No end to overcrowding at Pollsmoor

Cape Town 10-02 -16 Awaiting trial prisoners in a overcrowded cell in Pollsmoor Pic Brenton Geach Pic Brenton Geach Picture Brenton Geach

Cape Town 10-02 -16 Awaiting trial prisoners in a overcrowded cell in Pollsmoor Pic Brenton Geach Pic Brenton Geach Picture Brenton Geach

Published Feb 11, 2016

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Cape Town - Correctional Services national commissioner Zach Modise has conceded that overcrowding, particularly at Pollsmoor’s awaiting-trial section, may continue for the foreseeable future.

He was responding to questions following a “semi-urgent” application in the Western Cape High Court by Sonke Gender Justice that seeks to compel the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) to ease overcrowding at the 52-year-old prison.

Sonke Gender Justice spokesperson Ariane Nevin said overcrowding at Pollsmoor stood at 309 percent, which meant the prison had 4 400 detainees, when it only had the capacity for 2 355.

“Pollsmoor remand detention is one of the worst facilities (in South Africa).

“We’re suing for the rights of the awaiting-trial detainees because they’re presumed innocent,” said Nevin.

She said the public health impact of the conditions at Pollsmoor’s awaiting-trial section was “very bad” as inmates were often transient, and spread diseases like HIV and TB in their communities when they were released.

Modise insisted the awaiting-trial section at Pollsmoor had been “cleaned up” following a rat infestation last year, which killed two inmates after being exposed to a disease carried in rat urine.

“All of the unwanted elements that were there have been removed… I’m talking about the rodents, cockroaches and lice.

“The place has been cleaned up completely and the offenders and officials have been returned to that institution. It has now been sanitised,” said Modise.

While he boasted of the clean-up, he admitted there were areas of management which he would have to take on personally, along with senior DCS officials like Western Cape commissioner Dalekile Klaas and Pollsmoor’s area commissioner, Clifford Mketshane.

DCS staff at Pollsmoor complained that while that facility was overcrowded, the department was sitting with three prisons in the Western Cape which were under-capacity.

According to a DCS source, the new prisons recently opened in Vanrhynsdorp, Ceres and Worcester could ease overcrowding at Pollsmoor, but poor human resource planning meant there were no staff to work at these prisons.

Modise said the DCS was in the process of filling up Vanrhynsdorp not only with offenders, but officials as well.

“When the place was under renovation, a lot of offenders from that centre were transferred to other prisons and other staff members were also sent there. But now we are returning them. We want to fill it up to capacity.

“Quite a lot of prisoners have been transferred to the Tswelopele facility in Kimberley and others have been transferred to two private institutions,” said Modise.

While 100 prisoners were transferred away from Pollsmoor each month, Modise said on average 500 awaiting-trial prisoners were admitted daily.

“It’s not only Pollsmoor, we also have other institutions that are also overcrowded. Westville (Durban), Johannesburg (Sun City), Pretoria prison, all of our big institutions are over 150 percent overcrowded,” said Modise.

He said the justice, crime prevention and security cluster (of ministries) were looking at non-custodial sentences for non-violent criminals.

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@mtyala

Cape Times

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