NCJ Number
172473
Journal
American Jails Volume: 11 Issue: 6 Dated: (January/February 1998) Pages: 31-34,36-37
Date Published
1998
Length
6 pages
Annotation
The eight United States corrections professionals who visited South Africa's criminal justice system in March 1997 learned that the country has a unified correctional system with 247 prisons and no separate jails for detention of pretrial and unsentenced persons.
Abstract
The total prison capacity is 95,000, but 129,830 inmates were in prison on January 31, 1997. Another 60,000 persons were under community supervision. Thirty thousand of the 36,000 correctional positions were filled as of March 1997. Top officials of the Department of Correctional Services noted that escapes and the lack of programs are the two major problems the correctional system is experiencing. Forty-one prisons have no educational programs. Pretrial and unsentenced inmates are eligible only for religious activities. The corrections professionals observed four correctional institutions. It concluded that the Department of Correctional Services in South Africa is undergoing substantial change and has developed a progressive vision for the future, with emphasis on education and training. However, it must first deal with substantial overcrowding and modernize the facilities. Photographs