Children in Prison in South Africa - Community Law Centre

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• Conditions in the PrisonsCell Accommodation"Sleeping accommodation should normally consist ofsmall group dormitories or individual bedrooms, while"Every child has the right... to be treated in a manner,and kept in conditions, that take account of thebearing in mind local standards. "(UN RULES, 33)child's age. " (SA CONSTITUTION)"... Children who come in conflict with the law havethe right to treatment that promotes their dignity andself-worth, and also takes the child's age into accountand aims at his or her reintegration into society."(UN CONVENTION)"Juveniles deprived of their liberty have the right tofacilities and services that meet all the requirementsof health and human dignity. The design of detentionfacilities for juveniles and the physical environmentshould be in keeping with the rehabilitative aim ofresidential treatment, with due regard to the need forprivacy, sensory stimuli, opportunities for associationwith peers and participation in sports, physical exerciseand leisure-time activities ..."(UN RULES 31-32)The tendency in South Africa is towards largecommunal cells of up to 50 juveniles per cell.At Pollsmoor Medium A, the juveniles occupy cellsin groups of 42. At St Albans, the juvenile cellssleep about 40, and conditions are cramped withlittle space between the beds. In rare cases, cellsare more spacious, as at Pretoria Central where only11 or 12 juveniles share sleeping accommodation.Cells are also frequently overcrowded, containingsometimes twice as many young persons as theywere designed for. At Stanger, for example, some ofthe children sleep on stretchers or blankets. 'Beds'are rolled up during the day to create sitting space.At Thohoyandou, 25 male unsentenced juvenilesoccupied communal cells designed for far fewerinmates, while the single cells were occupied by asmany as five to ten juveniles at one time. At Virginia,prisoners under the age of 18 years were sleepingthree to a bed.
At the Pollsmoor Admission Centre, where childrenawait placement e.lsewhere, communal cells with acapacity of 16 or 28 held between 28 to 33 youth. Atthe time of the visit, each single cell housed threeinmates. At Leeuwkop, the cells were' larger thanusual and generally held about 28 prisoners. At thetime of the visit, however, there were 36 prisoners inthe cell in which the children were kept. At theJohannesburg Medium A Prison, cells designed for32 prisoners accommodated over 36 occupants.Boksburg Prison also suffers from overcrowding. At thetime of the visit, the juvenile section was -200% full.Communal cells in E1 are designed to accommodate17 prisoners each, but were sleeping 38 people atthe time of the visit. E2 had 21 prisoners in cells built•for 11 inmates, while the larger cells, intended for 19prisoners, slept 38 inmates. In Section E3, the communalcells built for 11 inmates slept 21, and sectionE4 accommodated 25 prisoners in 21 ëingle cells.At Barberton, researchers noted that the prison hada population of 493 prisoners, in accommodationdesigned for 450. 99 of these prisoners were adultmales awaiting trial, Who were being held in two cramped,airless.cells without beds. Of the 394 sentencedprisoners, thirty nine were on the records as children.Often the prisoners responsible for cooking sleep in aseparate room, on the grounds that they keep differenthours. At Rustenburg, they'share a separate room forseven which is furnished with two television sets, avideo cassette recorder (VCR) and a small stereomusic system.They are allowed to watch televisionall day provided they have finished their duties.At Leeuwkop Medium B, prisoners playing in a bandare accommodated in one cell, and members of thechoir in another. The ages of youth in these cells alsovaried. The band members-were anxious that it beexplained to the community that they are trying totake steps to rehabilitate themselves and that theydid not want to go back to crime. A large 'Don't doCrime' poster was hanging in the choir cell.Generally, it appears that staff at some of the prisonsalso separate juveniles according to gang membershipin an attempt to control gang activity. At St Albans, youthawaiting trial are separated first according to gahgmembership and second according to age and size.At Barberton, in addition to the large cells describedin the section on Cell Accommodation, there are 32single cells in which prisoners on further charges aresegregated. These have only a tiny window high inthe wall. • ,There were, however, exceptions. At Barberton,again, the. cell in which most of the children wereaccommodated was approximately 23 metres inlength and occupied by 28 prisoners. It is authorisedto hold up to 43. At Rustenburg Juvenile Prison, theprison was below capacity on the day of the visit.Other ways of segregating prisonersIn addition to the separation of juveniles from adultsby age, as discussed in the previous chapter, prisonsuse other criteria when allocating young inmates toparticular cells.Thus, in the,section of Pollsmoor set aside for juvenilesawaiting trial, youth are separated into cells accordingto their age and size, keeping the small boys kepttogether. In contrast to this, convicted children aredivided between two cells: one for those whocooperate and attend school, and another for the so- •called 'difficult' juveniles. This latter is also consideredto be a punishment cell.
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 13 and 14: 1• Definition of Children andJuve
Page 15 and 16: age of 18 with their own age groups
Page 17: Dedicated facilities for JuvenilesT
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
Page 80:
Trial40. Parents or guardians shoul
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