Clampdown on gang violence at St Albans
IN an attempt to clamp down on gang violence and stabbings at St Albans Prison, the Correctional Services Department has begun an intervention programme to restore peace and security within the centre.
Acting National Correctional Services commissioner Zach Modise said yesterday that several major issues were being addressed at St Albans Prison.
These included gangsterism, overcrowding and the smuggling in of illegal items. More staff were also being recruited.
The intervention plan comes after an emergency meeting last month that discussed the spate of attacks and stabbings of officials.
Between April last year and March this year, 140 incidents of prisoners attacking prisoners were reported and 193 were injured.
Last year, 19 cases were reported in which inmates attacked officials.
This year nine more were reported, totalling 28 since January last year.
So far a total of 195 convicted prisoners have been transferred to various prisons across the country. Most of them are criminals serving time in the maximum and medium security section.
Some of the transferred prisoners were gang leaders who were allegedly responsible for instigating several of the stabbings.
Modise said the prisoners were sent to facilities in Patensie, Kimberly, Bloemfontein and Johannesburg.
“The transfers, coupled with other normal processes, have reduced levels of overcrowding in St Albans by 8.3% [from 71% to 62%]. More transfers will be carried out to ensure that levels of overcrowding are reduced to acceptable levels,” he said.
The move comes after a Correctional Services national task team conducted a probe into the spate of gang-related incidents.
More than 150 specialist emergency support team (EST) officials from other provinces had been deployed to St Albans to curb the ongoing lawlessness within the centre, Modise said.
Several raids on prison cells were conducted which led to the confiscation of 387 cellphones, 131 sharpened objects and knives, three bags of dagga, 152 tablets of illegal drugs and cash amounting to R7 980.
“This is part of a clampdown aimed at rooting out crime within the centre as well as focusing on stability,” Modise said. “St Albans was the first of several prisons identified as problematic hot spots.”
Correctional Services Eastern Cape commissioner Nkosinathi Breakfast said that since prisoners had been transferred to other facilities, there had been no incidents in the prison.
“This is not a problem that will be solved overnight. Anything to do with gangsterism takes time,” he said.