceration makes it difficult to prevent their gang activity.
6.1.7
Nutrition services at the centre are
outsourced and the kitchen appeared to be well run and hygienic. In line with
the legal requirements, inmates received 3 nutritionally-balanced meals a day.
6.1.8
Both sentenced male and female offenders
can elect to take part in education and/or work programmes. Providing
programmes to remand detainees was not possible as they were not sentenced, and
could be released at any time, making participation and completion of courses
difficult. All offenders can participate in work programmes provided they met
certain requirements, and depending on their security classification and
willingness, but some complained of being arbitrarily prohibited from working.
These complaints were disputed but the centre management nevertheless undertook
to follow them up. Overcrowding, staff shortage, inadequate facilities and an
inadequate budget impacted on the delivery of work programmes. It was envisaged
that once the Department has fully converted from a 5 day to a 7 day work week,
more staff would be available and that more work programmes would then be
rolled out to inmates.
6.1.9
The management of the centre complained
that many offenders were not willing to attend educational programmes and could
not be forced to do so. The Department of Labour (DOL) provided funds for
programmes, but because offenders needed to have ID numbers to participate,
many refused for fear that should they apply for identity documents,
they would be linked to other crimes. The roll out of educational programmes
was also limited due to the lack of facilities and shortage of teachers.
6.1.10 In the
female section many offenders complained of not having been visited by their
families. This was reported to be a challenge across all of the Pollsmoor centres and was the result of “an administrative
bottleneck” that prevented visitations.
6.1.11 Of the
166 remand detainees in the female section for whom no bail had been set, 80%
were repeat offenders. The vast majority of women spoken to had committed theft
or fraud.
6.1.12 At the
time of the visit Pollsmoor accommodated 8 women with
babies: 1 remand detainee accused of murder and with no bail, and 7 sentenced
offenders, most having committed economic crimes. There were also 9 pregnant
offenders: 2 sentenced and 7 remand detainees, one with bail of only R200 which
she was unable to raise. The youngest baby at the centre was 7 weeks old, and
the oldest 14 months. At least two of the women were repeat offenders who felt
that they had no choice but to steal in order to provide for their children and
families. While the women agreed that being raised in prison had adverse
effects on their babies, none of them felt able to release their children to
the care of their families who were in economic dire straits already, and were
not willing to have their babies fostered until their release. While all
mothers with babies were accommodated in single cells, the state of the cells
was a matter of concern. As lock-up time was at 14h30, mothers and babies are
confined to their tiny cells for much of the day.
6.1.13 Some offenders
in the female section had complained of searching being done in a manner that
violates their rights. Centre management explained that searching was done in
line with what was prescribed by the legislation. Thorough searching of
offenders returning from court is vital as contraband is often smuggled into
the Centre via offenders who had spent the day at court waiting to have their
cases heard, giving them ample opportunity to interact with other members of
the public as well as other offenders.
6.1.14 The Committee is pleased that efforts are
underway to upgrade the Pollsmoor Correctional Centre
and hopes that this will result in improved security and delivery of services
to offenders. In addition three new generation correctional centres are due for
completion within the next year: Vanrynsdorp (April
2010), Brandvlei (July/August 2010), Ceres
(July/August 2010). These centres that are being built in accordance with unit
management principles will create 2 000 additional bed spaces in the area.
6.2 Malmesbury
Correctional Centre
6.2.1 The Committee was impressed by the
pre-release centre where offenders are accommodated prior to their release and
where they attend a number of programmes aimed at facilitating their
reintegration into society. These included work programmes, weekend parole and
day-orientation programmes. A restorative justice programme run by a local
religious leader and a social worker assists with reconciling victims and
offenders.
6.2.2 Educational programmes are run in small
groups designed for maximum success. Although a total of 375 offenders had
enrolled for the various educational programmes at the start of 2009, that
number had been reduced to 266 due to gangsterism,
loss of interest and offender transfers to other centres. The Centre currently
employs 4 teachers and 8 custodial staff who are also
trained teachers, but who have had no success in having their status
transferred to that of teachers. At the moment there are 5 vacancies and the
shortage of teachers has resulted in the Centre not being able to implement the
new curriculum. The management of the Centre explained that the moratorium on
appointments affected teachers too and that until that was lifted the DCS will
not be able to appoint more educationalists.
6.2.3 The Centre had both a textile and a
production workshop. The textile workshop provided centres across the country
with prison uniforms. Offenders also received training in basic occupational
skills such as cabinet-making. The activity of the workshops depends on the
demand for the products and if centres in other management areas do not place
orders, activity at the workshops is affected. Offenders received a very small
gratuity for their participation in work programmes.
6.2.4 The management area has received
approximately R5,5 million from the DOL to train
offenders in various courses aimed at increasing their employability upon
release. Despite the availability of funds the DCS’ implementation of such
programmes is hampered by its difficulty to attract and retain artisans.
Officials indicated that as was the case across the country the management area
has difficulty filling their artisan vacancies. Artisans fell outside the
occupational specific dispensation (OSD) for engineers and it was hoped that
when the OSD for artisans was finalised the situation would improve.
6.2.5 The area’s care programmes comprise social
work, psychological services, spiritual and moral development, health care and
HIV/AIDS programmes. Although the intention to roll these out and deliver them
is there, shortage of funds, particularly the very small allocation to the
development programme, was seriously impeding delivery.
6.2.6 The Medium B Centre was grossly
overcrowded. As was the case at Pollsmoor many of the
detainees complained of courts postponing cases and inadequate legal
representation. Some reported that although charges against them had been
withdrawn by the victims, some judges refused to withdraw their cases. As was
the case at Pollsmoor many of the detainees had bail
set, but were unable to afford it. While complaints from offenders were dealt
with internally, the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services also had
its role to play where complaints were lodged with them.
6.2.7 Both sentenced inmates and remand detainees
made allegations of assault, intimidation and torture against correctional
officials at the Centre. These were disputed and Members were assured that
while inmates might not always receive the kinds of responses to complaints
they wanted no assaults by officials were tolerated. The Committee nevertheless considers the allegations serious
enough to warrant further investigation by the DCS.
6.2.8 Offenders in the pre-release unit
complained of unfair treatment by officials and that certain offenders were
given special treatment, and allowed to stay in the pre-release centre although
they did not qualify for it. This allegation was disputed and the management of
the Centre explained that the inmates allegedly receiving preferential
treatment were in fact working at the Centre, have release dates but have been
rejected by their families and therefore have no fixed address to be released
to.
6.2.9 Unlike at Pollsmoor
where nutrition services were outsourced, the Malmesbury
correctional centres provided nutrition services and prepared food themselves.
Offenders complained that meals were not nutritious. Staff explained that as
they got their meat supply from local abattoirs, they could not always predict
the cuts of particularly red meat they would get.
7. Comments and Recommendations
7.1 Overcrowding
7.1.1 Much of the overcrowding observed at both
centres was due to large numbers of remand detainees, and the Committee is
aware that this is the case at correctional centres across the country. It is
clear that should remand detainees be removed from correctional centres
overcrowding would be radically reduced, leaving the DCS able to focus on the
implementation of its core mandate – the secure care and rehabilitation of
sentenced offenders. The Committee welcomes the interventions emanating from
the criminal justice review process and will have a series of interactions with
experts and stakeholders to better understand the causes of and possible
solutions to overcrowding. While it realises that much of the responsibility
for reducing the number of remand detainees lies with the judiciary, the
Committee emphasises that the DCS must impress the impact overcrowding has on
the delivery of rehabilitation programmes upon cluster partners, and should if
necessary take the lead in finding joint cluster solutions to the situation.
The Committee will closely monitor the conversion of the 11 centres earmarked
to become remand centres, and the DCS is to provide the Committee with regular
updates on the progress on this and other interventions.
7.1.2 The above-mentioned intervention must be
accompanied by increased efforts by the DCS to improve on its community
corrections system thus making it an attractive and feasible alternative
sentencing option. Increasing the use of non-custodial sentencing will not only
further reduce overcrowding, but will also spare those offenders who do not
pose a threat to society from the trauma of incarceration and, in the long run,
reduce recidivism.
7.2
Health
care
7.2.1
The Committee feels strongly that seriously
ill inmates should not be incarcerated, not only because it is inhumane, but
also because detaining inmates who, due to their medical conditions could not
possibly pose a threat to society comes at a huge cost to the state. Where
possible those inmates who are seriously ill should be conditionally released
to hospices and the DCS should increase efforts to build partnerships in this
regard. The Committee welcomes the intended review of the medical parole system,
and hopes that it will bring relief to seriously ill inmates too, and not only
those who are terminally ill.
7.2.2
The Committee is very concerned about the
spread of communicable diseases such as TB among offenders and remand detainees
accommodated in extremely overcrowded cells. Extra special care should be taken
to prevent the spread of such diseases, and infected offenders and detainees
should be isolated from the healthy population until there is no further risk
of contamination.
7.2.3
Many of the inmates complained that they
were sometimes denied medical care and were at times not referred to a medical
professional when they reported that they needed medical attention. The
relevant legislative provisions and policies regarding care of inmates should
be adhered to at all times and offenders who request medical care or lodge
complaints during the daily requests and complaints roll call should be
assisted.
7.3 Education
and development programmes
7.3.1 The Committee was most concerned that
because remand detainees were not sentenced offenders, they could not
participate in school and development programmes. While the Committee
acknowledges the difficulty in coordinating such programmes for a population
that is constantly in flux, it hopes that the recently constituted
interdepartmental task team headed by the DCS and charged with developing a
strategy for the care and treatment of remand detainees, will develop a
workable solution which will ensure that time spent in remand detention will be
spent much more productively.
7.3.2 Much more should be done to ensure that
more offenders sign up for education and skills development programmes. The
Committee acknowledges the limitations placed on the DCS by the teacher and
trainer shortage, and feels that innovative solutions should be found to ensure
that the necessary skills are attracted and retained. Where possible existing
partnerships with other departments and non-governmental organisations (NGO)
should be strengthened and new ones forged to ensure delivery of these important
development programmes.
7.3.3
As stated in the Committee’s report on the
DCS 2009/10 budget, the funds allocated to the care and development programmes
do not speak to the DCS rehabilitation and reintegration goals. More funds
should be allocated to such programmes, and strategic partnerships should be
made with NGOs and other experts to ensure greater delivery on programmes aimed
at providing offenders with the skills necessary to get employment or better
still become self-employed.
7.4 Women
with babies
7.4.1 The 2008 amendments to the Correctional
Services legislation provides that babies will be allowed to stay with the
mothers until they are 2 years old, and thus considered old enough to be
separated from their mothers. While the lowering of the age from 5 to 2 years
is welcomed, the Committee believes that further research on the impact of
incarceration on very young children should be conducted and if necessary
stricter guidelines should be developed for their care. Pending the outcome of
such studies mothers and their babies should as far as possible be accommodated
in facilities that are as near normal as possible to ensure that the negative
impact on babies’ socialisation is kept to the bare minimum.
7.5 Undocumented foreign nationals
7.5.1 The Committee recommends that greater
effort be made to ensure that undocumented foreigners are transported to
repatriation centres more regularly, or if that is not possible, they be
detained separately from remand detainees until they can be taken to
repatriation centres. If necessary the DCS should consult with the Department
of Home Affairs to ascertain how the current system can be improved to ensure
that undocumented foreigners are not unduly exposed to the trauma of
incarceration and are assisted so that they can receive the necessary services
as soon as possible.
7.6 Inmate
labour and privileges
7.6.1 More
inmates should be involved in productive activities for the greater part of the
day. The Committee recognises that the legislation currently places certain
limitations on the DCS as far as its ability to enforce participation in work
programmes and educational programmes, and recommends that future reviews of
the legislation consider these sections carefully to ensure greater productivity
on the part of offenders. Increased inmate productivity will not only be of
value for their rehabilitation and reduce idleness but will also assist the DCS
in becoming more self-sufficient.
7.6.2 The Committee feels strongly that
privileges should be well monitored and should only be granted as part of a
reward system for good behaviour and possibly participation in educational and
development programmes.
7.5 Social re-integration
7.5.1 Successful reintegration is vital to
prevent recidivism and is dependant on a number of factors including the
success of rehabilitation and care programmes, the experience an offender has
in prison, the effectiveness of the parole and community corrections system and
most importantly society’s willingness to accept ex-offenders upon their
release. All offenders met during the visits complained of the stigma attached
to having been incarcerated. Many feel that taking part in work programmes and
skills development programmes is of no use, if upon their release, the fact
that they had been in prison is held against them and they are unable to secure
employment. More should be done to raise awareness among the general public
around social reintegration efforts. Both the public and private sectors should
be engaged and dissuaded from discriminating against a person who had committed
a crime and had served his sentence for it. Continued stigmatisation leads to
isolation and eventually recidivism thus continuing the cycle of crime.
7.5.2 Inmates should be encouraged to maintain
contact with their families while incarcerated so as to ensure that they have a
family support system upon their release. Such a support system is vital to
preventing recidivism. The administrative bottleneck limiting visitation at Pollsmoor Correctional Centre should be addressed as a
matter of urgency.
7.5.3 Offenders should be discouraged from having
their bodies tattooed, especially their faces, hands and arms. Many offenders
in both Malmesbury and Pollsmoor
correctional centres had elaborate tattoos on areas of their bodies that were visible and it is
feared that these ‘prison tattoos’ will further hamper reintegration.
7.6 Restorative Justice
7.6.1 Despite the acknowledgement in the White
Paper that restorative justice was vital to reducing and preventing recidivism,
many inmates complained of very little being done by parole boards and case
management committees to assist them to contact the victims or their families
in order to try and restore relationships. The White Paper envisages the State
as the intermediary in restorative justice efforts and victim involvement in
the parole process is one possible avenue of furthering those ideals.
7.7 Treatment
7.7.1 Internal processes for maintaining
discipline should never violate offenders’ human rights and should be
administered fairly, consistently and within the prescripts of the correctional
services legislation. It should not be administered arbitrarily and no one
should receive preferential treatment. Assault by officials was unacceptable
and such cases should be investigated and where necessary the appropriate
action should be taken.
7.8 Children
and Juvenile offenders
7.8.1 Children should be diverted or where there
is no other option detained in secure care centres designed especially for them
so that their specific needs can be met. While the Committee welcomes
interventions put in place to reduce the number of incarcerated children, there
remains a need for greater cooperation between the departments of Social
Development, Justice and Constitutional Development and Correctional Services.
7.9 Integrated and co-ordinated Justice
Cluster programmes
7.9.1 Far too many offenders and remand detainees
are incarcerated simply because they cannot afford bail amounts or fines set by
courts. Considering that it costs approximately R198 to accommodate an offender
for one day, detaining people with fines or bail amounts as little as R300 who
have committed petty crimes and do not pose a threat to society for any period
is scarcely justifiable. The DCS should ensure that heads of prisons make use
of section 63A of the Criminal Procure Act allowing them to apply to the court
for the release of suspects on a warning rather than bail, or to have their
bail conditions changed. The 2008 Cabinet-approved bail protocol was aimed at
further promoting the use of this provision, but unfortunately it appears still
to be under-utilised by heads of centres.
7.10 Facilities
7.10.1 The Committee acknowledges the considerable
pressure outdated facilities place on the delivery of services to inmates as
well as on security within centres. It welcomes the plans to revamp some parts
of the Pollsmoor Correctional Centre, and especially
the soon to be completed new generation centres referred to above. It is
impossible for the DCS to replace all existing prisons with new generation
ones, but everything must be done to ensure that maintenance of the existing
structures is not neglected. The Committee recommends that the relationship
between DCS and Department of Public Works (DPW) be strengthened so that
maintenance is done speedily and that on their part, facilities are preserved.
8. Conclusion
8.1 If anything the visits made clear that
the solutions to the challenges faced by the DCS will depend on the level of
cooperation between relevant departments, and particularly a well functioning
integrated justice system as well as increased societal involvement. The White
Paper on Corrections emphasises corrections as a societal responsibility and
therefore the DCS must, through measures including strategic partnerships with
the NGO sector and community-based organisations, increase its efforts to
create public awareness around parole, social reintegration and the impact of
stigmatisation of ex-offenders. The Committee, recognising its own
responsibility in this regard will do its best to facilitate public
participation in debates around correctional services-related issues.
9. Acknowledgement
The
Committee would like to express its appreciation for the co-operation of the
management of the Department’s
Report
to be considered.