From: Blunderov (squooker@mweb.co.za)
Date: Mon Aug 18 2003 - 15:14:24 MDT
From today's Johannesburg "Star"
<q>
South Africa's private prisons and maximum security prisons have turned
out to be an enormous waste of money, energy and time.
These are some of the findings made by University of the Western Cape
Professor Julia Sloth-Nielsen, whose overview of policy developments in
the Department of Correctional Services was published recently as a part
of the Civil Society Prison Reform Initiatives' series of research
papers.
Sloth-Nielsen has called for an investigation similar to that into the
arms deal* regarding the tender process for existing private prisons.
"The reason for prison privatization was mainly cost based," she said.
Privatization however, was costing the Department of Correctional
services much more than it had bargained for.
In 2001/2003 it was projected that by 2004/2005 the existing projects
(those deemed viable by a prisons task team) would cost the department
R538-million - up from projections of R143-million in 2002/2002.
"The department agreed that the decision had been unwise, and that
Treasury had, at the time, advised against the transaction.
"The decision to undertake the private prisons projects was, however, a
political one, according to the departmental spokesperson."
The official position currently was that no more private prisons would
be contemplated because of the inordinate and unforeseen expense.
Sloth-Nielsen said the concept of C-max prisons was introduced at a time
when the Department of Correctional Services was characterized by the
influence of American ideas in the penal sphere.
The intention was originally to create more of these facilities, she
said, but this was put on the backburner during 2001 because it had
turned out to be "a cost-intensive exercise".
According to Sloth-Nielsen the new prison for "bad eggs", Supermax near
Kokstad, was an even more lasting testimony to the influence of American
penal philosophy and practice.
"No impact analysis or land survey was done, which explains why the
facility has been built without a kitchen- the Site is too steep to
transport food in the normal manner. It cost R360 million to build, 155%
more than budgeted for."
Supermax- reserved for high-risk prisoners- was a "veritable Robben
Island on land" in terms of it's inaccessibility for family visits.
In addition the department had not been able to find enough "bad eggs"
to fill the prison.
Now the government envisages a series of "new generation prisons" for
medium and low risk prisoners.
Four would be built within the next two years. Construction would rely
on local resources; empowerment and security would be people centered
and non technology based, Sloth-Nielsen added.
They would be strategically placed in areas most affected by
overcrowding.
The focus would be on rehabilitation.
</q>
Some questions spring to mind:
How is it that we (in SA) can't find enough "bad eggs" to fill these
prisons? The truth is that our law enforcement is atrocious - any
murderer has a better than 90% chance of getting away with it. And even
if he doesn't, he is likely to be out and about again in less than ten
years - that is if he doesn't escape sooner. The average detective is
expected to investigate 100 dockets a month and there is usually one
motor vehicle available to every five detectives.
American police services are very much more efficient than ours.
But are they so efficient that they can make private prisons cost
effective in the USA where our experience in SA is that they are not?
If I was an American taxpayer, I think I would want to take a long hard
look at the balance sheets, both in terms of financial and human
resources. And I would wonder how desirable it was, in social terms, to
have an industry that has a vested interest in incarcerating as many
people as possible, for as long as possible. (BTW, is an American
citizen disqualified from jury duty if he has shares in such an
enterprise?)
I would also wonder how such a policy could ever have been contemplated,
let alone implemented. And I would wonder very hard indeed who the
beneficiaries were.
Best regards
Blunderov
*A huge local scandal which refuses to go away no matter how hard some
very powerful people wish it would.
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