In The Dark

Okay, so you want to see prisoners being treated with a harsh hand, no rights, no visual contact with the world, no television, harsher sentences and severely limited communication? (And the ignorant who are blinded by emotion, bias and limited understanding of the problem all stand up and shout “YES!”) Truth is, the answer should be a resounding “NO!” (Please select  pages from the Menu on the left before submitting your comments – Try starting with Crime & Incarceration – The Effects On Society)

Come on South Africa. Ask yourself the following questions about crime in our country and try to be REALISTIC and HONEST.

1. Can you place a person in a prison environment which differs from the social norm for extended periods of time and have a realistic expectation that they will conform to that social norm when released?

2. In order to teach someone a social lesson, would that social education not include subjecting the pupil to the substance or the material which makes up the lesson? In the Incarceration scenario, can the teacher gain a result in practice when only conveying the lesson in theory?

What am I asking here? I’m asking if you can seriously believe that an ‘eye for an eye’ belief in this instance is going to cut back the crime flow, reduce recidivism rates, ease up the severity and nature of crimes committed and return favourable results following incarceration of any individual? The answer is No.

You cannot have these expectations (although no-one can stop you believing). They are not realistic, nor are they based on an informed or objective view. The view of an ‘eye for an eye’ and ‘throw the key away’ is the view of the victim … traumatised, terrorised and raped financially, emotionally, psychologically and physically by the criminal. But it also becomes the view of the criminal … an eye for an eye for the treatment they received in prison and the education they received.

Prison education? You can go to school IF YOU WANT TO. And that’s where the problem starts. Too many choices which should not be given to a prisoner are given and those that should be given are taken away. It’s backward. It should be COMPULSORY for an inmate to increase his level of education during his prison term and doing so would (or should) determine the privileges of that individual during his incarceration term.

Here’s a truth. I’ve been stabbed by the number, kicked and beaten by warders and locked up in solitary for months (and as long as a year) by heads of prison who wanted me to conform to the system they presented me with. The last 9 years of my prison term were marked by hunger strikes, during which I was segregated, had no communication, stripped of all and any belongings and often victimized with lights, noise, threats and beatings. The water to the cell I was in was turned off on occasion. My crime? Opposition to corruption and tyranny within the system. And who gives quiet permission for this to occur? You do. Society does. It’s absurd.

In the pages attached to this blog you will read my view that the mindset of the criminal and his keeper (warders) have become one and the same thing. And it is generally true. The honest warder has no impact on the system and how it functions on the ground. The prisoner who wants change desperately enough does so in spite of the system and not because of it. It’s ass about face and needs to be addressed.

A system needs to be implemented whereby a prisoner is educated, empowered in a way which enables him/her to compensate his victim, provide support for his family, pay for his own keep within the system and be self supportive in even a meagre way upon his/her release. Impossible? No. But in order to enable this to occur, society needs to change its attitude.

Corruption within the system can be eradicated, but the ‘Brass’ needs to really want to make that happen. They need to start communicating with prisoners who crack the flaws in the system each time one arises (and this is a daily occurrence), because it is those are who are kept within the system who engage the system head on and not from an office. Only they can tell you where all the flaws lie and why they are flaws. Only they can tell you why the prison system truly sucks from a professional point of view.

A prisoner is far more qualified to speak on these issues than a criminologist or even our so-called ministry of Correctional Services. They are continuously rolled over by the inmate and his closest ally, the warder. As far as what is happening on the ground goes, both you and The Brass are in the dark.

Contrary to popular belief, prison is not a hotel. However, for some it can be. The situation in prisons across South Africa is that money speaks the loudest language. It speaks across the board (to warders and prisoners alike) and it is the 2nd greatest obstacle in our search for freedom from this culture of crime (ignorance being the first).  Please read my page titled, “Why Prison Won’t Work” from the Crime Pages Section for more insight into this…