DA urges the Department of Correctional Services to help divert children and juveniles out of prisons

By Sasha Forbes
13 November 2008

The Democratic Alliance is calling for efforts of diverting children and juveniles out of prisons to be increased.

Spokesperson for the DA Lindiwe Mazibuko says “the DA strongly believes that, if we turn around the criminal justice system and see a sustainable decrease in crime, we must direct substantial resources to children and juveniles in prison.”

Children and juveniles benefit most from rehabilitation and thus the resources that we allocate them should be excessively high, as well as children behind bars cannot access education opportunities, and there for their basic right to education as a result is being violated.

Mazibuko also said that “the DA urges the Department of Correctional Services in conjunction with the Department of Justice to redouble their efforts to ensure that appropriate unsentenced children as well as juveniles are not kept behind bars simply because they cannot afford to pay bail. Only those who present a genuine threat to society should be kept in custody until sentencing. If we do not do this, we are simply breeding more criminals.”