SOUTH AFRICAN PRISONS OVERCROWDED
SA’s prisons are overcrowded and with no signs of the trend reversing – unsentenced inmates are part of the problem
According to the Department of Correctional Service’s 2024/25 annual report, South Africa’s prisons are over-crowded at an average rate of 55%. The most recent data, as presented in a recent written parliamentary reply to RISE Mzansi by Minister Pieter Groenewald, reveals that the average rate of overcrowding has ballooned to 61,85%.
Overall, the country has 102,585 beds at its Correctional Services facilities with an inmate population of 168,091. This translates into 65,233 inmates who are without bedspace.
The Eastern Cape accounts for the highest overcrowding levels – the province houses 21,853 inmates but only has 12,071 beds, with the Butterworth Remand Detention Facility overcrowded at a rate of 231%.
A study of the numbers shows a high number of unsentenced inmates who are taking up bed space, often outnumbering those who have been sentenced. This points to a need for cooperation between the Minister of Correctional Services and Justice & Constitutional Development. Further parliamentary questions will be submitted in this regard.
RISE Mzansi has on numerous occasions proposed that the criminal justice system introduce and normalise alternative sentencing for lesser crimes in order to mitigate overcrowding. For example, have non-violent convicted criminals doing community work.
Various literature has shown that the countries correctional services facilities are breeding grounds for violent and organised crime – a headquarters for criminals.
Petty criminals end up joining gangs, and when they are released, they return after committing serious and violent crimes.
South Africa needs to prioritise the human dignity of those incarcerated in our prisons. Let us promote the principle of restorative justice in rehabilitating offenders in our communities.
MAKEKASIGREAT©®™ @KASIBC_AFRICA
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