Transforming prisons into correctional centres - places of new beginnings May 2005 Overview of Overcrowding within DCS dcs Department of Correctional Services REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA

INTRODUCTION   The management of overcrowding form part of the Strategic Plan of the DCS and is therefore regarded as a matter of priority.   Therefore the DCS acknowledges and respects the right and legitimate expectations of offenders regarding adequate accommodation and incarceration conditions consistent with humane dignity.   It is a prerequisite to the building of an offender’s self- respect and positive participation in the rehabilitation process.   The DCS strives to provide adequate accommodation in correctional centres, complying with accepted standards.

INTRODUCTION   DCS is on the receiving end of the Criminal Justice System and has very little control over the number of offenders referred to correctional centres either as sentenced offenders or as awaiting trial detainees.   This results in the unfortunate reality of over-crowding in most of our correctional centres, which leads to the violation of the rights of offenders to adequate accommodation and humane conditions.   DCS unfortunately cannot provide any statistical information as we are currently experiencing problems with our Management Information System.

IMPACT OF OVERCROWDING   Consequences for inmates;   Consequences for DCS staff;   Consequences for DCS service delivery;   Human rights infringements;   Disruption of conforming and rehabilitation programmes;   Creates a security risk; and   Encourages subversive activities amongst offenders;   The interaction between harden criminals and less hardened criminals nurtures perceptions that Correctional Centres are breeding chambers of criminal discourse.

CAUSES OF OVERCROWDING Sentenced offenders   The introduction of minimum sentences for certain categories of crime.   Offenders who are unable to pay their fines.   Unavailability of monitorable addresses.   Non consideration of other alternative sentences by courts for short term sentences. Unsentenced offenders   Delay in finalising cases by the courts.   Awaiting trial detainees who could not to pay the bail set by the court.   Failure by magistrates to apply diversion methods sentencing options.

INITIATIVES TO REDUCE OVERCROWDING Sentenced Offenders   Conversion of sentence into Correctional Supervision;   Assisting offender in obtaining money to pay fines;   Ensuring that support systems are in place for all offenders who are to be released on parole or placed under correctional supervision;   Speedy placement of offenders with fines or correctional services; and   Ensuring effective administrative and case management regarding the offender.

INITIATIVES TO REDUCE OVERCROWDING Sentenced Offenders (Continue)   Ensuring that offenders who qualify for parole are placed out as soon as possible.   Increased focus on rehabilitation programmes for offenders to prevent re-offending.   Focus on training, education and social development programmes.   Expanding accommodation through the construction of four new generation correctional centres to accommodate ± offenders.

INITIATIVES TO REDUCE OVERCROWDING Unsentenced Offenders   The Departments involvement in Saturday courts project.   The Departments involvement in reducing the number of unsentenced children in Correctional facilities   The implementation of the plea-bargaining approach as well as the legal provisions such as granting of bail by police for minor offences.

INITIATIVES TO REDUCE OVERCROWDING Unsentenced Offenders (Continue)   Section 62(ƒ) of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977 (Act no 51 of 1977) which makes provision for placement of awaiting trial detainees under the supervision of a Correctional Official as a condition of bail.   Section 63 of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977 (Act no 51 of 1977) which 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.

INITIATIVES TO REDUCE OVERCROWDING Unsentenced Offenders (Continue)   Section 63A of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977 (Act no 51 of 1977) which 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.

INITIATIVES TO REDUCE OVERCROWDING Unsentenced Offenders (Continue)   Section 71 of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977 (Act no 51 of 1977) which makes provision for placement of awaiting trial detainees under the age of 18 years who is in custody, instead of being released on bail, be placed under the supervision of a correctional official.   Section 72(1) of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977 (Act no 51 of 1977) which makes provision for awaiting trial detainees 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.

ADDITIONAL INITIATIVES OF DCS   The DCS established a National Task Team on Overcrowding (NTTO) to manage and address the trends regarding overcrowding in our correctional facilities.   The NTTO developed frameworks and check lists for sentenced and unsentenced offenders that was rolled out within the regions.   Heads Correctional Centres/Heads Community Corrections are currently being trained to utilise the frameworks and check lists placed at their disposal as well as to provide feedback to regional and national task teams on overcrowding.

DCS APPROACH TO OVERCROWDING DCS multi-pronged strategy to consisting of following dimensions: 1.Managing levels of awaiting trial detainees (ATDs) through IJS Case Management Task Team & Inter- Sectoral Committee on Child Justice. 2.Managing levels of sentenced inmates through improving effective & appropriate use of conversion of sentence to community correctional supervision, release on parole, & transfers between correctional centres to attempt to establish some degree of evenness of overcrowding. 3.Ensuring progress with DCS capital works programme to upgrade our facilities & to build new correctional centres that are both cost effective & rehabilitation oriented.

DCS APPROACH TO OVERCROWDING 4.Encouraging debate in South Africa about reason for incarceration as a sentence, & encouraging an approach to appropriate sentencing that is focused on facilitating rehabilitation. 5.Enhancing community correctional supervision so that it can be better utilised as an appropriate sentence for less serious crimes. 6.Improving correction & development programmes within DCS to ensure enhanced facilitation of rehabilitation that targets offending behaviour in a manner which Department has not previously undertaken.

DCS APPROACH TO OVERCROWDING 7.Encouraging improvement of first & second levels of correction in family & social institutions & social & economic sector government departments respectively to decrease rate of entry into criminal justice system. 8.Encouraging community involvement in social reintegration of offenders back into their community in order to assist in reducing levels of repeat offending. Risk management process has identified Overcrowding as one of key significant risks in DCS DCS Overcrowding Task Team – national framework for provincial implementation of risk mitigation plan re overcrowding – requires IJS partners to join the party

WAY FORWARD OVERCROWDING  Improved national coordination on all elements of overcrowding programme of action  Regional/provincial and local/area levels of coordination  Sharing of operational experiences and challenges in order to find solutions SUCCESS IN OVERCROWDING PROGRAMME OF ACTION REQUIRES SYNERGY IN RELATION TO POLICY, PROCEDURES & OPERATIONAL MANAGEMENT ACROSS IJS

dcs Department of Correctional Services REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA Correctional Services values your role in breaking cycle of crime - in making rehabilitation work Thank you Together we can strengthen a social compact against crime, for a better life