DCS wants Treasury to add more funding to improve security and infrastructure at prisons

CAPE TOWN - The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) wants to meet with National Treasury about additional funding to improve security and infrastructure at prisons.

The department said that a lack of resources had led to security breaches, with over R12 billion in budget cuts over the past five years.

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Parliament’s Correctional Services committee, led by Deputy Minister Lindiwe Ntshali Ntshali, visited the Goodwood Prison in Cape Town on Wednesday, where an inmate recently posted a video on social media, bragging about living the "soft life" behind bars.

Parliament’s correctional services committee heard that the Goodwood Prison was overcrowded, with 2,500 inmates at the facility.

However, only 656 of those were sentenced prisoners, with the rest awaiting trial.
 
The department said over 26,000 inmates were accommodated in 42 facilities across the Western Cape.
 
Ntshali Ntshali said work was underway to intensify security in prisons.
 
"Let’s warn our public officially as a department: don't come to our facility and visit and bring contraband or cellphones, whether it’s dagga. We’re going to be arresting you also."
 
Ntshali Ntshali added that outdated security systems also created weaknesses, opening a gap for the smuggling of contraband into prisons.