‘Holidays an incentive to escape jail’
With the December holidays only weeks away, the Department of Correctional Services is leaving nothing to chance.
|||Pretoria - With the December holidays only a few weeks away, the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) is leaving nothing to chance when it comes to security at South Africa’s 243 correctional centres.
This was according to deputy commissioner of Correctional Services, James Smalbeger, at the launch of Operation Vala at Baviaanspoort Correctional Centre on Wednesday.
“Prison inmates are desperate to escape at this time of the year to see their families,” said Smalberger.
He said the aim of the operation was to tighten security within all centres and to increase supervision among officials and detainees.
“We are going to be enhancing security at all access points, doing periodic spot checks, adhering to strict visiting hours and searches,” he said.
Officials will also be confining and minimising the movement of the detainees within the prisons.
They will be doing spot checks, attending to complaints immediately and providing support to the inmates.
He said for this to work, they would be introducing indoor sports to reduce boredom in prison.
These include netball, five-a-side soccer, volleyball, cricket, tug-of-war, boxing and aerobics, as well as indoor games such as chess, draughts, pool, karate, African games like kgati, diketo and morabaraba boards.
The public was also warned to not attempt to smuggle in items that may help inmates to escape. He said those caught trying would be charged.
Smalberger made reference to an incident in October were a woman who was visiting inmate Radovan Krecjir at the Zonderwater Correctional Centre, allegedly attempted to smuggle a cellphone and charger, and was arrested by correctional officials. She appeared in the Cullinan Magistrate’s Court, charged with contravening section 119 of the Correctional Services Act, Act 111 of 1998, and defeating the ends of justice.
Another incident is that of a 36-year-old woman who was arrested at Kgosi Mampuru II Correctional Centre after officials caught her allegedly trying to smuggle a cellphone.
Smalberger said this year’s intensified security operations would see increased co-operation with other law enforcement agencies, including the SAPS, the SANDF and the metro police. From 1994 to 2012/13, the department reduced inmate escapes from correctional centres by a staggering 95.7 percent, from 1 244 in 1995 to only 53 escapes in 2013, while improving incarceration success rate to 99.97 percent a year. In the last financial year (2013/14), although there was a slight increase to 60 inmates who escaped, 49 (or 81.7 percent) of the 60 escapees were re-arrested.
According to Smalberger, Operation Vala is not a period where they lock the centres, and throw away the keys until January.
“It is for this reason that various managers, from head office, regional offices and area offices, will visit correctional centres to ensure that not only is security in place, but that inmates are kept busy with meaningful activities,” he added.
sakhile.ndlazi@inl.co.za
Pretoria News