Children in Prison in South Africa - Community Law Centre

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The juveniles are housed in a separate section withinthe adult prison.Three visits took place on 5 December 1996,30 January 1997 and 17 June 1997.Thohoyandou PrisonPretoria LocalPretoria Local is a large prison which accommodatesboth sentenced and .unsentenced juveniles. Onlyshort term prisoners are accommodated at theprison. They are referred here for treatment or if theyare not 'cooperating'. Because of the small numberof escapes from the prison, it is seen as a suitableplace to send dangerous offenders.The visit took place on 27 April 1997.Rustenburg PrisonRustenburg Prison in the Northern Province has beenconverted from a reformatory school into a prison for'juveniles under the age of 21. It was reported thatthe building has not been, altered to make it lookmore 'prison-like' and, in this sense, it is very unlikeother prisons. It has dormitories rather than cells.There appears to be free'movement between therooms. The facility is secured with a control securitydoor at the entrance and steel bajs on the windows.The prison accommodates male prisoners under theage of 21.Rustenburg holds juvenile offenders from all over theNorth West Province and a few from Gauteng. Thejuveniles are all serving sentences of under five yearsand are selected from different prisons and broughthere for rehabilitation and training. The aim is toprovide the boys with skills they will be able to useon their release.The visit took place on 16 April 1997.Thohoyandou Prison is in the far northern part of theNorthern Province. It consists of three prisons:Thohoyandou Medium À for sentenced prisoners,Medium B for awaiting trial or unsentenced prisonersand a women's prison, also divided between sentencedand unsentenced offenders. •The visits took place in April/May 1997.Upington Prison .Upington Prison is in the Northern Cape. It is situatedin rural surroundings with adjacent farmland.The visit took place on 3 December 1996.Virginia PrisonVirginia Prison in the Free State is a small prison setin a rural area surrounded by agricultural fields whichare worked by the prisoners. The prison tends to beused for prisoners serving shorter prison terms; longterm prisoners are usually transferred to other prisonsin the province. •The visit took place on 17 July 1997.WellingtonWellington Prison is situated just outside the town ofUmtata and built in the form of a fort. It is regardedas the main prison in the former Transkei.The yisit took place from 2-4 July 1997.St Albans PrisonSt Albans Prison is in an agricultural area outsidePort Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape Province. Theprison has no separate facility for sentenced juveniles.Westville Youth CentreWestville Youth Centre is in Durban, KwaZulu/Natal.The Centre is part of a prison complex which includesa section for children awaiting trial, and sections formale and female juveniles.PRISONS VISITED
1• Definition of Children andJuveniles in South AfricanPrisons"In this section 'child' means a person under the ageof 18 years", (SA CONSTITUTION)"The Convention defines as a child every humanbeing under 18, unless national laws recognise theage of majority earlier", (UN CONVENTION) 2The Age QuestionThe Department of Correctional Services has adefinition for "juvenile" that is different from that of theUnited Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child(1989) and the South African Constitution (1996). TheDepartment of Correctional Services defines a juvenileas a young person under the age of 21. The UNConvention and South African Constitution define achild as a young person under the age of 18 years.This complicated the task of collecting data. It also,frequently, results in the imprisonment of childrentogether with older persons between the ages of18 and 21."A juvenile is every person under the age of 18. Theage.limit below which it should not be permitted todeprive a child of his or her liberty should bedetermined by law ..." (UNRULES 11 (A)). 4Determining correct ageAnother difficulty is the fact that prisoners sometimesfalsely claim to be under 18 years of age. At StAlbans, one of the 'children' said he had forged his3 The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), ratified by South Africa in 1995.4 United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty (1990).
Page 2 and 3: • ContentsINTRODUCTION 1ACKNOWLED
Page 4 and 5: almost certainly because they tear
Page 6 and 7: Figure 2 gives a breakdown of child
Page 8 and 9: THANKS ARE DUE TO:The children and
Page 10: .Ekuseni Youth CentreThe Ekuseni Yo
Page 15 and 16: age of 18 with their own age groups
Page 17 and 18: Dedicated facilities for JuvenilesT
Page 19 and 20: At the Pollsmoor Admission Centre,
Page 21 and 22: Separation of sentenced and unsente
Page 23: Beds and bedding"Every juvenile sho
Page 26: At Pietersburg, the researcher was
Page 29 and 30: are virtually unoccupied for long p
Page 31 and 32: At Rustenburg, a qualified, nurse i
Page 33 and 34: At Pretoria Central, a new prison,
Page 35 and 36: offers them a 'good opportunity of
Page 37: The South African Constitution ensh
Page 40 and 41: Leeuwkop were extremely demotivated
Page 42 and 43: trial- are the responsibility of th
Page 44: Where programmes are jn placeIn som
Page 47: At Westville Youth Centre, there is
Page 50 and 51: VIOLENCE IN PRISONS
Page 52 and 53: AssaultAs part of their mission sta
Page 54 and 55: of 24, sometimes without even a tel
Page 56 and 57: "Personnel should be qualified and
Page 58 and 59: the night at 3pm. In some instituti
Page 60 and 61: the ages of 15 and 17. In an emerge
Page 62 and 63:
Generally, serious problems are ref
Page 64 and 65:
Alternatively, if a charge is to be
Page 66 and 67:
One of the consistent patterns that
Page 68 and 69:
Often children say that they are, n
Page 70 and 71:
the names of their lawyers. Three o
Page 72 and 73:
Bail"Every child has the right not
Page 74 and 75:
Postponements and finalisation of c
Page 76 and 77:
Figure 7 shows the length of senten
Page 78 and 79:
How the Children are Cared For8. An
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Trial40. Parents or guardians shoul
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Children in Prison in South Africa - Community Law Centre

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