Concern raised over warders’ conditions

The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) and Public Servants Association (PSA) have expressed concern over the working conditions of prison warders, following an attack by inmates at the St Albans Correctional Centre on Boxing Day.

The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) and the Public Servants Association (PSA) have expressed concern over the working conditions of prison warders following an attack by inmates at the St Albans Correctional Centre on the Day of Goodwill.

The clashes between warders and inmates resulted in a “stabbing spree” at the Port Elizabeth prison that killed three inmates and injured 13 warders.

Both unions reacted to the attack and said they would now seek to address chronic problems facing corrections officers, including shift problems, that could be expected to be exacerbated by a growing prison population.

SA’s prison population of just more than 160,000 is serviced by 26,000 prison officials, with the “safety of these officials … highly compromised and the morale is low”, Popcru said in a statement.

Popcru spokesman Richard Mamabolo said on Monday the Department of Correctional Services’ training colleges could only accommodate 1,000 trainees per year. “Provided no measures are taken, the understaffing challenge will not be addressed in the near future.”

Currently there were only two shifts, with half of staff at home and the other half at work at any time, Popcru said.

PSA acting GM Iva Fredericks said in a statement on Sunday its members had previously raised concerns over the warder-to-inmate ratio at St Albans.

“Sadly, DCS (Department of Correctional Services) management could not commit to anything in this all-important matter regarding our members’ safety. The PSA intends to take all available remedies at its disposal to compel the department to address safety at its corrections centres,” Fredericks said.

Department of Correctional Services spokesman Logan Maistry said on Monday the issues were known and the department had been working with unions and other entities of government to address them over the short, medium and longer term.

The department was also working with various other departments, including the National Treasury and the Department of Public Service and Administration, he said. The department had implemented Operation Vala during the festive period in the wake of higher than usual arrests.

“Every year we assess the strength and weaknesses after Operation Vala (which runs from 12 December to 6 January). We have looked at increased supervision, more monitoring, more evaluation,” Maistry said.