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Date: November 25, 2024 Mon
Time: 9:09 pm
Time: 9:09 pm
Results for juvenile prisoners
1 results foundAuthor: Muntingh, Lukas Title: Report on Children in Prison in South Africa Summary: This report is an update to the situational analysis of children in prison in South Africa prepared by the Community Law Centre in 1997. The Child Justice Act 75 of 2008 (Child Justice Act), promulgated on 1 April 2010, introduced a markedly different child justice regime than that which was previously regulated by the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 and the common law. This development, along with various others which have emerged since 1997 (e.g. child justice jurisprudence and government’s renewed focus on children in conflict with the law), has changed the way in which South Africa’s courts and correctional system deal with children in conflict with the law. Accordingly, an updated analysis on children in prison became necessary. The findings in this report are based on both quantitative and qualitative data from 41 Department of Correctional Services (DCS) facilities. The type of data collected included: individual interviews with sentenced and unsentenced children, numerical data from the DCS Management Information System (MIS), and relevant literature. The report is structured according to a selection of “child justice indicators applicable to imprisonment” developed by Unicef and UNODC. The use of these standardised categorisations means that the international comparison of the data collected can be conducted in a more efficient way. An important finding of the study is that the policies in respect of the services and activities available to children across the centres surveyed, are varied and inconsistent. These include, but are not limited to, information provided at admission, orientation of new admissions, conditions of detention, the segregation of children from adults, access to education, access to recreation and preparation for release. The DCS should make all efforts to identify such inconsistencies and align the services rendered with the requirements of the Correctional Services Act 111 of 1998 (Correctional Services Act), subsidiary legislation and relevant policies. Practices compliant with the relevant legislation were identified at certain DCS facilities, demonstrating that the required standards can be met in the current environment and context. In this regard Brandvlei Youth Correctional Centre should be used as a benchmark example. Since 2003 the total number of children imprisoned in South Africa across all categories has declined rapidly from 4500 to 846 in February 2011. The substantial decline in total numbers does, to some extent, mask some of the shifts that have taken place in offence and sentence profiles. Children charged with and convicted of non-violent offences are now far less likely to be imprisoned. However, sentence tariffs for children have increased slightly; a trend reflected in the total prison population. The child imprisonment rate in South Africa (4.6/100 000) compares favourably with other developing countries (Argentina 39.3/100 000) and even some developed countries (USA 11.9/100 000). Based on snapshot data, children remain awaiting trial in DCS facilities for an average of 70 days. This is a considerable length of time. Moreover, the general lack of services available to such children (educational, social work, therapeutic, developmental and recreational) exacerbates the situation considerably. Of particular concern is the fact that children of compulsory school-going age in awaiting trial facilities are excluded from educational programmes and that conditions of detention are wanting in many regards in several facilities surveyed due to limited infrastructure, overcrowding and “staff shortages”. The situation in respect of sentenced children is noticeably better compared to their unsentenced counterparts, but there is room for significant improvements, particularly in relation to conditions of detention, the range and accessibility of services and programmes, and access to education for all children, especially those of compulsory school-going age. Child safety inside prisons is another reason for concern. Although difficult to determine if the mortality rate of children is of itself reason for concern, reports of violence (including sexual violence) and intimidation were received. The authors also found that the overwhelming majority of DCS officials working with children (sentenced and unsentenced) have not received specialist training on working with children, anti-bullying strategies, suicide prevention or conflict management. There was very little evidence that DCS take any specific measures to promote contact between children and their families, despite the legislative duty to do so. The children must purchase phone cards from their own funds and it is only at a few centres that children are supplied with stationery to write letters to their families. Children, without the necessary funds, are effectively cut off from their families. It was found that 40% of children had not had any visitors in the three months preceding the fieldwork. Details: Cape Town, South Africa: Community Law Centre, 2012. 87p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 3, 2012 at: http://cspri.org.za/publications/research-reports/report-on-children-in-prison-in-south-africa Year: 2012 Country: South Africa URL: http://cspri.org.za/publications/research-reports/report-on-children-in-prison-in-south-africa Shelf Number: 125463 Keywords: Juvenile CorrectionsJuvenile Detention (South Africa)Juvenile InmatesJuvenile OffendersJuvenile Prisoners |