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Prison officials are the biggest killers of prisoners, according to a Judicial Inspectorate of Correctional Services report by Inspecting Judge Deon van Zyl. Photo: Leon Muller

About three out of four inmates at critically overcrowded prisons in the Western Cape are awaiting trial.

This indicates that far too many people are being arrested on “insufficiently justifiable grounds”, says judicial inspector of correctional services Judge Deon van Zyl in his annual

report .

Of 19 critically overcrowded prisons in South Africa, five are in the Western Cape.

Critically overcrowded prisons are classified as those with an occupancy of more than 200 percent.

These have been highlighted in the report as Malmesbury Correctional Centre (232 percent occupation), Pollsmoor Maximum Security prison (220 percent), Grahamstown Correctional Centre (207 percent), Allandale Correctional Centre (203 percent) and George Correctional Centre (201 percent).

In the Western Cape, there are 5544 awaiting-trial detainees at these prisons compared to the 1414 inmates that have already been sentenced.

Nationally, this figure is 17 458 awaiting-trial detainees compared to 16 291 inmates who are serving sentences.

The figure had, however, declined compared to recent years, said Judge Van Zyl.

He said general conditions at these centres were “totally unacceptable and require urgent attention” – a sentiment echoed by prison and human rights organisations.

“Awaiting-trial detainees make up the bulk of those inmates detained in centres which have reached a critical level of overcrowding.”

Most of the awaiting-trial detainees are male.

It was also established that in about October each year, the number of awaiting-trial detainees rose sharply before lapsing again by February.

Judge Van Zyl said: “This annual cycle creates ‘peak periods’ in the inmate population, placing additional strain on the already limited resources and infrastructure available in correctional centres and frequently exacerbating the poor conditions and inhumane treatment suffered especially by this category of inmates.”

He said said South Africa continued to have the highest incarceration rate in Africa, at 3.5 per 1000. It also had one of the highest incarceration rates in the world.

Judge Van Zyl said more prisoners were being sentenced to life imprisonment – a national increase of 572 percent – which further compounded the problem of overcrowding.

“It can only be speculated what effect such long sentences will have on the inmate population, the treatment of detainees and the conditions prevailing in correctional centres,” he said.

It was clear that not much progress had been made in recent years to ensure a more “equitable distribution of inmates”.

Lukas Muntingh at the Civil Society Prison Reform Initiative said that most of the overcrowding was at the prisons closest to metropolitan areas.

“Prisoners generally want to be at prisons close to their next of kin,” he said, adding that it was their right.

Ebrahim Ismail, secretary of the Muslim Prison Board of the Western Cape, said the impact on facilities at the prison was a big concern. “The worst part is that in a community cell you can have 60 people sharing one shower and two toilets,” he said.

The department of Correctional Services did not respond by deadline. - Cape Times