Chairperson, I am aware that negotiations are taking place, but I have not been informed as to where they are at the moment. However, in my speech I did say that some of these negotiations would be around what I said under the first point, that there are multisectoral teams that will identify blockages and devise solutions to the awaiting-trial prisoner problem. These include not only Justice and Constitutional Development, but also other departments which should look at the problem of overcrowding.
Regarding awaiting-trial prisoners, there is an alarmingly high number of awaiting-trial prisoners in our custody, which at the end of April 2000 stood at about 63 964 and constituting approximately 40% of the total number of prisoners in our facilities. This figure has grown to about plus 64 000. From January 1995 to February of this year, the number of awaiting- trial prisoners increased by 158%, compared to an increase of only 15% for sentenced prisoners over the same period.
On 22 May 2000 I delivered a keynote address at an official opening of a senior management departmental workshop, in which I urged my officials to take an active role in promoting the work of the multisectoral task team set up to identify these blockages and devise solutions to the awaiting- trial prisoner problem.
The newly appointed Inspecting Judge, Mr Justice Fagan who is a retired judge, has indicated that the problem of awaiting-trial prisoners will receive priority attention from his office as well, and that he intends using his influence as a retired judge to sensitise the Bench of the problems of overcrowding in prisons, to which the Minister has also referred. He has also indicated that he intends fast-tracking the implementation of the Correctional Services Act of 1998 with regard to the appointment of Independent Prison Visitors. The implementation of the new system of parole boards is also receiving priority after a minor setback due to the unavailability of full-time and ex officio members from the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development and the SAPS, as required in terms of the Act, because of the budgetary constraints experienced by the two departments. As per agreement by all three departments concerned, a suitable amendment of the Act that would enable the co-option of members of the SAPS and the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development on an ad hoc basis, depending on the security aspects and/or other sensitivities with regard to a given application, would be submitted to Cabinet in the near future. As is required in terms of the Act, the National Council for Correctional Services has already voiced its support for a draft amendment submitted to it for comment and advice.
The issue of alternatives to incarceration has been the subject of debate in many countries for many years. As far back as 1910, there was already a determination within the English home office to effect a reductionist policy, and the principal initiative in setting this direction was taken by Sir Winston Churchill. Similarly to our own situation, the reductionist lobby in the English prison system was a reaction to the problem of overcrowding, in that by 1908 their prison population stood at 22 000, only marginally below the certified capacity of their prison system at the time.
In a memorandum to the prime minister in September 1910, Churchill described the main problem as being, and I quote:
... the immense number of committals of petty offenders to prison on short sentences.
We have a large number of petty offenders in our prison system, especially young offenders. The 55,9% increase in the budget for community corrections sends a clear message about our intentions to use community corrections as a viable alternative to incarceration.
The use of electronic monitoring to strengthen and enhance community corrections as a viable alternative to incarceration in dealing with less serious offences has been tested and found to be a viable option as opposed to incarceration in the South African situation. As I put it in the National Assembly, we view this project as an important milestone in the transformation of our correctional system. When I delivered my keynote address at the workshop of senior officials of the department on 22 May, I gave specific instructions for the preparation and submission to me of an action plan that would guarantee the implementation of the system countrywide by the end of the financial year.
Despite the problems and crises we are facing due to insufficient resources, we have nonetheless made tremendous progress in the fight to prevent, or at least to minimise, prison escapes. As we know, even the ultimate in fortress-like prisons, such as the American prison Alcatraz, have not been immune to escapes. No doubt many of us in the eighties watched in utter amazement how in the movie Escape from Alcatraz people escaped from that fortress.
Following my direct personal intervention to hold anti-escape workshops in November and December of last year in all nine provinces, we have managed to drastically reduce the number of escapes within a short space of time. We were able to identify the main causes of escapes and acted upon them. The following areas were identified as the main causes of escapes: negligence on the part of officials; corruption, which includes aiding of escapees; old and weak prison structures; and shortage of staff.
Since January 2000 serious disciplinary steps have been taken against any official whose negligence or gross negligence led to an escape from prison. Although I believe it really is still too early to draw any conclusive deductions regarding the success of the implementation of the strategies adopted at the workshops, the following national figures on escapes are very encouraging and show that we can do something about this problem. In January 1999 we had about 39 escapes, in the same month this year, 13; in February 1999 we had 34, in the same month this year, 14; in March 1999 we had 48, in the same month this year, 26 - that is a little bit of an increase; in April 1999 we had 18, in the same month this year, 22 - another little bit of an increase. In total, in 1999 there were 139 escapes, and this year we had 75. This shows that there has been a remarkable reduction.
We have also been able to focus on and intensify the battle against HIV- Aids in prisons. I remember I was asked this question in this House last week or two weeks ago, and I think I need to answer it fully. Notwithstanding our liberal policies regarding the prohibition of mandatory testing for HIV-Aids and maintaining separate facilities for HIV-Aids- infected offenders in prisons, which is in keeping with the constitutionally protected rights of bodily integrity and equality before the law, we have managed to implement effective HIV-Aids prevention programmes in prisons. Health education on STDs and HIV-Aids prevention on admission and constantly throughout incarceration is provided to offenders. Condoms are made freely available in the event of consensual sexual relations. Gang-related incidents and activities are closely monitored and the separation of vulnerable offenders, including transfer, is encouraged.
An effective HIV-Aids prevention programme is firmly in place, with HIV- Aids focal persons appointed at each prison in order to promote awareness, support and capacity-building efforts.
There is also a provincial health co-ordinator for each province to monitor and ensure the implementation of the HIV/Aids programme. Offenders who allege to have been raped are referred to a medical doctor for examination and treatment and, depending on the outcome of the medical examination, the affected offender will be taken for counselling and also monitored for possible sexually transmitted diseases.
We are involved in a collaborative programme with Howard University in the United States in the area of policy development studies. As part of this programme, we will be cohosting a conference which will be held from 1 to 5 July 2000 in Cape Town titled ``Substance Abuse, Crime, Violence and HIV- Aids as consequences of Poverty: Strategies for Prevention, Intervention and Treatment in the United States and South Africa.''
Significantly, this conference was timed to precede the World Aids Conference to be held in Durban by just a few days. Furthermore, as a member of the International Corrections and Prisons Association which will be holding its annual conference here in Cape Town on 27 to 31 August, we have again been requested to co-host this year's conference, whose theme is ``Criminal Justice as a Career of Choice: Achieving our Full Potential.''
As one of the outcomes of the departmental senior management workshops held on 22 to 24 May, the department will submit an action plan setting out proper timeframes and targets for each of the strategies discussed above in order to combat overcrowding. The department will also plan for and hold a national symposium on correctional services to be attended by all stakeholders in the correctional services system and other key players in the criminal justice system. It is envisaged that this symposium is expected to take place at the end of July this year and that it will serve as a precursor to a fully fledged White Paper on correctional services, which will cover policy aspects relating to the management of prisons and community corrections.
In conclusion, I wish to take this opportunity to pledge my commitment to working closely with provincial and local government structures, in line with the principles of co-operative governance and intergovernmental relations as championed in Chapter 3 of the Constitution. As Correctional Services, we are mindful of the fact that the successful implementation of our policies depends on the co-operation and support we receive with regard to awareness created at both provincial and local levels to the real issues facing the correctional system.
We are part and parcel of the safety and security establishment of this country and we fully recognise and appreciate our partnership with the public to provide a safe and secure environment for all. In this regard, I take the opportunity to recognise the efforts of Prof Kambule, the National Youth Commission and others for their crime prevention initiatives, by exposing homeless children to prison conditions in order to motivate them to pursue their studies and turn their backs on crime.
Similarly, I would like to congratulate and express my sincere thanks to the KwaZulu-Natal provincial department of education for their participation in the Ncome Prison awareness campaign to discourage youth in schools from engaging in criminal activities. These initiatives are, indeed, both exemplary and noble and the Department of Correctional Services must adopt them as part of its strategy for crime prevention. [Applause.]