Children in Prison in South Africa - Community Law Centre

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• Contact with Families"States Parties shall respect the right of the child whois separated from one or both parents to maintainpersonal relations and direct contact with both parents .and families. Some of them live as far as 300 kilometresfrom their homes. Most said that they were not aware,when they were brought to Rustenburg, that they wouldbe going so far away from their families and friends andthat this was not properly explained to them. They saidthey were simply asked if they would like to receivetraining and, because they assented, were transferred'in no time' to Rustenburg. The children all complainedof missing their families, despite the fact that the prisonon a regular basis ... " (UN CONVENTION, ARTICLE9[3D"Every means should be provided to ensure thatjuveniles have adequate communication with theoutside world, which is an integral part of the rightto fair and humane treatment and is essential in thepreparation of juveniles for their return to society... "(UN RULES 59 [59]) ,;According to prison regulations, 'A' rated prisonersget 40 minute vftits, five times a month. 'C ratedprisoners get 3.0 minutes three times a month. Theseare frequently monitored, non-contact visits duringwhich the prisoners sit behind glass. .At Rustenburg, where juveniles serving sentences ofunder five years are brought for rehabilitation andtraining, the children are moved far from their homesCONTACT WITH FAMILIES
offers them a 'good opportunity of being skilled in oneway or the other'.At Odi Prison, distance was a major impediment tocontact with families. Half of the prisoners said theylived more than a two hour drive from the prison. Theother half lived in the surrounding community. Despitethis, one child had not received a visit since theprevious December (the visit to the prison took placeon 15 April). Another had never been visited anddidn't know why. He supposed his family did notknow where he was. A child who lived with his sistersaid he had received food and money but-that hedid not know why she had not visited. Two of thechildren received regular visits.At this prison, the head said he would like to meetparents but that few parents were willing meet withhim. Come of the juveniles said they did not wanttheir parents to meet the head or visit the prison.The majority of the children at Thohoyandou wereover 200 km from home, a three hour drive from theprison. Most of them had not been visited by theirrelatives or friends.At Pietersburg, the girls receive no visits. Neither ofthe girls' parents knew they were in the prison. Oneof the girl's parents live some 100 kms away. She lastsaw them in court when she was sentenced. She hadno way of communicating with them, nor did she knowwhy they have not bothered to visit her. The other girlwas also far from her home in Johannesburg and hadreceived no visits. At Malmesbury, no social worker isallocated to the children, and most of the boys hadnot been visited by their families. One said his motherhad died recently.At the Pollsmoor Admission Centre, several of theboys received no visits. Two of them said their parentscould not afford to visit; two said they received visitsoccasionally. Only one said that his mother visitedhim 'very often.'Few children had visitors at St Albans. One said thathis family did not come to visit him and that he 'doesnot really mind'. The other said that his brother, withwhom he lives, did not know he had been sent toPort Elizabeth from Patensie - some 90 kms (a carride of one hour or more) away.Some of the boys at Kroonstad Prison had family jnKroonstad who visited them from time to time: once,twice or three times a month. Some had received novisits as their parents lived too far away.At Barberton, all the interviewees lived more than20 km from the prison, and some came from as far asthe Free State and KwaZulu/Natal. Only one prisonerhad received family visits. Other inmates claimedBarberton was too far from home, and they werenever visited. Some said their families did not knowthey were in the prison. The social worker said shewas attending to this problem. All had been living inthe family home prior to arrest, most of them in largefamilies with small incomes.At Rustenburg, two open family days provide forcontact visits when family can visit the children inthe cells and have an opportunity to spend timewith relatives travelling from far away/ These are inaddition to the normal visits during regular visitinghours. Despite this, the three children interviewedsaid they had never had any visits from their families.At St Albans, the visiting section is shared with theadults. At Pollsmoor, too, juveniles share the visiting
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 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: At Pretoria Central, a new prison,
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

Children in Prison in South Africa - Community Law Centre

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