How we can reduce our soaring prison population
Education programmes for inmates and more support when they are discharged are among the measures
● Overcrowding in correctional facilities is a challenge that not only strains our facilities but also speaks to larger societal issues that we ought to confront.
The UN Office on Drugs and Crime asserts that overcrowding is generally defined with reference to the actual occupancy compared with the official capacity of prisons.
Some may consider the building of new correctional facilities as an answer to overcrowding, but sadly evidence indicates otherwise. As a country, we are not in a position to build new facilities at a rate that outpaces demand.
The most practical solution is to combat and prevent crime, which clearly is the root cause of overcrowding. The current inmate population in South Africa is 156,070, comprising 96,714 sentenced offenders, 59,164 remand detainees and 192 state patients.
These figures mean that South Africa is faced with an overcrowding level of 49% in its correctional system. Overcrowding in correctional facilities is prevalent in most parts of the world. According to the European Commission, in 2021 eight EU countries — Cyprus (46%), Romania (16%), France (14%), Greece and Italy (both 8%), Sweden (2%), and Croatia and Denmark (both 1%) — experienced overcrowded prison cells. The rest of the 25 countries in the EU had surplus capacity.
In the US, the situation is more concerning. The US Supreme Court deemed the overcrowding in
California prisons so extreme that it ruled it as “cruel and unusual punishment”.
Some may look at the situation and characterise it as a correctional system bursting at the seams. But it is not crime alone that is driving overcrowding. There are other factors that need to be examined. The department of correctional services (DCS) is implementing an overcrowding reduction strategy that calls for a collaborative effort with other departments and entities.
The need for a collaborative effort is based on empirical evidence; overcrowding is a multifaceted phenomenon. Yes, crime does play a significant role. However, there are other factors that cannot be ignored. These include poverty, lack of education, substance abuse, mental health issues, systemic inequalities and poor living conditions.
What happens to learners who go missing within the schooling system? A sad reality is that a number of them end up in correctional facilities. Hence the DCS is pushing for a compulsory formal education programme for inmates under 35 who do not have matric. This is a direct response to the need to invest in education as a way to reduce crime.
There is evidence that inmates released into the parole system from correctional facilities achieve academic excellence and those who have acquired a
skill are less likely to go back to a life of crime. The department is implementing a self-sufficiency and sustainability framework aiming at empowering inmates with skills so they can build stable lives, with a sense of purpose.
The framework contributes to revenue generation and the reduction of upkeep costs for offenders and inculcates offenders with a sense of responsibility. The strategy helps to reduce idle time for offenders, reducing the risk of security incidents.
Drug abuse, especially among the youth, is another push factor boosting the population of correctional facilities. Hence it is important that this monster be tackled as a societal problem. Correctional facilities do find themselves having to deal with drugs and substance addiction.
Health-care and social development facilities are mandated to provide support and treatment, but families and communities acting early could play an essential role.
This way, many young lives could be protected from drugs and substance abuse, thus breaking the cycle of crime and incarceration.
Ever-changing crime patterns and the complexity of some offences mean trials can last a long time; some remand detainees occupy beds in correctional facilities for two years or more. The overcrowding reduction strategy is explicit on the need to expedite cases to avoid longer stays at our remand detention facilities.
Alternative sentencing methods are an option that is mooted internationally. The difficulty that indigent accused face in affording bail is among the
issues yet to be addressed by the criminal justice system.
Social reintegration is the absolute measure of successful rehabilitation by any country. When inmates are released from correctional centres with little or no support it makes it difficult for them to reintegrate into society. Practically, lack of support leads to recidivism and perpetuates the cycle of crime and incarceration, while there is incontrovertible evidence that parolees and ex-inmates become productive members of society when receiving support. Given an opportunity, human beings are capable of championing a corrective path.
Yes, overcrowding in correctional facilities may be complex, but it is not insurmountable. Having all sectors and citizens tackling the root causes of crime, working together to improve living conditions of communities, addressing drug and substance abuse and adopting an attitude of zero tolerance to crime can result in real progress in reducing overcrowding in our correctional facilities.
Young people should enjoy being in school and honing their talents and productive interests as this is crucial for their personal development and leads to safer communities.
The DCS will continue with its endeavours to arrest the ripple effect of overcrowding. Private, public and community formations working together can reverse the impact of crime in our communities and the criminal justice system.