Wits Justice Project

24/06/2021

Almost every week this year, there are articles and hashtags reporting brutal murders of q***r people in South Africa. Yet the South African parliament has not yet passed the Hate Crimes Bill

Here’s a resource from SaferSpaces explaining the importance of parliament passing the Bill: https://bit.ly/2UCIhVz

22/06/2021

A third of SA’s inmate population is made up of remand detainees. Statistics say that a majority of remand detainees cannot afford their bail. Is it constitutional to deprive someone of their liberty only because of his/her financial shortcomings in a country like SA -further depriving the accused of any economic opportunities until their trial ends?

22/06/2021

SUSPENSION OF VISITS TO PRISONS

DCS has suspended of visits to correctional and remand centres across the country following the announcement of the country moving to Covid-19 Adjusted Alert level 3.

Contact consultations between legal practitioners and inmates allowed under strict conditions observing all Covid-19 protocols. Legal Practitioners should make prior appointments at centres they seek to consult inmates at.

21/06/2021

The government has allocated R 25 218 129,000 for 2021/22 financial year for the Department of correctional services programs.

The majority of the budget (R14 961 070, 000) has been allocated to the to the Incarceration program which comprises of security operations, facilities, offender management and remand detention.

Juxtapose this with the R2 175 524, 000 that has been allocated for the Rehabilitation programs which comprises of: Offender development, Correctional programs and psychological, social and spiritual services.

Problems:
- Recidivism is at crisis level being estimated to be at 87%
- The majority of prisoners do not already have rehabilitation as only 3 978 inmates had access to long occupational skills programs.
- Thousands of people are still being kept in remand detention without recreation

16/06/2021

The day of June 16 1976, is one that reminds us of children fighting against injustice but also the brutality with which these children were met with, which came from the Police.

Police brutality in South Africa is an issue that resurfaces its head ever so often enough to remind us that our country is one in a vicious cycle of brutal violence. According to GroundUp 39 children died at the hands of police or in custody between April 2012 and March 2018 and little has been done to hold any one accountable.

It is imperative that children are protected from violence so as to help them grow and build societies that have eradicated violence.

15/06/2021

The criminalization of drug use and dependence because of the “war on drugs” exercises that many countries enforced left more harm on the poor and vulnerable than actually combatting drug syndicates.

Decriminalizing of drug use means that instead of sending people to prison for up to 10 years for simple possession of drugs for personal use, they will offer alternatives to incarceration such as rehab and psychotherapy.

07/06/2021

Early childhood trauma, poverty and a lack of economic opportunity increase the chances of children’s participation in crime. Read the story of Sizwe* and the organisations that help child offenders get their lives back.

https://bit.ly/34XVXw9

04/06/2021

The Children Justice Act aims to ensure that the rights of children suspected of criminal activity are upheld and that children convicted of crimes are helped to make better decisions and turn their lives around.

However, this is not the case in other countries. Which raises the questions of who is a child and the capacity of children to commit crimes.
Read it here:

Extra Protections for Convicted Juveniles: U.S. and South Africa Agree – And Don’t

01/06/2021

Inspecting Judge of Correctional Services Edwin Cameron wrote an article as to why prisoners need to be vaccinated now during phase 2 of the vaccine roll out in SA.

Read it here:

Why we need to vaccinate prisoners now 25 May 2021 | By Edwin Cameron Opinion | South Africa A South African prison. Photo taken by JICS At last – at long, long last – Covid-19 vaccinations are happening. The pharmacist who gave me the flu jab described her joy and relief at being vaccinated. Ev...

01/06/2021

YOUTH IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

As commences in the middle of , it is imperative that we highlight children in prison.

As of 2018, of 1267 children were reported to be in prison:
- 862 of the children were detained awaiting trial
- 405 children serving sentences (DoJ,2018)

What are the causes that lead children into prison in SA?
Are children that spend time in prison able to reintegrate into society and make better choices?
What is being done to prevent children from going to prison?

Follow our page as we explore this under-reported issue.

31/05/2021

11 homeless people, with the help of the Ndifuna ukwazi Law Centre, are taking the City of Cape Town to the Equality Court fight the by-laws that they argue unfairly criminalise people experiencing homelessness.
Read more about it here:

Ndifuna Ukwazi Law Centre attorney Jonty Cogger says the City of Cape Town is collecting complaints to bolster court cases.

31/05/2021

How do we end the cycle of violence to help prevent the abuse and murder of children?

“According to official figures, around 1,000 children are murdered every year in South Africa, nearly three a day. But that statistic, horrific as it is, may be an undercount.” (APNews, 2020)
Read more here: https://bit.ly/3uDarf4