As a high crime rate continues to trouble the Grahamstown area, the area's prisons are in turn troubled by overcrowding and lack of facilities.
As a high crime rate continues to trouble the Grahamstown area, the area's prisons are in turn troubled by overcrowding and lack of facilities.
According to Zamuxolo Feni, national spokesperson for the Department of Correctional Services (DCS), the approved capacity of Grahamstown Correctional Centre (GCC) is 343 prisoners, but the centre currently houses a population of 405. This is unusual, Feni said, usually the number is much higher.
GCC is currently undergoing renovations – minor repairs and painting in some cells, but no new structure – displacing around 200 residents to other facilities. In other words, the typical population at GCC is closer to 600, or almost double the approved capacity. Many cells are furnished with bunk beds in order to stretch the available space.
This overcrowding puts increased stress on infrastructure, but also affects the delivery of services such as rehabilitation programs, Feni acknowledged. At a recent ANC branch meeting, Makana Social Services Committee Chairperson Mthuthuzeli Matyumza slammed DCS, saying that its facilities had become "a school of graduation for criminals."
Most of the residents at GCC are there awaiting trial, but the centre has no facilities for juveniles and women. SAPS, which is responsible for transporting persons awaiting trial, is constantly ferrying individuals between area centres. According to SAPS spokesperson Mali Govender, this is a serious drain on police resources, occupying two to three vehicles and four to six officers every day.
Port Elizabeth Correctional Centre (PECC) is the closest centre with space for juveniles and women awaiting trial. The dedicated facilities for juveniles and women serving sentences are in Cradock and East London, respectively. They do have space for people awaiting trial, but are significantly more distant.
At present, SAPS Station Commander Brigadier Govender announced at a recent public meeting that space for women in PECC is full, requiring SAPS to make the longer trip to East London. Feni confirmed that PECC is also undergoing renovations, which have displaced some male residents and suggested that this might have reduced the space for women as well.
At present, there are no plans to significantly upgrade Grahamstown's correctional facilities. Feni argued that building more correctional centres will only allow the problem of overcrowding to continue. "Overcrowding is a national problem, and it needs a national solution," he argued. "The problem that the nation needs to focus on is the economic development of the communities."
A DCS annual report published in October gave the nationwide figure of 34.87% prison overcrowding, an improvement from recent years.
