The aim of the Department of Correctional Services is to contribute towards the
maintenance and protection of a just, peaceful and safe society, by enforcing
court-imposed sentences, detaining offenders in safe custody under human
conditions and promoting the social responsibility and development of all
offenders and persons subject to community corrections.
Many people in the community feel this Department’s role is about punishment. However, we have no legal power to
punish any person unless they offend whilst in our care and custody, such as an
offence in prison or breach of a court order being supervised at a community
corrections centre.
The imprisonment of a person or a court order is the punishment. People are sent
to prison as punishment, not for punishment.
Why is it then that prisons exist, apart from removing the offender from the
community for a period of time?
Almost every person in our custody will someday be released back into the
community. Even people who have been sentenced for murder will generally have a
non-parole period set by the court and when this period has expired, they may be
released.
These people will need and use all the facilities that the general community
takes for granted.
It is our responsibility to place these people back into the community with
better skills to survive and contribute without resorting to crime, than they
had when incarcerated.
Prison would serve little use to the community by releasing an offender the
same, if not worse than they were, at the time of imprisonment.
After release, offenders are going to live somewhere, they are going to buy food
and other consumer goods, require services, travel on commuter services and
conduct themselves in a whole range of situations that other people take for
granted.
Many of these people may have been in correctional centres for so long that
changes in the community have happened of which they are totally unaware.
By being better educated and having some work skills and ethics they are less
likely to re-offend.
It is this Department’s responsibility to prepare them for that.
It costs almost R40 489.45 of taxpayers, funds to keep one offender in the
correctional centre each year.
The Department takes its responsibility of public protection seriously and has
great pride in our employees and operation.
With an establishment of ±34 000 staff, DCS is responsible for the
administration of 240 correctional centres, which now accommodates about 189 748
offenders. These include minimum, medium and maximum security correctional
centres.
Against the actual accommodation capacity, this figure represents an
overpopulation percentage of 63%.
The Department is managing the following 240 correctional facilities country
wide:
-8 correctional facilities for female offenders only
-13 youth correctional facilities
- 140 correctional facilities for male offenders
- 72 correctional facilities accommodating both male and female offenders
- 5 correctional facilities that are temporarily closed down for renovations
The largest maximum security correctional centre, Pollsmoor, at Western Cape ,
houses offenders serving life or long term sentences.
Another maximum security correctional centre is Pretoria, C Max, in Gauteng,
which houses those with long sentences including life imprisonment , and Leuwkop
Correctional Centre also in Gauteng .
The above are just examples of the maximum correctional centres. In almost all
regions there is a maximum, medium and a minimum correctional centre.
Get to know us and you will see that we are truly committed to transforming
prisons into correctional centres and also contributing to a safe community by
providing offenders with opportunities to stop offending.
PROMOTION OF ACCESS TO INFORMATION ACT, NO 2 OF 2000
Gives you right of access to information
1. WHAT DOES PAIA MEAN FOR YOU?
PAIA gives you the right of access to:
(a) Any information held by the State; and
(b) Any information that is held by another person and that is required for the
exercise or protection of any rights.
This means you can request access to information held by Department of
Correctional Services as a public body, as well as from a natural or juristic
person (private body). In the case of a request for access to information held
by a natural or juristic person, you have to indicate that the information
requested is required for the exercise or protection of any rights.
2. HOW DO YOU ASK INFORMATION FROM DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONAL SERVICES?
Once you have identified the information / record you want, you must:
Complete Form A (Found at departmental website: www.dcs.gov.za under menu item
information then click on PAIA).
Submit form A to the DCS Information Officer or Deputy Information Officer
either by post / physical address, fax number or electronic mail address
together with the request fee of R35 00 paid at DCS Financial Control Offices
(FCO). A request fee is not required to be paid, if it relates to personal
information about you (personal requester)
The Information Officer is the National Commissioner in terms of part 1 of the
Act (PAIA) and the Deputy Information Officers are the Chief Deputy
Commissioners and Regional Commissioners appointed by the National Commissioner.
3. WHO IS THE INFORMATION OFFICER AND DEPUTY INFORMATION OFFICER OF THE
DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONAL SERVICES?
The Information Officer or Deputy Information Officer has a period of 30
calendar days within which he/she must respond to your request.
Under certain circumstances, the information officer may extend the 30-day
period once only, and for a further period of 30 days.
4. HOW LONG MUST I WAIT BEFORE I RECEIVE THE INFORMATION REQUESTED?
Example, if the request is for a large number of records or requires a search
through a large number of records, section 26 of PAIA
5. HOW WILL I BE INFORMED OF THE OUTCOME OF MY REQUEST?
You will be informed by the Information Officer or Deputy Information Officer in
writing of the decision whether to grant your request or not.
6. WHEN WILL MY REQUEST FOR ACCESS TO INFORMATION BE REFUSED?
PAIA balances your right of access to information against the right of the
Department of Correctional Services as a public body to protect certain
information.
Thus PAIA allows the information officer, the right to refuse your request for
information in certain circumstances (Grounds for refusal).
If, for example, the Information Officer decides that the information you have
requested relates to the trade secrets of a third party which are not publicly
available, he / she must refuse your request.
7. WHAT CAN I DO IF MY REQUEST FOR INFORMATION IS REFUSED?
If an information officer of the department has refused your request for
information; you can bring an internal appeal against the decision of the
Information Officer with the relevant authority (Minister of Correctional
Services).
In order to do this, you must complete Form B. In the case of any other public
body which has refused your request, you must apply to court for relief.
8. WHAT IF I AM STILL UNSUCCESSFUL IN MY INTERNAL APPEAL?
You may apply to court against the unsuccessful internal appeal to the relevant
authority. You may also apply to court if you are:
a. Aggrieved by the decision of the Information Officer to disallow the late
lodging of an internal appeal;
b. Aggrieved by the decision of the relevant authority of a public body, other
than;
c. Aggrieved by the decision of an Information Officer relating to fees required
to be paid, the extension of the period within which to deal with the request or
the form of access in which the information will be furnished.
9. WHAT IF I AM SUCCESSFUL IN MY REQUEST?
The Information Officer or Deputy Information Officer will inform you in writing
of his / her decision to grant your request for access, and will advise you of
the access fee to be paid.
The access fee is usually the cost for making a copy of the information
requested, in a specific form and for the time spent searching for the
information.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE PROMOTION OF ACCESS TO INFORMATION ACT (PAIA), NO 2
OF 2000 CONTACT:
PAIA INFORMATION OFFICE DIRECTOR INFORMATION MANAGEMENT
MS. FELICITY NXUMALO
Tel: (012) 305 8235
Fax: (012) 305 8300
DD NATIONAL RECORDS MANAGER
MR. SIMPHIWE MKHULISE
Tel: (012) 305 8533
Fax: (012) 305 8300
PAIA ADMINISTRATOR MR. JULIUS MABASO
Tel: (012) 305 8632 Fax:
(012) 305 8300 julius.mabaso@dcs.gov.za