Department Of Correctional Services Functions
Department Of Correctional Services Functions, The responsibility of the department is, first and foremost, to correct offending behaviour in a secure, safe and humane environment,” the Minister said.
The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) is mandated to place offenders in a secure, safe and humane environment, and ensure that rehabilitation and successful reintegration programmes are implemented.
This mandate is derived from the Correctional Services Act, 1998 (Act 111 of 1998), the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977 (Act 51 of 1977), the 2005 White Paper on Corrections in South Africa, and the 2014 White Paper on Remand Detention Management in South Africa.
As prescribed in these legislations, the department has to contribute to maintaining and promoting a just, peaceful and safe society by correcting offending behaviour in a safe, secure and humane environment, which allows for optimal rehabilitation and reduced repeat offending.
Legislation and policies
In addition to its legislative mandate, the DCS is compelled by the Constitution to comply with the following rights in terms of the treatment of offenders:
- equality
- human dignity
- freedom and security of the person
- right to healthcare services
- children’s rights
- right to education
- freedom of religion
- right to humane treatment and to communicate with and be visited by family and next of kin.
Section 63A, Chapter 28 and Section 299A of the Criminal Procedure Act (CPA), 1977 (Act 51 of 1977) are of particular importance to the department. It provides for a procedure in terms of which the court may, on application by a head of a correctional centre and if not opposed by the Director of Public Prosecutions concerned, order the release of certain accused persons on warning in lieu of bail or order the amendment of the bail conditions imposed by that court on the accused person.
Section 63A also forms the basis of a protocol between JCPS cluster departments to encourage the use of this provision to assist accused persons who do not pose a danger to society to be released from detention in circumstances where the bail set by the court cannot be afforded by the accused person or his or her family.
Chapter 28 of the CPA of 1977 deals with sentencing and the entire chapter applies to the department’s mandate. Offenders must be detained in accordance with the sentences handed down under this chapter.
The granting of parole and the conversion of sentences to correctional supervision is also done in accordance with this chapter, read together with the Correctional Services Act of 1998. Section 299A of the CPA of 1977 regulates victim involvement in the decisions of parole boards.
The 2005 White Paper on Corrections in South Africa ushered in a start where prisons become correctional centres of rehabilitation and offenders are given new hope and encouragement to adopt a lifestyle that will result in a second chance towards becoming the ideal South African citizen.
The Second Chance Act of 2007 (borrowed from the United States) repudiates the notion that recidivism reduction is best achieved through deterrent threats alone, and calls for the delivery of services to former prisoners not in a minimal or grudging way but in a systematic, progressive fashion.
It is a re-entry movement that could be classified as therapeutic jurisprudence, restorative justice and to some extent victims’ rights.
The Act provides programmes and services that will aid rehabilitation efforts and encourage positive participation in society upon release.
It eliminates “invisible punishment” by excluding access to public benefits such as social grants, general assistance, housing and jobs. The Act counters the effects of policies, which have made it extremely difficult for ex-offenders to re-enter the normative non-criminal community, and could explain why there are so many recidivists.
The Criminal Matters Amendment Act, 2015 (Act 18 of 2015) amends the CPA of 1977. The amendments provide for changes to the law pertaining to infrastructure-related offences by making stricter provisions for the granting of bail, the sentencing of offenders and creating a new offence to criminalise damage to, tampering with or destruction of essential infrastructure that may interfere with the provision of basic services to the public.
The Act also aims to create a new offence relating to the essential infrastructure as well as amend the POCA of 1998.
Budget
Total expenditure increases at an average annual rate of 6.7%, from R23.8 billion in 2018/19 to R29 billion in 2021/22. However, Cabinet has approved budget reductions of R79.9 million in 2019/20 and R74.3 million in 2020/21 on the department’s budget for the compensation of employees.
This is due to underspending on the compensation of employees resulting from a moratorium not to fill vacant posts. At the end of 2016/17, the department had 39 259 filled positions out of an approved 41 994; and at the end of 2017/18, the department had 39 520 filled positions out of an approved 41 462.
Over the medium term, the department expects a decrease in personnel, from 39 260 in 2019/20 to 39 191 in 2021/22. Nevertheless, as the work of the department is labour intensive, 71.9% (R58.8 billion) of its total budget over the MTEF period will be spent on the compensation of employees.