VIOLENCE IN PRISONS
"Someone tried to <strong>in</strong>fluence me to jo<strong>in</strong> the gangs.There are a lot of gangs here. I am afraid of them.More than I was <strong>in</strong> Johannesburg."In certa<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong>stances, warders expressed their concernabout gang activities.At Odi, the warder <strong>in</strong> charge of the juveniles said he hadtried to deal with the problem by br<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g the leadersof the 28s and 29s to a meet<strong>in</strong>g, after which a trucewas declared and knives and weapons handed over.He did not, however, believe that the peace would last.At the Malmesbury prison, the boys po<strong>in</strong>ted out howtrapped they felt about report<strong>in</strong>g offences. They saidthey were told to po<strong>in</strong>t out suspected offendersamongst the prisoners. If they did so, they said, theywere <strong>in</strong>timidated by the <strong>in</strong>mates. If they did not, theentire group would be punished.In certa<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong>stances, children were prepared to reporton gang activities. At Pretoria Local, one boy said hehad been held <strong>in</strong> a cell with older boys (up to the ageof 27) and had been abused, beaten and forced tojo<strong>in</strong> a gang. At Brandvlei, several of the children <strong>in</strong>terviewedsaid they did not want to belong to gangs.One said this was because "it is not worthwhile allthe trouble you get". Another felt it would affect hischances of parole.At Pollsmoor, an attempt is to keep the 'difficult'juveniles away from the rest. The juveniles arehoused <strong>in</strong> two cells - one for those who cooperateand attend school and another for the so-called'difficult' juveniles. This is also a punishment cell.At North-End <strong>in</strong> Port Elizabeth, the prison authoritiesreported that <strong>in</strong> 1992 they decided to allocate cells toprisoners accord<strong>in</strong>g to their gang membership. Theywould ask each prisoner whether they belonged to agang and, if so, which gang. Gang members wouldbe put <strong>in</strong> the cell allocated for the gang to which theybelonged. Those who did not belong to a gangwould be put <strong>in</strong> a neutral cell. Should a prisoner fallout with his gang and wish to be moved, he has tomake the request <strong>in</strong> writ<strong>in</strong>g.In the St Albans,sentenced section, on the otherhand, the authorities do not allocate prisoners tocells accord<strong>in</strong>g to gang affiliation. This they said is toprevent juvenile gang members from acquir<strong>in</strong>g toomuch authority over non-gang members. They alsoreported that, if gangs are put together, they becomemore powerful, and it becomes more difficult for theauthorities to deal with them. At this prison, theauthorities said there is an <strong>in</strong>tercom <strong>in</strong> each cell.However, <strong>in</strong> the very first cell visited, the <strong>in</strong>tercomwas not work<strong>in</strong>g. Dur<strong>in</strong>g another visit, some sixmonths later, all the <strong>in</strong>tercoms <strong>in</strong> the cells visitedwere reported to be out of order.it was reported that, at this prison, juveniles often<strong>in</strong>timidate each other dur<strong>in</strong>g exercise time. Generallynon-gang members are <strong>in</strong>timidated by gang memberswho force them to wash their clothes.In some prisons, younger children are kept separatefrom older children to m<strong>in</strong>imise bully<strong>in</strong>g. However, thesystem of lock<strong>in</strong>g up all the children and juveniles(often-together) from early to mid-afternoon until thefollow<strong>in</strong>g morn<strong>in</strong>g obviously provides an environment<strong>in</strong> which violence flourishes. The. fact that there is .often no more than one warder on duty dur<strong>in</strong>g thelong night shift means that he himself is under threatand unlikely to open the cells <strong>in</strong> the case of an outbreakof violence.(n contrast, facilities for female juveniles seldomreported on gang activities. The girl prisoners saidthere were no gangs at the Westville Female <strong>Prison</strong>.The authorities at North-End (who spoke openlyabout gangs <strong>in</strong> the male section of the prison) saidthere was no gangsterism <strong>in</strong> the women's section. .However, <strong>in</strong> the Johannesburg prison, the girls <strong>in</strong> theawait<strong>in</strong>g trial section referred to gang activity, notablythe 'amach<strong>in</strong>a' gang. Fights amongst the gangs andthé unaffiliated women were prevalent, and one childhad susta<strong>in</strong>ed a black eye as a result of an assaultby a fellow <strong>in</strong>mate.
- 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 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 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