From a prisoners perspective, he is able to manipulate the flaws in the system which as a result does not make or keep the prisoner responsible for the crimes he has committed or for his own keep. The reality is that the system keeps him from becoming responsible and perpetuates the reality that the tax-payer and family of criminals are responsible for him. The concept of responsibility within a social norm is lost on the inmate.

While the criminal was doing his crimes, society was the victim, but through the incarceration system society remains the victim.

Reintegration of the prisoner into the social stream. Reintegration. What a lovely word. But what does it mean when you look at the structures in place which are ‘designed’ to reintegrate inmates prisoners back into an honest way of life? How pretty a word can it be when you realise the manner in which these ‘structures’ determine how prison life plays itself out on the ground? When the reality is taken into account, the word ‘reintegration’ loses its colour and fades into the meaningless.

What is the reality

• Inmates and warders alike are able to enrich themselves at the expense of the tax payer. Thousands of prisoners will tell you, especially while awaiting trial, how their food ration is smuggled in front of their eyes, sold and the proceeds shared between inmates and warders. (I worked in a prison kitchen as a chef for about 3 months during 1994. Between myself and my fellow chef, we made around ZAR400 per day selling meat, sugar & milk we would take from the store for which we paid a cut – and we weren’t even pushing it). In a big prison and usually where awaiting trials are held, head cooks and kitchen workers can make  a thousand a day by splitting, slicing and stealing prisoners rations. Access to the stores, whether they be food stores, stores for cleaning materials, stationery, whatever, are a major security issue within any prison – or should be – when considering the losses involved.

For example: 1 cook sells 5 litres of milk powder (a ‘skaf tin’), for ZAR10. He sells 5 skaf tins a day = ZAR50 per day. Take 120 odd prisons countrywide and just the 1 prisoner doing his trade at each prison = ZAR6000 per day. He does that each day of the year = ZAR1 950 000 per year (Multiply this by about 6 and you’ll have a more realistic of what prisoners are pocketing just in Milk Powder) Then apply the same principal to sugar, meat, fruit, peanut butter, etc. Frighteneing? Well, it should be, because this is the reality.And we haven’t yet touched on the cleaning materials and toiletries etc.)

• Inmates, upon entry to a prison is usually made B or C Group prisoners. They are then able to earn their A Group by staying out of trouble. In reality, the A Group status gives only one additional privilege. Contact visits. All you have to do to earn your A Group is stay out of trouble. To a criminal it means “Just Don’t Get Caught”. Any system which is aimed at reconciling criminals with society and offers a system which is so easily manipulated and corrupted by the criminal mind should be outlawed by society itself. But soc’ keeps itself a victim and it’s the emotional aspect which is killing the purpose of the prison system. I know a lot of people will shout and say that it just isn’t that simple. The truth is, to a criminals mind … IT IS! It is that simple.

For Example: You are the victim, you’re hurting, you want to see this guy locked away forever. Great, you’re entitled to feel that way, but when that way starts dictating the treatment of captured people generally, it needs to be checked. Because there is someone who loves the guy, who visits him every weekend or every month with parcels and cigarettes and tracksuits and takkies and , and, and, and …. Why is this a problem? Because it creates an emotional imbalance to what should be a problem approached without emotion.

But even more than this, it enables the prisoner a life in which he never provides for himself. This is exactly what the system needs to do to effectively rehabilitate and reintegrate wrongdoers. Make him responsible for himself. In my view the families and friends of inmates should NOT BE ALLOWED to buy tracksuits, shoes, radios, or whatever. BUT, this does not mean that a prisoner should not be given the means by which to earn this privilege; or even earn the right to buy his own through application to a system which pays through the constructive empowerment of the communities in which prisons are based … and using inmates as the ultimate tool to ensure the success of empowerment at grass roots level. BEE? Prisoners can play a big, big role, but the system needs to enable this to happen and society needs to demand relief from the huge (and unnecessary) costs involved in the daily keep of a prisoner.

If you have an interest, please check back periodically or subscribe to my feeds. I’ll add to the Why ‘Prison Won’t Work’ page on the Crime Pages menu from time to time. There really is so much that requires graphic description. Being an uneducated writer I fear I don’t quite get the urgency of the message across, but I hope to get better as I go.

“… The bottom line of the (Landbou) article suggested that to allow prisoners to have sex with their spouses (husbands & wives) would defeat the purpose for which they are imprisoned. This raises a real question of: What is the real purpose for sending an offender to prison? How does the time they serve benefit society, if at all? It is often said that criminals are sent to prison as punishment and not for punishment. The loss of freedom is the punishment when a prison sentence is imposed.

Ultimately, the desired effect (of the incarceration system) would be that prisoners return to society as contributors and not as liabilities. Therefore, the purpose for which criminals are imprisoned is for rehabilitation (creating a new reality) and preparation; to rehabilitate them from their ant-social behaviour and to prepare them for their return to the social stream. The system in which they are incarcerated should be conducive to this aim.

Returning to the issue of conjugal rights/visits, it is, indeed, by its very nature, a most sensitive issue. To merely dismiss it on the grounds that it would defeat the purpose of incarceration is therefore rather shallow at best and downright ignorant at worst. There are both advantages and disadvantages to allowing or not allowing conjugal rights for prisoners. These must be looked at from various perspectives and always with an open mind.

For arguments sake, let us not look at it as a question of whether a prisoner should be entitled to sex, but rather, should the innocent partner be denied the right to have sex with with his/her partner? Did the author of the Landbou Weekblad article consider the predicament of a Christian wife who is sincerely bound by her vows? Should she be forced into long periods of sexual inactivity? Prisoners rights are certainly subject to certain limitations given the physical realities of imprisonment. But how far can those limitations be allowed to infringe on the rights of law abiding citizens? Does South Africa have a system which falls within the guidelines of our constitution? (Entering the year 2010 that remains doubtful.)

Other aspects to consider are the implications on security, the increased risk of escapes, drug smuggling (but this is why the government employs security staff) and the very important issue of funding appropriately dignified quarters on a limited budget.  On the other hand, allowing “private time” could help to alleviate stress in both partners and would probably result in the decrease of homosexuality  and homosexual rape within the prison context. It may also help to reduce the very real possibility of released male offenders who are sexually frustrated from seeking sexual gratification by any means upon their release. It is certainly not uncommon that some might take this by force.

More importantly, allowing conjugal visitation for inmates would help to sustain the flow of family relationships and security for those where there is a need.

It is clear that there is much to be considered before expressing unqualified comment and opinion concerning this issue.

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…

The system will enable government to alleviate the load the tax payer must carry. It will offer social, economic and political solutions to a problem never solved. Crime has evolved into a way of life for many. Children are being born into it and I believe that the social worker is the correct department to govern over this system. Here there will be incredible opposition to my views, I am sure, but having taken advantage of and then standing against the abuse of the system, from within the system, I believe I’d run a prison into a significant decrease in recidivism with my system over a period of  between 8 to 15 years following implementation.

South Africa needs more qualified social workers. Socials workers need broader decision-making powers when it comes to the functioning of the prison on the ground. Security needs to enable that role. These are the two roles. Clearly defined and to my mind … obvious.

The Role of the Social Worker

I am repeating myself here, but the social worker or the Department of Social Welfare should be the custodian and overseer of every prison in South Africa. The role of security is to ensure that the system is conducive to the role of the social worker who in turn ensures that the environment in which prisoners are imprisoned for lengthy periods of time, is conducive to the change (rehabilitation) which is required to effectively return inmates to the social norm as contributors.

The current set up doesn’t make sense. Why? Here is a simple, but relevant answer…

• Currently the system says: “You must attend these programmes before you will be released on parole. So, what does the prisoner do, he DOES THE PROGRAMMES. This requires him to attend these courses for perhaps 2 or 3 hours a day if not a week, over a period of weeks or months. When he is done with that chore he returns to the population, organises his joint for the day or smuggles his extra meat (because he can) and prison life goes on.
• He gets a certificate for each course or programme which he shows the parole board and they say, “very well, you have showed that you have applied yourself to the system”, and he gets a date (if he has served the minimum requirement) for release.
• It is really a little more complicated than that, but this is an example which can be applied across a broad spectrum of aspects which keeps the incarceration system from realising its full potential.
• There is no way a prisoner can ATTEND these programmes, he has to LIVE them. When returning to the population from a lesson in social theory he needs to go back to an environment which enables him to practice that theory. Simply put, you can’t do it any other way. South Africa needs to come to terms with that. South Africans need to put our emotions aside when dealing with the crime issue as a whole and realise that by demanding a system which differs to the norms of society we are actually increasing the ill.
• You cannot force change to occur. It comes about through a process. If you try and force it, prisoners will tell you what you want to hear, not what they truly feel or believe. Someone has to lead the way to change and the only department equipped enough to deal with that change in the actual functioning of the system is the SOCIAL WORKER.

You will find that at most prisons a single social worker is allocated an office and in some, if not most instances, has a ‘prisoner attendance register’ in excess of 1000. He or She is expected to perform miracles from that office without having much impact or say when it comes to the functioning of the system on the ground – the daily routines and the lives which prisoners lead.

Coming soon …

1. Prison Must Be Made Harder … Not Harsher. There is a difference.
2. The Role of the Social Worker – Undermined Through Incompetent Prison Management
3. A New Approach to Incarceration/Criminals/Prisoners
4. A New Prison System (A Proposal) – A Democratic System of Incarceration

Above all, you’ll read about constructive ideas, social solutions to crime in South Africa and a fresh approach to Rehabilitation.

If you’re a member of South African society, you need to read this blog for insights into the prison system which you’ll not hear in too many other places. This blog is about the truth and it may be a bitter pill to swallow, but society itself is to blame for the crime situation in South Africa. It can be turned around. The tide of crime can be pushed back, but we as a nation have to want it enough to change our own attitudes. The change begins with us.

This blog will be updated from time to time. Coming soon … A story of Crime, Drugs, Violence and Murder. See “Confessions” in a couple of weeks and check back from time to time for new pages and additional info on existing pages.

I’ve spent some time with the “Knysna Monster”  as Antonie Wessels was known, “The Hillbrow Jawbreaker” (Rodney Axe),  Gordon David Joubert (Paedophile and el’ sicko of note) and numerous other notorious criminals. They provide deep insights into the criminal mind simply through speaking with them if one is observant enough.

I know Gordon Joubert and Antonie Wessels well. Antonie was given the death sentence, Joubert picked up 39 years for his rape and child porn crusade. One of them deserved to be removed permanently. See “The Death Penalty” page (coming soon) for my views on the death penalty in South Africa. We all have opinions, but I believe I’m qualified to comment on all these issues which I will raise on this blog.

South Africa needs a new prison system. We need to create a new reality and realise that we cannot remove a man from the norm for extended periods of time and expect him to conform upon his release from prison. A system needs to be created which is based on the norms of society, where a prisoner becomes self sufficient and not a liability to the taxpayer. This page will also be coming soon.