Children in Prison in South Africa - Community Law Centre

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' • • : - . . ' . . ' • • • . . ' : ' • ' • - . • • • . - 'area with adults and allege that they get robbed of'their possessions as a result.Very often the parents of Section 29 - children didnot know which prison their children were in. A socialworker at Pretoria Local tried to help the childrencontact their families, but said it was "hard to findfamilies living in shacks". The majority of the boys hadno visits at all, despite the fact that, quite often, theparents had been present in court when the children .appeared.Researchers found generally that juveniles in prison feltseparated from their families and deprived of familysupport because of the infrequency of family visits.Interviews with social workers revealed that the mostcommon request from children is to help them get intouch with their families. Often the problem cited wasthe fact that children are imprisoned far from homeandjoarents are not able to visit them. Sometimes• families living quite close by do not visit the children.Sometimes the children say, or assume, that nobodyknows where they are.6 Section 29 of the Correctional Services Act 8 of 1959 was amended in 1996 to provide for the detention ofjuveniles in prisons or police cells, under prescribed conditions and where no alternative exists.CONTACT WITH FAMILIES
The South African Constitution enshrines the right toeducation and the South African Schools Act (1996)makes education compulsory up to the age of 15.Schooling Provision"Everyone has the right... to a basic education".(SA CONSTITUTION, SECTION 29)• "Every juvenile of compulsory school age has theright to education suited to his or her needs andabilities and designed to prepare him or her for returnto society. Such education should be provided outsidethe detention facility in community schools whereverpossible and, in any case, by qualified teachers...Juveniles above compulsory school age who wish tocontinue their education should be permitted andencouraged to do so, and every effort should bemade to provide them with access to appropriateeducational programmes. " (UN RULES, 3SFF & 39)However, the provision of education for children inprison is as uneven as many of the other servicesprovided. A very few prisons have complete schoolfacilities and cater for formal school education. Othersare beset by staff shortages, overcrowding andinadequate facilities and resources.At some of the prisons there are no facilities at all. AtStanger Prison, no education or training is offered.There are no teachers, and there is no access to books.At Malmesbury, likewise, no education is provided. Atthis prison, nobody is trained to work with juveniles,there is no social worker, and there are no programmesfor children at all. Pietermaritzburg Prison provides no ,educational programmes for the children.At some of the prisons, some provision is made. AtSt Albans in Port Elizabeth, researchers were told thateducation is free up to Standard Five. After this, thechildren have to pay 'subject money'. The authoritiesclaim that they assist children in getting funding whenit is needed. The Department of Correctional Servicesprovides them with the materials they need, and a
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 and 34: At Pretoria Central, a new prison,
Page 35: offers them a 'good opportunity of
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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