The Role and Function of Prison

Respondents had an overall negative view of the efficacy of imprisonment. A minority of respondents thought that prisoners were helped to become law-abiding citizens, while most thought that prisoners learned new ways to commit crime while incarcerated. About half of the respondents thought that being put in prison punishes offenders.

About a quarter of respondents thought that prison was not a punishment for offenders. Almost a third were unsure. Most respondents thought that the most important goal of prison should be rehabilitation, followed by punishment and the removal of criminals from society. Three-quarters of respondents thought that prisoners should receive training to assist them in getting a job after their release.

A third of the respondents thought prisoners who behaved well should be considered for early release before the end of their prison sentence. About half of the respondents disagreed with this.

Most respondents did not have a clear idea of what could be done about prison overcrowding. A quarter of the respondents thought that more prisons should be built. A small minority thought that non-violent offenders should be released early and placed under correctional supervision. Most respondents felt that prison should be harsher on prisoners. 

Less than half of the respondents (43%) thought that offenders were helped to become law-abiding citizens in prison. Almost a third (31%) did not think this was the case, and a quarter of respondents were unsure. Rural and black respondents were more likely to think that prisoners were assisted in turning away from a life of crime than their more urbanised (and coloured and white) counterparts.

A majority of respondents thought that offenders learned new ways to commit crime while in prison (71%). This was most strongly felt by urban respondents (82%), followed by respondents in small towns and rural areas. Four-fifths of white respondents thought that prisons could be schools for criminals, followed by coloured and black respondents (73% and 65%, respectively).

About half (48%) of the respondents thought that being put in prison punished offenders. Almost a quarter (23%) thought this was not a punishment for offenders, while 30% were unsure. Rural and black respondents were most likely to see imprisonment as a punishment, while urban and coloured respondents were least likely to do so. A significant higher number of male respondents believed imprisonment was a punishment for offenders than female respondents (56% versus 40%).

Most respondents (61%) agreed that prisons should reform prisoners, rather than punish them. Only 13% of respondents disagreed with this aim of imprisonment, while just over a quarter were unsure. Urban respondents were significantly more in favour of prison reforming rather than punishing offenders (71%), compared to rural and small town respondents (62% and 52%, respectively). Moreover, black respondents were more supportive of the reform rather than the punitive approach (65%), compared to their white and coloured counterparts (both 58%).

Almost three-quarters (71%) of respondents felt that prison should be harder on prisoners, with only 10% disagreeing. Urban respondents were most likely to think that prison should be harder on prisoners, with 80% saying so, compared to 66% of small town and 58% of rural respondents. Three-fourths (80%) of white respondents thought that prison should be harder on prisoners, followed by black (69%) and coloured (65%) respondents.

Respondents were asked what they thought should be the most important goal of prison in respect of convicted offenders. Most thought rehabilitation (59%), followed by punishment (26%), and the removal of criminals from society (14%). Rural respondents were significantly more likely to say that prison’s most important goal should be rehabilitation (75%), followed by urban (62%) and small town (51%) respondents. Moreover, while almost a third of urban and small town respondents thought that prison’s most important goal was punishment, only 3% of rural respondents thought so.

A third (34%) of respondents thought that prisoners who behaved well should be considered for release before the end of their prison sentence. A small majority (51%) disagreed, while the remainder were unsure. Rural and urban respondents were more likely to favour the early release of well-behaved prisoners (40% and 38%, respectively), than their small town counterparts (29%). Black respondents were significantly more in favour of the early release of model prisoners (40%), than white and coloured respondents (28% and 20%, respectively).

Just over three-quarters of respondents thought that prisoners should receive training to assist them in getting a job after their release. Only 7% of respondents indicated their opposition to such a training scheme, with the remainder being undecided. Urban and white respondents were more in favour of training for prisoners than their rural and black counterparts.

According to the Correctional Services Act of 1998, the purpose of the correctional system is to contribute to the maintenance and protection of a just, peaceful and safe society by: enforcing the sentences of the courts; detaining all prisoners in safe custody while ensuring their human dignity; and promoting the social responsibility and human development of all prisoners.1 The Act also states: “With due regard to the fact that the deprivation of liberty serves the purpose of punishment, the implementation of a sentence of imprisonment has the objective of enabling the sentenced prisoner to lead a socially responsible and crime-free life in the future.”2

PRISON OVERCROWDING

Respondents were asked what they thought would be the most effective way of reducing prison overcrowding. Most (52%) — especially rural respondents — could not think of a practical solution, and merely said that the alternative should be a cheaper punishment than imprisonment, but tougher than granting parole to prisoners. A quarter of respondents suggested that more prisons should be built. This was suggested by a third of urban respondents, but only by 5% of their rural counterparts. The construction of new prisons was also a more popular option for white respondents (35%), than coloured (23%) or black (20%) respondents. Eighteen per cent of respondents thought that non-violent offenders should be released early and placed under correctional supervision. This proposal was more popular among rural and black respondents.

South Africa’s prisons have been built to accommodate 99 400 inmates, but in June 1999 were holding 154 000. In June 1999, some 54 000 prisoners were awaiting trial, the remainder (100 000) were sentenced prisoners. Between June 1994 and June 1999, the number of sentenced prisoners increased by 25%. The number of awaiting trial prisoners increased by 177% over the same period. The government is seeking to address the overcrowding problem by reducing the number of awaiting trial prisoners and outsourcing the construction of some new prisons to the private sector.

Focus group findings

White focus group participants in Port Elizabeth felt that prisons should rehabilitate prisoners, but that this rarely happens. Most thought that convicted prisoners serve only about one-third to a half of their sentence. Prison overcrowding should be addressed through the construction of more prisons, and the allocation of more money to fight and prevent crime. Black focus group participants in Port Elizabeth felt that juveniles should be kept out of prison. They also felt that petty criminals should receive fines and that the money thus raised, should be used for the construction of new prisons. Coloured and Asian focus group participants in the city favoured the building of more prisons to alleviate the overcrowding problem. Many also felt that criminals’ reasons for committing crime should be addressed, such as the high level of unemployment.

Graaff-Reinet farmers felt that the objective of prison should be the punishment of prisoners. However, it was hoped that imprisonment would have a rehabilitative effect on at least some prisoners. Prison overcrowding should be addressed by building more productive prisons where prisoners sustained themselves through work and farm activities. Black and coloured focus group participants in Graaff-Reinet thought that prisons were supposed to rehabilitate prisoners.

Black focus group participants in Grahamstown thought that punishment was the main objective of prison. Prison overcrowding should be addressed through training and rehabilitation programmes which seek to reduce the chances of released prisoners offending again. White focus group participants in the town felt that the main objective of prison should be rehabilitation, and to a lesser extent retribution. Prison overcrowding could be reduced if the criminal justice system was functioning effectively as this would deter many potential criminals from committing crimes in the first place. Coloured focus group participants felt that punishment was the main objective of prison, followed by the need to remove dangerous criminals from society, and the rehabilitation of prisoners.

Focus group participants in Umtata felt that the most important goal of prison was to protect the community from criminals. First offenders and petty criminals should be rehabilitated, but it would be impossible to rehabilitate other offenders. For Thabankulu focus group participants, rehabilitation should be the objective of prison, but not in the case of serous criminals such as murderers. Prison also protected the criminal from the family of the murdered person. It was also felt that prison kept criminals away from society and prevented them from committing further crimes. Participants felt that prison overcrowding was partly caused by the fact that many criminals did not see imprisonment as a punishment. "Many prisoners want to be in prison because they can get away from the responsibility of looking after their wives and children," one focus group member commented.

INTERPRETATION OF FINDINGS

South Africa’s prisons are overcrowded. Three-quarters of the country’s prisons are over 20 years old.3 Owing to a lack of resources, the inmate to warder ratio is a high 5 to 1.4 In Botswana it is 3 to 1, in Germany and Australia only 1.5 to 1. Owing to overcrowding, poor supervision and a lack of recreational facilities, life in many of South Africa’s prisons is harsh.5 Yet, less than half of the respondents thought that being put in prison punishes offenders. It is likely that many South Africans are not aware of the rigour of prison life. Moreover, because many South Africans are living under impoverished conditions, it is possible that prison life might appear relatively benign.

It is possible that South Africans have become so annoyed with crime and criminals that many feel that imprisonment is not a sufficient punishment for those who have made their life a misery. This would explain why female respondents were considerably less likely to feel that prison punishes offenders. Crime is likely to have had a greater impact on woman and their lifestyles than men, with the result that the former have developed a more punitive approach towards the punishment of offenders.