Incarceration & A Democratic Society

In South Africa, democracy has been achieved (although I don’t believe there is any standard module which defines ‘democracy’), and a constitution reflecting a set of democratic laws by which we shall live, has been given to the people. But, is the South African Prison System a good example of an effective and flourishing democratic society 15 years after the official fall of Apartheid? I speak of the prison system. South Africa is a beautiful place to live. Warm people, although sometimes intolerant of its own best interests.

What is happening on the ground (within the system) does not reflect the values and guidelines laid out in the Constitution of South Africa.  It’s essential that the functioning of the system (all systems) on the ground be the yoke by which the democratic integrity and merits of the example be measured.

It was the struggle against apartheid and the oppression of a majority which enabled the injustices within that society to be ‘reviewed and corrected’, without violence and without bad attitudes. Pretty much the same is required in the struggle against crime. Just as the oppressed in this country in those times forgave and chose to work together toward a brighter future for all, the same is required by all in the struggle against crime. And why would the basis for that change be any different? It starts with our attitudes. So, in much the same vein, the system of incarceration (imprisonment) needs to be understood for what it is and approached with a healthy attitude.

The effects of the system need to be illuminated. It would be wise for this illumination, or revealing of the true nature of the system, to take place on an intellectual and political basis, but not without knowledge of the system as it works on the ground … behind closed doors. A window needs to be opened …. transparency … and this can only be given by those who have been there, by those that have manipulated the system and profited or benefited as all the functions put in place to combat the corruption of staff have come crashing down and been violated by a criminal mind. On that basis and armed with that knowledge, only then, should the political and intellectual debate of the system go forward. Ignorance may be bliss when making uninformed decisions and declarations on socially sensitive issues like these, but the effects on society can be, and are, devastating.

The system is oppressive by its very nature. It fails to restore or instill an appreciation and respect for the law. A democratic entity will never be realised by mere implication. To pay society back for the wrongs they’ve done, prisoners need to do a lot more than spend time in prison. They need to compensate their victims, contribute toward the maintenance of family life and the upliftment of the economy. They need to learn how to accept and conform to the norms of a free flowing social environment in tune with its moral, democratic stance to which the prisoner will, inevitably, one day return. BUT … society needs to give them the tools to do so.

Only once the system of imprisonment on the ground truly reflects the constitutional guidelines & principles, will I be a believer that a true democratic state of affairs can be achieved in South Africa and the so-called ‘war against crime’ be won.