Children in Prison in South Africa - Community Law Centre

Alternatively, if a charge is to be laid, the offender isplaced in a single cell and, once a case has beenestablished against him, he is sent back to theAdmission Centre until his case has been finalised.In the Westville Prison Awaiting Trial Section, thetelevision is used as a major means of social control.Assaults and gang activities are punished by thewithdrawal of the television from the cell in question.This, according to the warders, has reduced assaultstremendously. At this prison it was reported thatthere are formal disciplinary procedures for offencessuch as carrying a concealed weapon or injuring orassaulting another prisoner or member of staff. Themost common category of offence is assault, and thetypes of punishment administered include solitaryconfinement or the removal of privileges.At Westville, as at all prisons, all complaints are enteredin a complaints book. If a complaint is laid against achild or staff member, a sworn statement must be made.A hearing is then held in the. office of the chairpersonof the Disciplinary Committee where a decision ismade either to investigate further, to send theaccused for trial or to abandon the inquiry. Parentsare not informed or drawn in to disciplinary inquiries.At the' Westville Youth Centre, both the sentenced andunsentenced children said that the warders treatedthem 'OK'. There were, however, signs that there hadbeen assaults by staff on the children. The researcherwas told that the children assault each other muchmore than the staff do, which indicates at least somelevel of staff assault. Some staff admitted that rudeand insulting behaviour by children had provokedphysical violence (being 'Mapped'.) — Some of thestaff reported that the children try to set them up fora complaint of assault and, if they speak roughly to aprisoner, or if a prisoner is hit by another and has abruise, he will get the others to 'witness' that he wasassaulted by a staff member. Although such complaintsare recorded and investigated, it is unclearwhat the results are.The procedure is that, if a staff member is accused ofassaulting a prisoner, it-is entered into the complaintsregister. The prisoner is examined by the medical staff,a form is filled in, and the matter is put before thedoctor. It may then be referred to the police. However,both children and staff say that is extremely rare for acase to be followed up. Although there is no internaldisciplinary procedure, the head of the prison maywrite a letter reprimanding the staff member. Althoughthere is a possibility of dismissal, it is more likely toaffect the staff member's chance of promotion.At the Westville Women's Prison, juveniles are punishedin a variety of ways. These include the removal ofprivileges, being locked up in cells during the day,scrubbing the ramp, the removal of visits and beinghit on the hand with key belts.At the Ekuseni Youth Development Centre, staffreported that they were not allowed to discipline thechildren at all. Observers noted litter lying around anddirty floors in the communal rooms. They asked staffabout this and were told that they could not even askthe youth to clean the floors or pick up litter. Observersreported that the atmosphere was very undisciplinedand gave an impression of total breakdown in relationsbetween staff and .'students'. It seemed that therewas no culture of responsibility amongst the pupils.New legislation on Correctional Services is planned in. the near future and will set down disciplinary policy. Inthe meantime, it must be concluded that disciplinarypractice seems to operate on an ad hoc basis, withouta clear direction and, often, in conflict with internationalprinciples and departmental policy.Staff Conditions of Service"To secure the foregoing ends, personnel should beappointed as professional officers with adequateremuneration to attract and retain suitable womenand men. " (UN RULES 83)At Rustenburg, where the staff complement is 54 for110 prisoners when the prison is at full capacity, theresearchers reported on deficiencies in warderaccommodation. While the senior staff live in'respectable' houses on the premises, many of theremaining staff live in a building alongside the prison.12 Smacked, hit.VIOLENCE IN PRISONS