Correctional Services Dept appeals to public not to smuggle contraband into prisons

CAPE TOWN - The Department Correctional Services is appealing to the public to refrain from smuggling contraband into prisons.

This followed the Parliament portfolio committee on correctional services’ visit to the Goodwood Correctional Facility on Wednesday.

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The department said that countering illegal activities by the public trying to smuggle items into prisons was a setback to the work correctional centres were doing to rehabilitate inmates.

Meanwhile, portfolio committee chairperson, Kgomotso Ramolobeng, said there were positive outcomes from educational programmes aimed at reintegrating prisoners back into communities.

"Ours is that if you have inmates, especially the cry was on the age differences, those would be juveniles in juvenile correctional centres, and those that are still willing to be rehabilitated, and rehabilitation means the skills programmes that the correctional centre brings, they must be able when they get out of the centre to do something for their lives."