Presentation to Portfolio Committee on

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Presentation to Portfolio Committee on Escapes
in DCS 13 November 2007
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Purpose of presentation

• To brief the Portfolio Committee on
• Trends with regard to escapes
• Security challenges and threats
• Measures to reduce escapes

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Security challenges/threats Why escapes?

• Changing profile of crime in the country points
  towards decreasing trends, however,
• trends that remains high involve sophisticated
  syndicates
• This increases unpredictable ATD population and
  increases our maximum security inmates
• Violent and contact crimes remain steady

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Security challenges/threats Why escapes?
(Continued)

• Our facilities are old and not responsive to new
  threats
• Increasing ATD population increases vulnerability
  of our operations
• Overcrowding

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(No Transcript)
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Trends of escape in DCS over the last 10 years
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Escape Trends for the past three years
ESCAPES CALANDER YEAR ESCAPES CALANDER YEAR ESCAPES CALANDER YEAR ESCAPES CALANDER YEAR ESCAPES CALANDER YEAR ESCAPES FINANCIAL YEAR ESCAPES FINANCIAL YEAR ESCAPES FINANCIAL YEAR ESCAPES FINANCIAL YEAR ESCAPES FINANCIAL YEAR ESCAPES FINANCIAL YEAR
  2005 2006 1 Jan - 30 Nov 06 1 Jan. - 30 Nov 07 2004/ 2005 2005/ 2006 2006/ 2007 1 April 2006 - 30 Nov 2006 1 April 2007 - 30 Nov 2007
EC 34 14 13 20 EC 33 31 18 13 16
KZN 20 29 21 17 KZN 34 21 20 20 17
GT 22 30 29 12 GT 43 24 25 22 10
WC 20 22 20 6 WC 18 21 12 7 3
MP/NW/LIMP 11 6 6 9 MP/NW/LIMP 25 8 8 4 5
FS/NC/APOPS 13 12 9 8 FS/NC/APOPS 18 7 11 7 7
TOTAL 120 113 98 72 TOTAL 171 112 94 73 58
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Escape Trends
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Escape Trends
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Measures to reduce escapes

• Intolerance towards negligence/collusion by
  officials with instant dismissal (eg. Special
  Assignment Report Corrupt officials Pretoria
  immediately dismissed)
• Where criminal involvement of officials is
  suspected, cases are handed over to SAPS
• Improved sharing of information with other
  security agencies, eg. NIA, Crime intelligence
• Vetting of staff Business Process Analysis by
  NIA and establishment of DCS field vetting units
  currently in process

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Measures to reduce escapes (continued)

• Increased use of Departmental Investigation Unit
  (DIU) for investigation of high profile incidents
  instead of Management Area investigation teams
• Security Technology projects eg.
• Inmate Tracking
• Video Postponement
• Integrated Security Systems

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Measures to reduce escapes (continued)

• Launching of Operation Vala on 27 November 2007
  at Ebongweni (Kokstad) Correctional Centre aimed
  at
• Special and tightened security actions by
  Management Areas
• Drastic enhancement of security at access control
  points
• Confinement of high risk inmates and minimization
  of their movements

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Measures to reduce escapes (continued)

• The transfer and incarceration of long term high
  risk inmates to Ebongweni Correctional Centre for
  high risk inmates
• The establishment of Correctional Centres for the
  incarceration of long term high risk inmates in
  all regions currently being processed

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Filling up of Ebongweni
DCS criteria for selection of offenders to be
tranferred to Ebongweni

• Murder with aggravating circumstances
• Prisoners declared dangerous by the court
• Prisoner sentenced for acts of terrorism
• Serious sexual offences involving life
  threatening levels of violence. This include gang
  rape and sexual offences against children
• Offences of armed robbery involving life
  threatening levels of violence or which resulted
  in loss of life/disability
• Where the prosecutng authorities have indicated
  that a prisoner is a member of a well resourced
  criminal gang prepared to use extreme
  violence/firearms in an escape attempt

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Filling up of Ebongweni
DCS criteria for selection of offenders to be
tranferred to Ebongweni

• Murder with aggravating circumstances
• Offenders declared dangerous by the court
• Offenders sentenced for acts of terrorism
• Serious sexual offences involving life
  threatening levels of
• violence. This include gang rape and sexual
  offences
• against children
• Offences of armed robbery involving life
  threatening levels of
• violence or which resulted in loss of
  life/disability
• Where the prosecuting authorities have indicated
  that a
• offender is a member of a well resourced
  criminal gang
• prepared to use extreme violence/firearms in an
  escape attempt

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TRANSFERS TO BE EFFECTED BEFORE 15 NOV 2007
CRITERIA TOTAL
Murder 130
Rape 38
Robbery 30
Escape 1
Assault intentional 1
TOTAL 200
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Thank you An age of hope, a national
effort for corrections, rehabilitation and social
integration