prison privatisation in south africa issues, challenges and ...

six permission to start their own gang, which became known as the 26s.28 Today, the 27s and
26s are still closely intertwined and the 27s pledge to protect the 26s in exchange for the
contraband or other items of value which the 26s specialise in procuring. Other gangs exist,
including the 25s and the 29s, but the 26s and 28s remain predominant.29 According to their
intricate codes of conduct, the two gangs are able to co-exist although tensions exist between
the established and some of the newer, recently formed gangs. Instances of gang violence are
not uncommon, although they are usually not random but carefully deliberated within the gang
hierarchy. Indeed, a decision to kill a non-member is considered by a judicial panel and resolved
by the signing of a death warrant. The gang structures of both the 26s and 28s parallel that of a
colonial or paramilitary institution, and the tight organisational systems help extend each gang’s
power nationally.30
Recidivism
The prevalence and power of gangs may be related to the incidence of prisoners consistently
returning to prison. Although the Department of Correctional Services does not maintain
recidivism statistics, academic research has estimated that between 85% and 94% of prisoners
will re-offend.31
Conditions in South African prisons are often traumatic, and will therefore severely undermine
any attempts at a positive outcome from imprisonment. Muntingh explains, "When people are
living in conditions that are inhumane and are often treated as something other than human, it is
unlikely that they will treat other people humanely."32 At least 95% of South African prisoners
will return to the community after serving their sentences and a good portion of these will serve
sentences of six months or less. Without reintegration services upon their release, it is not
surprising that prisoners completing their first sentence will find themselves hardened by their
experience and either unable or unwilling to pursue non-criminal endeavours. The conclusion of
the British White Paper on Crime, Justice and Protecting the Public seems to hold in South
Africa as well: "Prisons can be an expensive way of making bad people worse."33
Escapes
The department’s emphasis on security overshadows programmes aimed at reintegration of
offenders, perhaps because escapes from police or correctional services’ custody is an issue
which is consistently reported in the media. Of the 459 escapes reported by the Department of
Correctional Services during 1999, 213 were from prison. The department has focused
increasing attention on escapes and has introduced programmes to address the issue as well as
set targets for reducing the actual number each year. The department is proud of its
achievement in reducing escapes from 1,244 in 1996, to 989 in 1997 and less than 500 for the
past three years.34 Many critics argue that this is only minimal progress, and should not be
applauded because the expectation is that no one should be able to escape and therefore a
goal of zero is the only acceptable target.
The term escape may not be accurate, as it conjures images of diligent tunnelling or well armed
convicts overcoming the state’s attempts to keep them confined. A better term for the South
African situation might be ‘self-initiated’ or ‘extra-judicially approved’ release. Most prisons are
decades old and in desperate need of repair, and even those which are adequately maintained
still have inherent security problems, such as insufficient fencing, lighting, or visibility.35 Staffing
shortages and lack of training also contribute to the number of escapes, although the portion of
escapes which are staff-assisted are difficult to determine.