Imprisoning influx control offenders is "insanity" from the criminological point of view, the national director of the National Institute for Crime Prevention and Rehabilitation of Offenders, Mr JV Pegge, said here last night.
He pointed out that one of the reasons for South Africa's high prison population (one of the highest in the Western world) "is no doubt the presence in our prisons of a large number of technical offenders, convicted in terms of influx control legislation".
"These offenders amount to 40 percent of black persons in our prisons" and, according to the last available figure, totalled 89 059, he said.
People who contravened influx control regulations were not normally criminals in the sense that they were socially maladjusted or guilty of offending society in terms of violence or dishonesty - "yet when convicted, we send them to prison and mix them with criminal offenders".
Because of their economic situation, these people were often demoralised and despondent and became easily "contaminated" by the criminal elements in the prisons they shared.
"It is this contaminating effect which is the insanity of the situation and one which we must eradicate from the current situation.
"Evolving a humane solution to the problems surrounding influx control is in the hands of the politicians, and all I wish to do is encourage those responsible for the task which lies ahead of them. With this category of offender, there is little problem in his re-integration into society."
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He said Nicro welcomed the attention that had been given to the matter by the Minister of Cooperation and Development, Dr Piet Koornhof, and that the organisation looked forward to legislation in this regard.
Turning to the offender "who has a real need of help from the community in regard to his re-integration", Mr Pegge said a survey in Cape Town had shown that most offenders of this type had a history of social deprivation and insecurities in their upbringing, and he believed they should be regarded as handicapped people.
Lessons for today
- In South Africa, the term "pass offenders" referred to black people who violated apartheid-era laws that required them to carry passbooks, which restricted their movement and employment opportunities.
- The laws were abolished with the end of apartheid in 1994.
- During apartheid, many laws were enacted that criminalised behaviours based on racial discrimination. Imprisoning individuals for violating these laws was an extension of systemic oppression rather than a legitimate application of justice.
- Those enforcing pass laws were acting irrationally or immorally by perpetuating a system that criminalised marginalised populations for historical injustices.
