Popcru: Corporal punishment has no place in SA
The Police and Prison Civil Rights Union has rejected the proposed reintroduction of corporal punishment to alleviate the pressure in the justice system.
Correctional Services Minister Pieter Groenewald suggested the reintroduction of corporal punishment to combat overcrowding in prisons by those who can’t afford to pay the minimum amount of bail.
South African prisons are housing more than 60,000 awaiting trial prisoners, with more than 2,000 of them unable to afford bail of less than R1,000.
“As Popcru, we reject in the strongest terms the notion of using violence as a tool of correction,” said Popcru spokesperson Richard Mamabolo.
He said bringing corporal punishment is unconstitutional, dangerous and a direct violation of human rights in international correctional standards.
“The Constitutional Court long abolished corporal punishment, with landmark cases such as State v Williams and Others (1995), wherein the court ruled that corporal punishment is a violation of human dignity. What Groenewald proposes is not only a reversal of legal progress but an erosion of a rights-based society.”
Mamabolo added that correctional centres were not created for vengeance or dehumanisation but for safe custody, rehabilitation, and reintegration of offenders.
Groenewald also told the National Assembly during Tuesday's debate on his department’s budget that over R11 million is spent daily to accommodate 24,000 foreign nationals in prison.
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