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OVERCROWDING –OVERCROWDING –A Solution-oriented ApproachA Solution-oriented Approach

PRESENTATION TO SELECT COMMITTEE ON SECURITY AND CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS, NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES

By the Departments of Correctional Services, Justice and Constitutional Development, NPA, Legal Aid Board, Safety and

Security and Social Development

20 October 2004

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STRUCTURE OF PRESENTATION The current situation:

Facilities State of overcrowding Some causes of overcrowding

Approaches and Initiatives by various departments IJS effectiveness SAPS DOJ & CD and NPA LAB DSD CS

Other aspects

1. Policy Gap on Awaiting Trial Detainees

2. Managing Incarceration of Children as ATD & Sentenced

3. Appropriate sentencing - Management of Levels of Sentenced Inmates

4. Coordination of Facilities Planning & Management

5. Restorative Justice, Community liaison, crime prevention & overcrowding

6. Communication Way Forward

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The current situation

State of overcrowding

It is acknowledged by all role players that our detention facilities (police cells, prison cells and secure care

facilities are overcrowded.

Everyone is partly to blame: everyone has part of the solution

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IMPACT OF OVERCROWDING• Consequences for inmates

• Consequences for DCS / police staff / DSD

• Consequences for DCS / police delivery / DSD

• Consequences for IJS effectiveness

• Human rights infringements

• Overcrowding also – Disrupts penal reformation and rehabilitation programs;

– Creates security risks; and

– Encourages subversive activities amongst prisoners;

– The interaction between hardened criminals and less hardened criminals nurtures perceptions that prisons are breeding chambers of criminal discourse.

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The current situation

Focus on Correctional Services

State of overcrowding

There are 244 prisons:

2 are private prisons4 are closed for repair

4 New generation facilities being planned/built

(to house 3000 detainees each)

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The current situation as on 30 June 2004

Sentenced prisoners: 136 436

AWT: 49 373 (26, 5%)

Total: 185 809

(Capacity: 114 787)

Overcrowding: 71 022 (161,87%)

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APPROVED ACCOMMODATION VERSUS PRISONER POPULATION PER REGION : 30 June 2004

Regions Capacity Unsentenced SentencedIn Custody

Total % Occupation

EASTERN CAPE REGION 13 358 6 102 16 852 22 954 171.84%

GAUTENG REGION 26 709 17 682 32 114 49 796 186.44%

KWAZULU/NATAL REGION 20 179 9 486 21 205 30 691 152.09%

LIMPOPO, MPUMALANGA & NORTH WEST REGION 18 420 3 814 24 562 28 376 154.05%

NORTHERN CAPE & FREE STATE REGION 16 725 5 119 18 982 24 101 144.10%

WESTERN CAPE REGION 19 396 7 170 22 721 29 891 154.11%

Total 114 787 49 373 136 436 185 809 161.87%

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The current situation as on 30 June 2004

CHILDREN IN PRISON (Between 14 – 18)

Sentenced Children: 1 731 (1,2 % of total sent prisoners)

AWT Children: 1 705 (3, 45% of total awt)

TOTAL: 3 436 (1,8 % of total number of persons in prison)

and 2059 children awt in secure care facilities

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GENDER OF PRISON POPULATION 2004

181723, 97.80%

4086, 2.20%,

Males Females

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Sentenced Prisoners steadily increasing (mostly because of more prisoners serving sentences of 10 years and more and life imprisonment)

Accommodation however increasing only by 20% between 1995 and 2004 against 63% increase in same period of prisoners.

Regarding AWT: AWT numbers are steadily declining Between 1995 to 1999 the number of unsentenced detainees

increased dramatically from 22 021 to 55 523 (152% increase) Then steadied to a more moderate increase with average of 56

497 over following three years. Since then a moderate decline – currently nearly on 1998 level

TRENDS

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PRISONERS SERVING SENTENCE OF MORE THAN 10 YEARS

1814319510

21142

23703

28501

3412540196

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

35000

40000

45000

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002

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PRISONERS SERVING LIFE SENTENCES

2951 3042 3121 3228

3708

4542

5505

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002

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Comparative Graph 1995 - 2004

0

20000

40000

60000

80000

100000

120000

140000

1995 1998 2000 2002 2003 2004

Senten

Unsent

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Comparison 1995 -2004

1995 1998 2000 2002 2003 2004

Unsent 22 021 44 138 57 538 50 758 48 433 49 373

sentenced 91 835 88 302 111 948 126 862 131 240 136 436

Total 113 856 132 440 169 486 177 620 179 673 185 809

Accom 95 695 110 175 112 863 114 787

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Awaiting trial detainees2004

• Of the 150 Correctional Centres which have Awaiting Trial detainees 21 are overcrowded.

Slice 3, , 0%

Slice 4, , 0%

sentenced, 136 436,

73%

unsenten, 49 373,

27%

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Awaiting trial detainees

• The statistics of Correctional Services show that there are on average 50 000 awaiting trial prisoners per month in custody.

• If one take the approx number of 200 000 accused before our courts in consideration, the awaiting trial figure of 50 000 is not so alarming. Only 26% of all accused persons before court are therefore awaiting trial in custody.

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Awaiting trial detainees

• It is further evident that the courts are in any event releasing accused on bail, which accused should never have been released. The Regional Courts alone have over a 5-month period issued approximately 4000 warrants for accused who failed to appear before the courts during April to August 2004.

• In the District Courts the figure is even more alarming. A total of 68 140 warrants were issued during the same period (this figure does not include the thousands of warrants issued for traffic offences). The cost impact must be enormous for all the stakeholders concerned.

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POLICE CELLS

The South African Police Service has detention cells at most of it's police stations to temporary accommodatethe thousands of arrested persons that are taken into police custody on a daily basis.

These cells also become overcrowded at times due to the daily arrests made, but is alleviated when awaiting trial prisoners are transferred to the Department of Correctional Services after court appearance.

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UNDERSTANDING CAUSES OF OVERCROWDING IJS Incarceration Trend Research Project was

established to develop a proactive approach & identify magnitude & significance of various blockages within system, to provide indication of possible solutions to increasing prison numbers.

In process of building model to predict prison numbers, with commitment to build capacity of Depts to continue data on ongoing basis

With above information being provided, participation & additional contributions from all role players, blockages & possible solutions within system will be more easily identified.

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IJS Incarceration Trend Research Project

List of number of key variables is being developed Number of sentenced & unsentenced prisoners Crime trends: sentenced & unsentenced prisoners

will be categorized by crime ( five categories of crime currently used by department)

Level of overcrowding: prison numbers relative to accommodation capacity

Alternative sentencing: number parolees & probationers under correctional supervision, released to reform schools & converted sentences

Early exit from prison: number of deaths (including both natural & unnatural deaths)

Sentencing policy: proportion of prisoners sentenced in court to less than & up to 2 years, 5 years, 10 years, 20 years, 20 years + & life sentences

Separate categories: information will be provided regarding children under 18 years of age in prison

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Causes of overcrowding cont. Some of the factors that are contributing to the increase in

prison occupancy include:

SAPS• Due to the disturbing crime incidents in the country, the SAPS

introduced various crime-combating operations in order to destabilize these incidents. Police strategies such as Operation Crackdown, focusing on large-scale arrests As a result an increase in arrests in the various crimes was experienced. The offenders had to be held in police cells/custody and some are being held in Correctional Services facilities depending on the risks and progress in the prosecution.

• This operation is ongoing and is likely to increase the number of people arrested and held in prison while awaiting trial. The targets set in the President’s State of the Nation Address, will also have an impact in our prison population in time to come.

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Causes contBail• As a result of a public outcry over a release of

accused on bail that have allegedly committed serious offences, the Criminal Procedure Act has been amended (1995, 1997 and 1998) to make it more difficult for some accused to obtain bail: the offences listed in Schedule 5 and 6 of the Criminal Procedure Act, Act 51 of 1977.

• Most of the total of 46 434 cases currently outstanding in the Regional and High Courts fall within the ambit of Schedule 5 and 6 Offences.

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CAUSES OF OVERCROWDING IN CENTRES FOR SENTENCED OFFENDERS

• The introduction of minimum sentences for certain categories of crime.

• Offenders who are unable to pay their fines.

• Unavailability of verifiable addresses.

• Non consideration of other alternative sentences by courts for short sentences.

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CAUSES TO OVERCROWDING OF AWAITING TRIAL DETAINEES

• Delays in finalizing cases by courts

• Awaiting trial Detainees who cannot afford to pay bail set by the court

• Failure by Heads of Correctional Centres to encourage courts to apply diversion methods

• Failure by magistrates to apply diversion methods sentencing options

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IJS INTERVENTIONS

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IJS Initiatives– IJS fora at National, Provincial and Area levels starting to pay

off – There are also monthly meetings with the SAPS, Directorate Public Prosecutions, Magistrates and the High Court President regarding the overcrowding situation.

Alignment & availability of information between various departments are receiving attention with as objective developing & implementing information alignment between departments to enable visibility of information on operational level to inform day-to-day decisions on all levels of management

– Sound relations is in place between the courts and role players such as the Law Society and the Legal Aid Board to speed-up applications for representation.

– The Legal Aid Board now has specific contract persons for each Correctional centre.

– Monitoring of children that accommodates children awaiting trail happens on a monthly basis. This process is vital for planning purposes to provide alternatives for children in detention. The monthly statistics also fulfil the obligations in terms of the Integrated Justice System.

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DAY TO DAY MANAGEMENT OF ATD LEVELS Implementation of Checklist by Prov &

Area is key challengeBail Under R1000 back to court –11824

reduced to 9488 in two weeks in an exercise by the NPA – 2336 released

Encouraging greater use of s62f – community corrections for bail conditions

Use of s63a – Heads of Prison application on basis of prison overcrowding – 4346 applications nationally only 1150 successful in 2002/3

Plea Bargaining, Admission of guilt, payment of fines

Inmate Tracking – pilot in Dbn, JHB ready to begin pilot project

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SAPS INTERVENTIONS

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SAPS- Perspective into Overcrowding in Prisons

The South African Police Service is not apathetic towards the problems surrounding overcrowding in our prisons as the consequences of this results in a host of serious problems for all departments concerned and for the country as a whole.

•The SAPS recognises that the crime combating operations and law enforcement initiatives in the current high crime environment will continue to result and arrests and place pressure on the criminal justice system as a whole to deal with suspects and convicted offenders.

•The need for crime prevention initiatives to reduce the incidence of crime and hence the need for arrests is therefore prioritised in SAPS and the JCPS cluster. Following the May 2004 Cabinet Lekgotla government adopted for all clusters the priority to reduce contact crimes on the prioritised police station areas by 7 to 10 % per annum from 2004 to 2014

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MEASURES TAKEN BY THE SAPS TO ALLEVIATE PRISON OVERCROWDING

The JCPS cluster has through its JOINTS structure mobilise provincial and local counterparts to assist in the development of station level profiles that identify the causes and contributing factors for contact crime per area. These profiles are now being used to develop crime prevention programmes for each of these stations areas with input from and responsibilities assigned to all relevant stakeholders. The JCPS Cluster at national level will receive these costed plans and consider how to mobilise resources to support the programme.

The SAPS has taken cognizance of the fact that the awaiting trail prisoners is a contributing factor to the problem encountered in the overcrowding of prisons.

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In order to address AWT burning issue the following action steps are in the process of being implemented or has already been implemented:

•The Detective Service is mandated to investigate all cases reported to the S.A. Police Service. All detectives are sensitized to investigate to arrest perpetrators, and not to just arrest perpetrators in order to investigate reported cases.

•The opposing of bail for reasons other than that which will prejudice the course of justice must not be a deciding factor during bail applications.

•A module on the granting and opposing of bail has also been developed and is

included in the new Detective Learning Program. This will equip law enforcement

officers better in the procedures to be followed during the granting of bail, which would

obviously contribute in the reduction of awaiting trial prisoners.

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•Investigators have been instructed to ensure that witnesses are timeously summonsed to be at court on the requested dates. This will prevent cases being postponed as a result of non attendance of witnesses at court.

•All existing operational police officers, detectives and visible policing members are currently receiving additional training in the taking of proper statements. It is envisaged that this will enable public prosecutors at court to make immediate decisions without having to clarify issues in cases which will prevent delays in the judicial process.

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•A further step in this direction includes the training of Detectives in investigative interviewing techniques in order to elicit maximum information from witnesses and suspects.

•The interaction between members of the SAPS and Senior Public Prosecutors ensures that shortcomings are identified and addressed in this training program which ensures that its intended purpose is achieved.

•Where suspects are arrested for more serious charges, such as Reckless and Negligent Driving and Drunken Driving, and these suspects have fixed address and workplaces they can be released by means of SAPS 496- warning to appear in court to ensure their appearances in court and to eliminate overcrowding of police cells.

•In cases where suspects have been arrested for less serious crimes such as Drinking in Public or Drunkenness these persons can be released by means of a J534-written notice to appear in court to ensure that overcrowding of police cells do not take place.

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•In terms of section 56 of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977 (Act No. 51 of 1977), a peace In terms of section 56 of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977 (Act No. 51 of 1977), a peace officer (including a member of the Police Service) may, if he or she believes on officer (including a member of the Police Service) may, if he or she believes on reasonable grounds that a magistrate’s court, on convicting an accused of that offence, reasonable grounds that a magistrate’s court, on convicting an accused of that offence, will not impose a fine exceeding the amount determined by the Minister of Justice and will not impose a fine exceeding the amount determined by the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, such peace officer may, whether or not the accused is in Constitutional Development, such peace officer may, whether or not the accused is in custody, hand a written notice to the accused that calls on the accused to appear at a custody, hand a written notice to the accused that calls on the accused to appear at a place and on a date to answer a charge of having committed the offence in question and place and on a date to answer a charge of having committed the offence in question and which contain an endorsement that the accused may admit his or her guilt in respect of which contain an endorsement that the accused may admit his or her guilt in respect of the offence and may pay a fine without appearing in court. the offence and may pay a fine without appearing in court.

•The said Minister increased the amount of the fine that may be imposed from R 1 500 The said Minister increased the amount of the fine that may be imposed from R 1 500 to R 2 500 with effect from 14 February 2003. As a result of this, a person who is in to R 2 500 with effect from 14 February 2003. As a result of this, a person who is in custody of the Police Service may be released on a written notice by a member before custody of the Police Service may be released on a written notice by a member before his or her first appearance in the case where the member has reasonable grounds to his or her first appearance in the case where the member has reasonable grounds to believe that a magistrate will not impose a fine exceeding R 2 500 upon the conviction believe that a magistrate will not impose a fine exceeding R 2 500 upon the conviction of the accused of that offence. Furthermore, persons who previously had to be of the accused of that offence. Furthermore, persons who previously had to be detained for offences in respect of which a member had reason to believe that a fine of detained for offences in respect of which a member had reason to believe that a fine of more than R 1 500 but less than R 2 500, will be imposed, could now be issued with a more than R 1 500 but less than R 2 500, will be imposed, could now be issued with a written notice to appear in court without arresting and detaining them. The increase of written notice to appear in court without arresting and detaining them. The increase of the fine has resulted in a decrease in the number of persons in detention awaiting trial.the fine has resulted in a decrease in the number of persons in detention awaiting trial.

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•In terms of the Judicial Matters Amendment Act, 2000 (Act No. 62 of 2000) Part II of In terms of the Judicial Matters Amendment Act, 2000 (Act No. 62 of 2000) Part II of Schedule 2 of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977, was amended. In terms of section Schedule 2 of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977, was amended. In terms of section 59 of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977, a police official may release a person on bail 59 of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977, a police official may release a person on bail before his or her first appearance in the lower court if that person is in custody in before his or her first appearance in the lower court if that person is in custody in respect of an offence not mentioned in Part II or Part III of Schedule 2. This has respect of an offence not mentioned in Part II or Part III of Schedule 2. This has resulted in the release of persons on bail for property offences where the value resulted in the release of persons on bail for property offences where the value involved exceeds R 200 but is below R 2 500 and for certain minor offences relating to involved exceeds R 200 but is below R 2 500 and for certain minor offences relating to the possession of dependence producing drugs, which they could not do before the the possession of dependence producing drugs, which they could not do before the amendment. This amendment has resulted in a further decrease in the number of amendment. This amendment has resulted in a further decrease in the number of persons in detention awaiting trial.persons in detention awaiting trial.

•In the case of Centre for Child Law v Minister of Home Affairs and Eight Others, the In the case of Centre for Child Law v Minister of Home Affairs and Eight Others, the High Court, during September 2004, issued an order that unaccompanied foreign High Court, during September 2004, issued an order that unaccompanied foreign children who are arrested in terms of the Immigration Act, 2002 (Act No. 13 of 2002) children who are arrested in terms of the Immigration Act, 2002 (Act No. 13 of 2002) may not be dealt with in terms of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977, but must be dealt may not be dealt with in terms of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977, but must be dealt with in terms of sections 12 to 14 of the Child Care Act, 1983 (Act No. 74 of 1983). with in terms of sections 12 to 14 of the Child Care Act, 1983 (Act No. 74 of 1983). This means that such children will be dealt with, as children in need of care and the This means that such children will be dealt with, as children in need of care and the Children’s Court will decide how they will be dealt with in accordance with the Children’s Court will decide how they will be dealt with in accordance with the provisions of the Child Care Act, 1983. Such children will therefore, after their arrest, provisions of the Child Care Act, 1983. Such children will therefore, after their arrest, no longer be detained in police custody or in a correctional facility, but will rather be no longer be detained in police custody or in a correctional facility, but will rather be placed in a place of safety pending the outcome of the proceedings before the placed in a place of safety pending the outcome of the proceedings before the Children’s Court. All members of the South African Police Service as well as the Children’s Court. All members of the South African Police Service as well as the relevant staff from the Department of Home Affairs have been instructed to comply relevant staff from the Department of Home Affairs have been instructed to comply with the directives contained in this Court Order. with the directives contained in this Court Order.

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The Probations Officers Amendment Act, 2002 (Act No. 35 of 2002) The Probations Officers Amendment Act, 2002 (Act No. 35 of 2002) (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”) came into operation on 7 November 2002 (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”) came into operation on 7 November 2002 and has as objective to have every child, who has been arrested and who is and has as objective to have every child, who has been arrested and who is likely to be detained until his or her first appearance in court, assessed by a likely to be detained until his or her first appearance in court, assessed by a probation officer. Section 4B of the Act provides that such a child, who has probation officer. Section 4B of the Act provides that such a child, who has not been released after the arrest, must, as soon as reasonably possible, but not been released after the arrest, must, as soon as reasonably possible, but before his or her first appearance in court, be assessed by a probation officer. before his or her first appearance in court, be assessed by a probation officer. In order to enable the probation officer to assess a child in detention, the In order to enable the probation officer to assess a child in detention, the probation officer must be notified of the fact that a child has been arrested and probation officer must be notified of the fact that a child has been arrested and is likely to remain in custody until his or her first appearance in court. is likely to remain in custody until his or her first appearance in court. Accordingly, whenever a child is arrested and he or she is not released on Accordingly, whenever a child is arrested and he or she is not released on warning, in the care of his or her parents or guardian, or released on bail, the warning, in the care of his or her parents or guardian, or released on bail, the community service centre commander must ensure that the relevant probation community service centre commander must ensure that the relevant probation officer is, as soon as is reasonably possible, notified of the arrest and officer is, as soon as is reasonably possible, notified of the arrest and detention and when and in which court the child will appear. In terms of a detention and when and in which court the child will appear. In terms of a circular issued to all members, the Provincial Commissioner of every province circular issued to all members, the Provincial Commissioner of every province has to ensure that every police station is provided with the relevant particulars has to ensure that every police station is provided with the relevant particulars of the nearest probation officer within that station area. Every station of the nearest probation officer within that station area. Every station commissioner must also ensure that probation officers who arrive at a police commissioner must also ensure that probation officers who arrive at a police station to assess a child in detention, is assisted to perform the assessment. station to assess a child in detention, is assisted to perform the assessment.

Children that are arrested and must by order of a magistrate be detained for Children that are arrested and must by order of a magistrate be detained for longer than 24 hours can be removed to a secure care facility or place of longer than 24 hours can be removed to a secure care facility or place of safety or can be released in the care of their parents/guardian to reduce safety or can be released in the care of their parents/guardian to reduce overcrowding of police cells.overcrowding of police cells.

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The SAPS has developed a new Detective Learning Program (DLP) to equip detectives to carry out their functions in an effective and professional manner. This program is competency based and on completion continues in the workplace where assessments are carried out to determine the practical application of the theoretical contents of the training program. This training program is outcome-based and is presented over a period of twelve weeks.

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In order to supplement the detective services with additional members, police management has allocated 30% of all new police recruits to the detective service after basic training. The Investigative Interviewing program has now been drafted into the existing basic training curriculum of all police recruits.

A further two-week introductory detective course is presented to the additional 30% of police recruits.

The South African Police Service Division: Crime Prevention compiled a Code of Practice: Code of Compliance and Due Diligence on Custody Management which will address aspects such as escapes from lawful custody and overcrowding of police cells

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•Another milestone for the SAPS is the implementation of the Automatic Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) at the Criminal Record Centre which drastically speeds-up results on previous convictions of offenders. Previously the manual system provided 7 769 results over a 20-working day period whereas the AFIS produces 152 686 results over the same period. These results minimizes the time delay in the finalization of cases.

•A further directive was issued to all commanders to inspect dockets to and from court in order to ensure that instructions of Public Prosecutors are complied with timeously in order to prevent delays in finalization of cases.

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– One of the inhibiting factors in the management of detained persons in police custody is the lack of online management information. The results of this lack of online information are:

• Swapping of identity take place within the holding facilities that allow for the “escape” of detained persons. Lack of crime intelligence

• Lack of management capabilities to ensure the timely reporting of children that are being detained for longer than 24 hours.

• Prisoner Population Prediction Model system need to be updated manually and is extremely time consuming.

– To eliminate these short comings the IJS-Board has approved the implementation of a Detention Management System for the SAPS as part of the IJS system. The development and implementation of this system is on track and it is the objective of the IJS-Program to start with the implementation of this system during the 2006/7 financial year.

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DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

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Department of Social Development• The transformation of probation service necessitated the amendment of

the Probation Services Act (116 of 1991). The Probation Services Amendment Act ( Act 35 of 2002) makes provision for amongst others the following; Certain definitions, assessment, diversion, early intervention, family finder, family group conferencing, home based supervision, reception assessment and referral, pre-trial report, pre-sentence report and restorative justice. These amendments are in line with the proposed Child Justice Bill and make certain that probation officers will be able to fulfill their new functions. DSD has initiated a process to publish the regulations to the Probation Services Act and will consult with relevant role-players. DSD also plans to rewrite the Probation Services Act during 2004/5, to bring it in line with other pieces of legislation viz Child Justice Bill.

• There are approximately 600 probation practitioners doing probation work The Department has sub-contracted with Dept Social Development: University Cape Town, to train all current probation officers by March 2005. Training has started and Mpumalanga and KZN probation officers have already benefited.

• The Department has sub-contracted with the Restorative Justice Centre in Pretoria to train probation officers in restorative justice and family group conferencing by March 2005. The project is on track.

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• The Probation Services Amendment Act makes provision for the duties and appointment of assistant probation officers as well as the notion of home-based supervision.

• The Department has obtained donor funding for the appointment of assistant probation officers (apo’s) and for replication of home-based supervision programmes in all provinces. This model has proved to very successful and cost effective and the Department proposes it as a viable alternative to children being in detention in prison.

• There are 92 apo’s at present and 27 more are to be appointed

• Practical training of apo’s is done in each province at a place of safety/secure care where institutionalized children awaiting trial are reassessed by a training team together with probation officers and apo’s of the province. These cases are assessed for possible home-based supervision – the aim being to have fewer children awaiting trial in residential and correctional facilities.

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• The NPA has initiated a process to complete a database of programmes from the NPA provincial perspective. As part of the costing exercise for the implementation of the Child Justice Bill the DSD has identified diversion programmes as a major cost driver and all provinces have made provision for additional programmes. This information will feed into a database and will be captured in a GIS format

• This will be used as a reference point for criminal justice practitioners and will serve as a basis for availability of programmes per region and for the registration process of diversion programmes.

• The Department has contracted with NICRO to develop minimum standards for diversion (Donor funding R1,2 m). This will be utilized by national and provincial departments to monitor and fund programmes.

• The replication of home-based supervision programmes in every province has gained significant momentum in the recent few months, especially with the appointment of additional APO’s. DSD believes that if this program is implemented in all regions it will alleviate the pressure on DCS and DSD to keep awaiting trail children in detention.

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• Family group conferencing was piloted by the Department with donor funding during 1996/7 and proved to very successful. Therefore it was included in the Child Justice Bill. Family group conferencing is currently defined in Probation Services Act (116 0f 1991) and forms part of duties of probation officers. As part of the implementation of the Child Justice Bill the Department has contracted with the Restorative Justice Centre to train probation officers in restorative justice and family group conferencing. The project has produced excellent results so far.

• RECEPTION, ASSESSMENT AND REFERRAL CENTRES/SERVICES The provincial Departments have collectively established 54 RAR centers

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Secure Care Facilities • At present there are bed capacity for 2131 children; 1981 male

and 78 girls are in secure care as at end July 2004

• DSD is planning new secure care facilities with as a total for South Africa 2425 additional new beds at a cost of R 340 million for infrastructure and R187.7 million running costs

• Draft minimum standards for residential care facilities were developed. Current draft minimum standards for Secure Care needs to be reviewed. Norms and standards for secure care need to be developed including ratio of child and youth care workers per number of children. Ratios for day and night staff may be different. During a meeting with provincial representatives in August 2003 norms and standard were developed. This include possible secure care centers with no more than 60 beds in a unit but up to four units per campus. Thus a center will be able to house up to 240 children in a center whilst sharing administration facilities and buildings

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Correctional Services Initiatives to reduce overcrowding

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INITIATIVES TO REDUCE OVERCROWDING OF SENTENCED OFFENDERS

• Conversion of sentences into Correctional Supervision

• Assisting offenders to obtain money to pay fines.

• Ensuring that support systems are in place for all offenders who are to be released on parole or correctional supervision

• Speedy placement of offenders with fines or correctional supervision

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INITIATIVES TO REDUCE OVERCROWDING OF SENTENCED OFFENDERS

• Ensuring that offenders who qualify for parole are placed out as soon as possible.

• Increased focus on programmes addressing offending behaviour to prevent re-offending.

• Focus on training, education and social development programmes.

• Expanding accommodation through the construction of four new correctional centres to accommodate ±12 000 offenders.

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Department of Correctional Services

LEGAL CLAUSES NOT OPTIMALLY USED

• Sec 62(ƒ) of the C P Act, (Act no 51 of 1977) makes provision for placement of ATD’S under the supervision of a Correctional Official as a condition of bail.

• Sec 63 of the C P Act, (Act no 51 of 1977) makes provision for the accused or prosecutor to apply to the court to reduce the amount of bail that was set by the relevant court.

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Department of Correctional Services

LEGAL CLAUSES NOT OPTIMALLY USED

• Sec 63A of the C P Act, (Act no 51 of 1977) makes provision for the Head of Correctional Centre to approach the relevant court to release an accused person on warning in lieu of bail or to amend the bail conditions imposed by the court if the offender population of a particular correctional centre is reaching such proportions that it constitutes a material and imminent threat to the human dignity, physical health or safety of an accused.

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Department of Correctional Services

LEGAL CLAUSES NOT OPTIMALLY USED

• Sec 71 of the C P Act, (Act no 51 of 1977) makes provision for placement of ATD’S under the age of 18 years who are in custody, instead of being released on bail, be placed under the supervision of a correctional official.

• Sec 72(1) of the C P Act, (Act no 51 of 1977) makes provision for ATD’S to be released and placed under the supervision of a correctional official in terms of Section 62 (ƒ) and warns them to appear before the court instead of bail.

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BEST PRACTICES IN SOME REGIONS

• Pretoria Local Prison has a Magistrate who deals with cases on daily basis successfully

• Sound relations with the Legal Aid Board which now has specific contract persons for each Correctional centre.

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BEST PRACTICES IN SOME REGIONS

• Monthly statistics to Regional Office.

• Monthly statistics on successes in terms of sections 62(f), 63, 63A, 71 and 72

• Namelists of ATD’s longer than 3 months is delivered (within a radius of 50 km) to the Senior Public Prosecutor, Senior Magistrate, Judges and Registrar of the High Court and the Station Commissioner of the SAPS.

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SOCIETAL RESPONSIBILITY

• Municipal authorities do something about the number of offending suspects from their areas

• Local Govt must promote restoration of community institutions vital to promotion of social responsibility prior to conviction & imprisonment

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SOCIETAL RESPONSIBILITY

• Citizens & their Community institutions & not SAPS must be seen as the first line of promoting social responsibility (fighting offending behaviour).

• Let families & communities be nurseries of social responsibility & not of criminality.

• Honourable MP’s help promote social responsibility in their constituencies

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CRIMINAL JUSTICE CO-ORDINATION

• Improve information sharing and goodwill at operational level among affected structures

• Judiciary notes impact of (sentencing) decisions on existing Correctional Services capacity

• Wider utilization of Prosecutors and Clerks of Courts for admission of guilt and payment of fine without appearing in court.

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DCS IMPROVEMENT AREAS

• DCS notes best practices from its own ranks & reproduce them nation-wide

• Improve accountability of Heads of Correctional Centres on their legal obligations

• Optimal utilisation of existing facilities to relieve the most overcrowded facilities

• Building of planned new facilities

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DOJ & CD initiatives

• Re aga Boswa Improved Case Flow Management -

Monitoring of duration of ATD Improved assistance by investigating officers to

prosecutorsSpecialised courts such as commercial crime

courts with emphasis on plea bargainingVisits by Judges, Magistrates and

Prosecutors to the facilities to see the effect of overcrowding.

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Positive interventions The implementation of the plea-bargaining

approach as well as the legal provisions such as granting of bail by police for minor offences.

The Saturday Court project also played a critical role in the finalization of cases and reduction of awaiting trial prisoners. Unfortunately this project has been terminated due to financial constraints.

Other initiatives such as the Child Justice Bill and restorative justice approach should also have a positive impact on the number of people detained over the long term. These programmes recognise the need for early intervention programmes that attempt to steer young offenders away from prison and attempt to correct their behaviour. The objective being to intervene early in the lives of children when they get into trouble to prevent them from committing more serious crimes and even becoming repeat and/or violent offenders. Similar approaches can be used for adults who commit less serious crime.

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NPA Interventions

• The NPS has recognised the importance of the alleviation of overcrowding as a strategic enabler and force multiplier in the achievement of its vision. Specific focus on the reduction of awaiting trial prisoners was therefore incorporated in our Strategic Plan:– Awaiting trial accused must only be detained in custody

where the interest of the administration of criminal justice so requires;

– Matters must continuously be re-assessed where the accused has failed to pay bail, especially of a thousand Rand or less; and

– The number of awaiting trial prisoners must be reduced through the proper screening of cases. A strict policy of ‘no case’, no enrolment must at all times be enforced.

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NPA interventions• In addition to these strategic enablers, the NPS also

envisaged improved co-operative relationships with other stakeholders in the criminal justice system. For this purpose the following indicators, which also assist in the management of ATD, were incorporated in the Strategic Plan:

• A list of prisoners awaiting trial for six months or more must be obtained and those listed cases must be prioritised.

• An increased consideration to the payment of fines as admission of guilt as envisaged in section 57A of the Criminal Procedure Act, to expedite the finalisation of cases.

• Furthermore a policy, that unless it is necessary to detain the accused before completion of the investigation, the investigation should first be completed, must at all times be enforced. In less serious cases summons should be the method to secure the accused’s attendance before court and dockets should be brought to the SPP for decision instead of arresting the accused. (This policy resulted in an increase in decision dockets, from 485 780 received during the financial year 2002/2003 to 512 761 dockets received during 2003/2004).

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• The NPS has embarked on several projects to address the overcrowding in our prisons.

• In pursuit of the strategic objectives relating to ATD, the NPS has embarked on a national initiative to review cases where bail was granted of R 1000 or less.

• We have also requested the support of the Judiciary in the Case Flow Management process. Discipline in the courts will definitely enhance case management, which will reduce the numbers of ATD.

• The IJS Court Centers were implemented and rolled out to 46 offices. It is important to extend these centers to more places countrywide. The valuable information provided on cycle times by the IJS centers has been found to be a handy management tool when monitoring cycle times of cases. The latest statistics received from these centers, indicate that the number of children younger than 18 years as a percentage of accused on the outstanding roll has increased from 9.5% to 9.6%.

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• The NPS has also determined suitable new targets for all Lower Courts to improve the cycle times of cases. 90% of all District Court cases should not be older than 6-month, 75% of all Regional cases should not be older than 6-months, and 12-months in High Court cases. Cases where the accused is in custody must be prioritised. These case cycle times are monitored by the NPS, from August 2004, on a monthly basis (previously on a 6-month basis). The previous audit determined that only 11% of District Court cases and 40% of Regional Court cases were older than 6 months.

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• The Cycle time of High Court cases is also continually monitored by the NPS. Various initiatives, to reduce the delays, have been implemented. Positive results have already been obtained from those Divisions where the docket is forwarded to the DPP Office, immediately after the first appearance in the Lower Court, in order for the DPP to effectively manage the outstanding investigation.

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• The NPS has taken the initiative in the project to postpone cases of awaiting trial prisoners via electronic medium. We are currently awaiting the promulgation of an amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act. A pilot project will then be initiated at Pretoria and Durban.

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• Since January 2003, the NPS has also commenced with the collation of Lower Court statistics of cases wherein the accused was diverted away from the criminal justice system. A total of 40262 cases were diverted to date. If the Diversion program is successfully completed by the accused, the case against him/her will be withdrawn. In this regard the establishment of the Community Courts assisted greatly due to the fact that cases, which would have been postponed by your main courts, are now expedited and effectively finalised in the Community Courts. In the Hatfield Community Court, 128 cases were thus far diverted. The Community Courts in Hatfield and Bloemfontein have also managed to finalise a total of 678 and 506 cases, respectively.

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The President, in his State of the Nation Address, required an improvement in the quality and cycle times of investigations and prosecutions. In order to address this matter, the NPS has, in execution of the Presidents instruction and in conjunction with SAPS, embarked on a project to determine the reasons for the high rate of withdrawals and postponements in our courts. The project mainly entails an audit conducted on all cases withdrawn and postponed over a period of three months (July, August and September). Ten of the bigger court centres have been identified for this purpose. The data should enable us to identify emerging trends and indicate specific areas where some intervention is required. Members of SAPS are assisting us with the collection of the required data.

A matter of grave concern is the number of postponements per case, which impacts negatively on our case cycle times. From total number of 13 676 cases that were postponed, 365 cases have already been postponed for more than 15 times per case, with some cases exceeding 50 postponements per case!

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• All Prosecutors, but especially the Control and Senior Prosecutors, should ensure that cases are not postponed without good reason. Realistic dates should be set for a postponement and the practise of routinely postponing cases for two weeks, even if it is clear that the investigation will not be completed, should be discontinued. Clear instructions should be issued on all outstanding investigations and the Investigating Officer should be held accountable on the return date.

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LAB• The essence of the Legal Aid Board’s awaiting trial

prisoners project is that the Board has identified those prisons at which a large numbers of awaiting trial prisoners are held. Particular attention is given to prisons at which high numbers of children are awaiting trial and/or at which large numbers of prisoners have been awaiting trial for longer than 6 months

• The Legal Aid Board has 57 Justice Centres nationwide each of which is responsible for the provision of legal aid in a certain number of magisterial districts. The staff of these Justice Centres visit the prisons within their areas which have been identified in accordance with the above criteria. Where possible such prisons are visited twice a month. All identified prisons holding a high number of awaiting trial prisoners are visited at least once a month.

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LAB cont• During prison visits the staff of the Legal Aid Board explain

the Constitutional right to legal representation in terms of Section 35(3) of the Constitution, the reasons why accused persons should be legally represented and the fact that such services are provided free of charge by professional legal practitioners operating independently of the State. Awaiting trial prisoners are afforded an opportunity to apply for legal aid and arrangements are made to consult.

• Where possible plea bargaining is presented as an option.

• If and when the necessary resources become available the Legal Aid Board plans to extend the service, firstly to all prisons, and thereafter to persons being held in police detention cells.

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POLICY PROBLEM STATEMENT ATDS

• Cabinet identified policy gap re responsibility for incarceration of awaiting trial accused persons.

• Cabinet noted that SA legal system presumes innocence until proof of guilt, & yet awaiting trial detainees are accommodated in facilities of correctional system, which facilities are designed primarily for sentenced prisoners.

• Unsentenced detainees have unique status - set of rights & requirements different from those of sentenced  

• Lack of coherent policy i.r.t service provision to & responsibilities for ATDs

Draft policy statement regarding detention of unsentenced persons is being developed – inadequate responses from Departments

Aim to draft medium to long term policy for Cabinet that will then inform strategic planning of all departments

On basis of consensus approach - migration plan would be put in place for medium term.

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POLICY PROBLEM STATEMENT ATDS

• Purpose of correctional services, to enforce sentences of courts, to ensure humane detention, & promote social responsibility & human development, & principles on which South African legal system is based, are compromised by current accommodation of awaiting trial detainees in correctional centres.

• Apart from being in contradiction with principles of legal system, & practice utilises DCS resources inappropriately, particularly staff who are trained in rehabilitation & correction.

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BACKGROUNDDCS saddled with housing range of detaineesSA prisons have following categories of unsentenced

detainees in custody:– Awaiting trial detainees granted bail that they cannot

pay – Awaiting trial detainees denied bail– Awaiting trial children – Detainees on warrant from bailiff/sheriff in relation to

debt – Illegal immigrants detained while awaiting

repatriation & facing no charges– Persons awaiting transfer to other institutions e.g.

Children awaiting transfer to reform schools, President’s Patients awaiting transfer to psychiatric institutions.

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BACKGROUNDLegacy from Dept of Prisons under Min of J DoP perceived to have sole “custodial mandate”. Legislative & policy developments over last 10

years apparent this perception cannot be sustained.– Capacity of DCS not kept on par with other JCPS

depts – If unsentenced detainees removed from DCS – still

seriuosly overpoulated – Places DCS at distinct disadvantage when resources

which are meant for corrections are utilised for detention purposes.

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INTERNATIONAL INSTRUMENTS• Person arrested & facing charges is innocent until

proven guilty & shall be treated as such. • Reason for detention to ensure due process in court

of law where they are to be tried, & not in any sense for punishment or correction.  

• Clear separation of functions between agencies responsible for investigating crimes & custodial administration.

• Accused person is detained may assist investigating authorities in their work, but conditions of imprisonment should never be an element of investigation.

• No unsentenced detainee may be compelled to wear prison clothes provided to sentenced prisoners.

• To be held separately as far as practicable.

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CONSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS

Lays down range of rights that impact on rights of unsentenced detainees in relation to their incarceration & their passage through cjs:

12(1) Everyone has right to freedom & security of person 35Arrested, detained & accused persons

(1) Everyone who is arrested for (2) Everyone who is detained, including every

sentenced prisoner, has right-(3) Every accused person has right to fair trial, which

includes right(4) Whenever this section requires information to be

given to person, that information must be given in language that person understands.

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ARRANGEMENTS BY SAPS“ at station where there is gaol,

arrangement shall be made that prisoners who have been charged & detained, be sent there, pending their appearance in court, ...... for detention, rather than be kept at station, unless, of course, it would, owing to distance to gaol, time factor or for any other sufficient reason, be more economical or more convenient to keep them at station”SAPS Standing Order (General) 345.2

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GOVERNMENT OBLIGATIONS TO UNSENTENCED DETAINEES• Presumed innocence of unsentenced

detainees obliges very limited restriction on human rights is justifiable.

• While right to movement is curtailed by warrant that empowers detention, continuity of basic human rights is obligatory on Government.

• Only basis on which rights can be curtailed is presumed threat to society, &/or likelihood of escape that legal process has identified, or on basis of what is practicably feasible.

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GOVERNMENT OBLIGATIONS TO UNSENTENCED DETAINEESShould be subjected only to restrictions necessary

for maintenance of security & good order in prison & must, where practicable, be allowed all amenities to which they could have access outside prison.

Range of services must be available to unsentenced detainees in line with general Govt policy:– Continuity in ed & training – Safety of person – Access to social welfare services Accessibility to state

provided health care Accessibility to visits, communication & correspondence with family & friends

– Accessibility to recreational & reading resources – Accessibility to legal representation

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HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Without presuming guilt, given socio-economic, familial & educational backgrounds of many of ATDs, is NB niche for promotion of human development while awaiting trial. – life skills & social development,

including understanding of legal & justice system

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DURATION OF AWAITING TRIAL

• Constitution stipulates period of ATD to be as short as possible

• In practice many incarcerated for extended periods of time,

• Provision of involvement in productive activity that promotes recreation & human development is crucial

• Length of stay of ATDs varies considerably might also negatively affect administering of these programmes.

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SUMMARY OF GOVT RESPONSBILITIES

• Government obliged to provide facilities for unsentenced detainees that allow for:– Minimal limitation of individual’s rights, – Ensuring secure & safe custody, – Staffing of facilities with appropriate

personnel responsible for ensuring delivery by range of govt agencies on rights of unsentenced detainees.

– Training of personnel in:• Promotion of human development• Rights of persons in legal/judicial process • Effective secure & safe custody

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POLICY PROPOSAL RE ATDS

• Long-term policy should confirm that DCS:– should not accommodate unsentenced in

correctional facilities;– should not utilise correctional officials to

secure & care for, awaiting trial detainees.

• Policy should state services & facilities for incarceration of awaiting trial detainees– policy should define appropriate design &

resourcing of facilities in which awaiting trial detainees should be accommodated.

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POLICY PROPOSAL RE ATDS

• Custodial responsibility for ATDs & hence administration of holding or remand facilities should be reconsidered – Prime responsibility must lie with DoJ– Allocation of responsibilities to IJS Depts &

support roles of various departments should be defined.

– Necessary budgetary provisions for AT custodial responsibility be made to relevant department(s)

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MIGRATION TO APPROPRIATE HANDLING OF ATDS

• Migration system required to shift from current status quo to desired handling of ATDs by appropriate agency in cjs.

• Immediate separation of unsentenced from sentenced, & accommodation of ATDs on basis of categories determined on basis of previous convictions, status & nature of alleged offence NB principles to inform short & medium term management of ATDs.

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Immediate provision of services such as health, continuing education & training, & social work intervention to be defined according to mandates of relevant govt depts, & not be responsibility of DCS.

DCS Staff only to be utilised to manage administration of AT prison/section, & facilitating access of personnel from other Govt Depts to render relevant services.

Payment for accommodation & feeding of ATDs to be made by DoJ to DCS.

Delivery of & payment for other services by Govt Depts according to SLA between DoJ & relevant Dept.

MIGRATION TO APPROPRIATE HANDLING OF ATDS

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MIGRATION TO APPROPRIATE HANDLING OF ATDS

• Solution may include handing over of some of older prisons, more appropriate for short–term incarceration of ATDs than as correctional centres

• Will involve both financial & human resource provisioning, training of necessary custodial capacity in another department, transitional arrangements will be necessary.

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MIGRATION TO APPROPRIATE HANDLING OF ATDS

Govt to address rights of ATDs being compromised by backlogs in court cases, length of their remand period, & conditions that they have to endure in prisons. – Situation tends to increase criminality of awaiting trial

detainees & hardening of anti-social attitudes & behaviour.

– In prisons over 200% full, current percentage of ATDs is about 45%,

– In prisons 100% full, current level of ATDs is about 20% of total population

Ongoing IJS monitoring of ATDs levels and duration in order to utilize IJS processes to speed up processing of court cases, &/or utilise range of options for alternatives to incarceration.

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DETENTION OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS AWAITING DEPORTATIONDHA is responsible for illegal immigrants &

Legislation empowers DG to cause illegal immigrants awaiting deportation to be detained, but without specifying where or how.

DHA currently lacks expertise, structures & funds to run its own detention facilities, & has one privately run facility that it utilises & oversees management.

• Held in following types of facilities in different regions of country:

• Increase in illegal immigrants & levels of overcrowding forced policy dilemma to surface.

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POLICY PROPOSALRE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

• Clear guidelines on custodial responsibility for illegal immigrants facing deportation are required.

• Detention facilities required for illegal immigrants substantially different from those facing criminal charges & court proceedings. – is tendency for escape from deportation– cannot be presumption of threat to safety of

society or – Cannt be assumption of justifiable basis for rights

to be severely limited

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POLICY PROPOSALRE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

• Detention facilities have to provide for family accommodation.

• Staff require an understanding of diverse cultures of illegal immigrants, of domestic & international law relating to treatment of illegal immigrants & refugees, range of appropriate languages, & be trained in providing guidance to such people in relation to their deportation.

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MANAGEMENT OF LEVELS OF SENTENCED OFFENDERS

Sentenced Admissions from CourtsFrom 1995 until 2000 number of admissions

has shown slight increase but has been reasonably stable with average of 116 568 over 6 year period.

In 2001 increased dramatically to high of 159 641.

2002 showed marked decrease to 98 909 - lowest over period since 1995 (decrease of 62% from previous year).

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SENTENCED ADMISSIONS

Sentence Categories 1995-2003<2years – numbers have decreased 2-5 years – numbers have decreased >5-10 years – numbers have decreased.>10-20 years – numbers have increased.>20 years – numbers have increased.Life sentences – numbers have increased.  

Longer sentences being imposed. At same time decrease in sentences < than 10

years did not lead to increase in number of offenders being sentenced to Community Corrections.

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SENTENCED PRISONERS IN CUSTODY

Increased from 87 307 in 1995 to 130 316 in 1st quarter of 2003 (an increase of 67%)

% shift between currently used categories of crime over total period can be seen in summary:

Year Econ Aggro Sex Narco Other1995 40.65 39.87 9.25 3.96 6.27 %

2003 35.41 44.18 11.46 3.55 5.40 % 

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TOWARDS APPROPRIATE SENTENCING

Admissions to Community Corrections from Courts – Section 276 (1)(h) Decreased from high of 2 641 in 3rd quarter of 1995 to 1

603 in 1st quarter of 2003.   Number of offenders sentenced to Community Corrections

by courts has declined steadily. 1995 –2003 average of 1 884 cases per quarter have been

admitted from courts.

Section 276(1)(i) - Conversions after serving 1/6th of sentence. Marginal increase from 577 in 1st quarter of 1995 to 1 013

in 1st quarter of 2003. Average of 855 from 1995 to 2003.

Section 276A (3) - Conversions after serving ¼ of sentence. Shows no real increase or decrease except in 1998 when 6

months amnesty was granted.

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TOWARDS APPROPRIATE SENTENCING

Section 286B (4) – declared dangerous criminals to be referred back to courts before release. No real increase or decrease except for 4th quarter of

1996: 35 & 1st quarter of 2003: 28 Average over period: 3

Section 287(4)() – Conversion of sentences < than 5 years with option of fine. Steady increase over period from 2237 in 1st quarter

of 1995 to 5247 in 1st quarter of 2003.

Section 287(4)(b) - Conversion of sentences > than 5 years with option of fine. Shows no real decrease or increase over period except for 1998 when 6 months amnesty was

granted.

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PAROLE SUPERVISIONPlaced under Parole Supervision:

Number of prisoners placed on parole has not increased - is currently lower than average number placed on parole over period from 1995 to 2003.

742 in 1st quarter of 1995, high of 1286 in 4th quarter of 1997, average of 890 from 1995 to 2003, 768 in 1st quarter of 2003.

Revisit Parole Placement Policy link parole to rehabilitation ensure aligned with sentencing policy

Parole Date Advancement6000 due to be released in staggered fashion over next few months

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APPROPRIATE SENTENCING

Encouragement of Alternative sentencing as way to enhance rehabilitation

Enhancement of Community Correctional Supervision

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MANAGING INCARCERATION OF CHILDREN AS ATD & SENTENCED

• Will be addressed through Child Justice Bill implementation

• Monitored through Inter-Sectoral Committee on Child Justice that feeds into Overcrowding Task Team

• Checklist of options drafted and made into action plans for Departments

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SENTENCED CHILDREN IN PRISON (UNDER 18)

Number of sentenced children has increased steadily from 647 in 1995 (0.74% of sentenced population) to 1 677 (1.53% of sentenced population) in 1st quarter of 2000.

Since then stabilised with high of 1 830 in 2nd quarter 2002 (1.45% of sentenced population); average of 1 740 since 2000; & average of 1788 for 1st quarter of 2003 (1.37% of sentenced population)

Percentage wise number of sentenced children has been decreasing since 2000.

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COORDINATION OF FACILITIES PLANNING & MANAGEMENT

Increasing Lock Up Accommodation: Finalization of New Generation Prisons Blueprint

& RAMP to be reviewed & re-prioritised. Priorities for renovation & extension to relieve

overcrowding.

Co-ordination of Infrastructure Planning between various departments in IJS: One Stop Centres – design that includes all

departments but excludes a remand prison Joburg Police Cells – Joint Task Team to consider

how SAPs can use them to decrease overcrowding in JHB prison

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ACCOMMODATION INCREASE

Building of new prisons 4 new generation prisons in MTEF – Joint

DPW/DCS Steering Committee Proposed Memorandum of Understanding

between Minister of Correctional Services, Public Works & Finance required to unblock process

Proposed Service Level Agreement between DCS & DPW

Feasibility Study to develop public sector comparator to go on tender now

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COMMUNITY LIAISON, CRIME PREVENTION & OVERCROWDING

• DCS approach to corrections and Community liaison

• Social Crime Prevention as key to addressing trends in overcrowding

• Empowerment of community through JCPS/IJS to play their role

• Community Safety Forums and Moral/Ethical/Parenting issues

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JCPS COMMUNICATION STRATEGY

• Danger of depts being played off against each other on overcrowding and crime prevention

• JCPS communication on overcrowding has paid off

• Propose that JCPS Communication strategy regarding overcrowding be developed

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WAY FORWARD– Operational level IJS coordination– Awaiting Trail Policy– Appropriate sentencing for public

safety, crime prevention and rehabilitation

– Criminal Justice and Incarceration of Children

– Strategic Approach to IJS Facilities planning

– JCPS Communication Strategy– Community Liaison, crime prevention

and reintegration

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• Policy development process re ATDs – approval of direction needed so Cabinet Memo can be prepared on ATD Policy and Migration Proposals

• DGs to drive Dept action plans to address various blockages/causes of overcrowding – operational level of Depts key

• DG Cluster intervention on IJS provincial and area coordination

• JCPS Communication strategy to ensure synergy on these issues over next year including role of community

WAY FORWARD cont

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CONCLUSION

There is no doubt that the overcrowding of our prisons is a great challenge facing The Department of Correctional Services, the South African Police Service and the Department of Justice.

An effective interdepartmental strategy, involving all stakeholders is critical in order to successfully address this issue.

The finding of solutions is particularly important as overcrowding is set to continue if left neglected.

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Overcrowding…..the solution The key to resolving overcrowding in the long

term is: • on the one hand to address the alignment of policy

within the criminal justice system, be it arrest policy, bail policy, awaiting trial incarceration policy, appropriate sentencing policy, parole placement policy, and

• on the other hand to deal with the issue of social crime prevention and the role of the community and socio-economic development in prevention of crime levels that we currently experience.

• We have to acknowledged that this is work in process and that steps have been taken to address the operational blockages that contribute to overcrowding with endorsement of the responsibility to ensure liaison between all role players