Archived Newsletters

This newsletter looks at the Department of Correctional Services' (DCS) Medium Term Expenditure Estimates focussing on five issues: The cost drivers and priorities in the budget; The real and nominal trends in the budget; The internal distribution of the budget between DCS programmes; The prison construction programme; Budget trends and the White Paper on Corrections; and The budget in relation to other budgets in the crime and security cluster.

Media reports in this issue include: Prisoners to be monitored electronically; Younger offenders should be sent for correctional supervision; Human Rights Commission criticises death penalty move; Awaiting-trial prisoner's lawyer unhappy with the postponement of client's trial; Awaiting-trial prisoners escape from a police van; Bill could reduce the age of babies living with imprisoned mothers; Department and Portfolio Committee disagree on private prisons; Department of Correctional Services recovers 22 million rand; Department of Correctional Services ordered to reinstate fired warder; Correctional Services Portfolio Committee chairperson says prisoners should be stripped of privileges; and many more newspaper articles on prison-related issues.

This issue contains media articles on: Children; Governance and Corruption; Prisoner's Rights; Trial & Sentencing; Overcrowding; Prison reform in other African countries.

In this CSPRI Newsletter, Senior Researcher, Lukas Muntingh, writes on Prison Oversight in South Africa. He asks the question: Has it come of age? Reflections on the Judicial Inspectorate of Prisons and the Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services

Note from the Editors: Due to the festive season and general winding down of activities at the end of 2007, a December 2007 issue of CSPRI 30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku was not circulated. This issue covers two months; December 2007 and January 2008. We will also welcome any feedback on this newsletter and whether or not our readers find it useful. Any suggestions on improvement are welcome; Lukas Muntingh, Julia Sloth-Nielsen & Jamil Mujuzi; This issue has media reports on: Safety and security (including a report on Load- shedding compromising prison work); Deaths in custody; Unsentenced prisoners; Governance (including an article on the Court orders prison doctor should get his job back); Corruption (including an article on Correctional Services tenders should be investigated, Democratic Alliance); Prison conditions; Health care (including an article on HIV prevalence rate is higher among prisoners).

This issue has South African media reports on the topics: Governance and Corruption; Unsentenced prisoners; Security & Escapes; Parole & Sentencing; Conditions of Detention; and Media reports from other African countries.

This issue contains media reports on: parole & sentencing (including the article on permission granted to Mrs Najwa Petersen to attend her father's funeral); deaths in custody; a report on a movie shot at Pollsmoor Prison; Inmates observe Corrections Week; Prison news in other African countries.

In this issue, Mr Jamil Mujuzi writes extensively on Medical Parole in South Africa.

This issue consists of media reports on: Health Care; Prisoners' Rights; Prison Population; Legislation; Rehabilitation; Escapes; Other African Countries.

This issue consists of news on: Governance and Corruption; Sentencing; Prisoners' Rights; Escapes; Parliament and Oversight; HIV/AIDS; Rehabilitation; News from other African countries.

This issue contains media reports on: size of the prison population; prisoners' rights; escapes; governance and corruption; parole and sentence administration; rehabilitation and reintegration; other African countries.

The June 2007 issue of the CSPRI Newsletter consists of: Protecting Prisoners' Rights before the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights: The Role of Civil Society; SA Prisons at a glance.