Congratulations to Justice Lewis Skweyiya are certainly due now that he has the position of Inspecting Judge of Correctional Services, a role very removed from the lofty perch he occupied in the Constitutional Court with so much distinction prior to retiring a year ago.
Prisons are arguably at the opposite end of the scale in the criminal justice administration to that occupied by the Constitutional Court. Our correctional services are plagued by corruption, gangsterism, overcrowding and lack of capacity to rehabilitate more than a small minority of prisoners. While all of these features will occupy the learned judge’s attention, a way of addressing some of them strategically is suggested via the introduction of international prisoner transfer agreements, a long neglected solution whose time has surely come.
Dated statistics, produced by the Department of Correctional Services in 2011, indicate that there were then about 5,000 foreign prisoners serving time in SA jails. The figure for our citizens serving time in foreign jails (mainly for drug related offences) is informally estimated at approximately 1,000, possibly more. Many may not be dealers but rather drug mules, often women. If SA were to conclude prisoner transfer agreements with countries in which its citizens are incarcerated this could lead to an immediate net loss of about 4,000 of the current prison population in SA. A 2014 NICRO report estimates the average cost of incarceration ranges between R 123.00 and R 329.00 per inmate per day.
According to the 2013/14 Department of Correctional Services Annual Report, our total inmate population is 157 170, including 43 712 remand detainees. The over-crowding level is estimated at around 137%. Release under Section 63A of the Criminal Procedure Act is a viable solution to alleviate prison overcrowding by remand prisoners, one which Justice Skweyiya is likely to advocate in his new role. For the remainder, over-crowded conditions could be addressed, in part, through prisoner transfer agreements.
SA seems hesitant to take the plunge and enter into these agreements. Justice Skweyiya may have a constructive role to play in this regard. Zambia recently concluded prisoner transfer agreements with a number of SADC members to reduce overcrowding in their prisons. This multi-lateral agreement did not include South Africa. Some suggest that the SA Government’s reasons for not concluding transfer agreements include respect for foreign sovereignty, a commitment to combating crime, individual accountability and the cost of transfers.
South Africa is a signatory to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. Compliance is questionable. South Africa has concluded many international agreements and is party to a significant number of international treaties. We have extradition arrangements, the International Co-Operation in Criminal Matters Act and a multitude of taxation related agreements. Prisoner transfer agreements, none.