Abstract
Postapartheid South Africa exemplifies the limitations of using incarceration as a crime control strategy with particular reference to its youth. South Africa has the largest prison population in Africa, and yet it is known as an “exceptionally, possibly uniquely, violent society” (Altbeker in A country at war with itself: South Africa’s crisis of crime. Jonathan Ball, Cape Town, South Africa, 2007). Crime’s grip on South Africa is in a large part rooted in the government’s insufficient response to dealing with the root causes of crime, including the transition needs of ex-offenders, particularly vulnerable youth. But civil society organizations (CSOs) are attempting to address shortcomings in government’s response to crime. The chapter outlines the South African context, and then highlights the myriad of problems faced by South African youth and the governmental response, before examining a case study of a CSO that provide reintegration services for youth in Cape Town, where the realities of life after incarceration in an impoverished community are described. The Taxonomy for Transition Programming 2.0 is referred to at key points throughout the chapter to highlight how it applies and could inform transition planning for incarcerated youth in the South African context.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Further Reading
Cooper, A. (2015). Juvenile justice in South Africa. In M. D. Krohn & J. Lane (Eds.), The handbook of juvenile delinquency and juvenile justice (pp. 65–75). Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons.
Van Niekerk, A., Suffla, A., & Seedat, M. (2012). Crime violence and injury in South Africa: Enabling child safety. Tygerberg: Medical Research Council.
Ward, C., van der Merwe, A., & Dawes, A. (2012). Youth violence: Sources and solutions for South Africa. Cape Town, South Africa: UCT Press.
References
Abrahams, N. (2006). Intimate partner violence: Prevalence and risk factors for men in Cape Town. Violence and Victims, 21, 247–264.
Altbeker, A. (2007). A country at war with itself: South Africa’s crisis of crime. Cape Town, South Africa: Jonathan Ball.
Badroodien, A. (2004). Race, welfare, and correction’ education: The experience of indigent ‘coloured’ boys under apartheid. In P. Kallaway (Ed.), The history of education under apartheid 1948–1994 (pp. 304–319). Cape Town, South Africa: Pearson.
Central Statistical Services. (1992) Crimes, prosecutions and convictions. Report No. 00-11-01. Pretoria, South Africa: Author.
Child Justice Act (2008).
Children’s Act (2005).
City of Cape Town. (2013). 2011 Census suburb Gugulethu. Retrieved from: http://resource.capetown.gov.za/documentcentre/Documents/Maps%20and%20statistics/2011_Census_CT_Suburb_Gugulethu_Profile.pdf.
Constitutional Court of South Africa. (2000). Government of the Republic of South Africa and others v. Grootboom and others. (CCT11/00) [2000] ZACC 19; 2001 (1) SA 46; 2000 (11) BCLR 1169.
Correctional Services Act (1998).
Department of Correctional Services. (2004). White paper on corrections, Pretoria: Department of Correctional Services. Pretoria, South Africa: Author.
Department of Correctional Services. (2015). Strategic Plan 2015/16 to 2019/20. Retrieved from: http://www.dcs.gov.za/docs/2015%20doc/Strategic%20Plan%202015-2016%20-2019-2020.pdf.
Department of Correctional Services. (2016). Annual Report 2015/16. Retrieved from: http://www.dcs.gov.za/docs/2016%20doc/DCS%20Annual%20Report%202015-16.pdf.
Department of Correctional Services. (2017). Statistics. Retrieved from http://www.dcs.gov.za/AboutUs/StatisticalInformation.aspx.
Department of Public Works. (2013). Expanded public works programme. Retrieved from Expanded Public Works Programme website: http://www.epwp.gov.za/.
Department of Higher Education and Training. (n.d.). Further education and training: A guide to opportunities for further learning (3rd ed.). Pretoria, South Africa: Author.
Department of Social Development. (2015). Strategic plan 2015–2020. Retrieved from: http://www.dsd.gov.za/index2.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_view&gid=598&Itemid=3.
Gear, S., & Ngubeni, K. (2002). Daai ding: Sex, sexual violence and coercion in men’s prisons. Johannesburg, South Africa: Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation.
Government of South Africa. (2017). National crime prevention strategy. Retrieved from: https://www.gov.za/documents/national-crime-prevention-strategy-summary.
Hazel, N. (2008). Cross-national comparison of youth justice. London: Youth Justice Board.
Institute for Criminal Policy Research. (n.d.). World prison brief: Africa. Retrieved from: http://www.prisonstudies.org/highest-to-lowest/prison-population-total?field_region_taxonomy_tid=15.
Kelly, G. (2017). Everything you need to know about social grants. Retrieved from: http://www.groundup.org.za/article/everything-you-need-know-about-social-grants_820/.
Kohler, P. D., Gothberg, J. E., Fowler, C., & Coyle, J. (2016). Taxonomy for transition programming 2.0: A model for planning, organizing, and evaluating transition education, services, and programs. Kalamazoo, MI: Western Michigan University.
Larner, S. (2017). Pathways from violence: The impact of community-based intervention among young ex-offenders in Gugulethu. South African Crime Quarterly, 61, 41–55.
Matzopoulos, R. (2013). The inury and mortality survey: A national study of inury and mortality levels and causes in South Africa in 2009. Cape Town: Medical Research Council.
Mogorosi v. Nicro, ZALCJHB 314, (2014).
Morejele, N., Parry, C., Brook, J., & Kekwaletswe, C. (2012). Alcohol and drug use. In A. Van Niekerk, S. Suffla, & M. Seedat (Eds.), Crime, Violence and Injury in South Africa: 21st century solutions for child safety (pp. 195–213). Tygerberg, South Africa: MRC University of South Africa Safety & Peace Promotion Research Unit.
Muntingh, L. (2007). Prisoner re-entry in Cape Town—an exploratary study. Retrieved from http://acjr.org.za/resource-centre/Prisoner%20Re-Entry%20in%20Cape%20Town%20-%20An%20Exploratory%20Study.pdf.
Muntingh, L. (2008). A societal responsibility: The role of civil society organisations in prisoner support, rehabilitation and reintegration. Retrieved from: http://repository.uwc.ac.za/xmlui/handle/10566/237.
Muntingh, L. (2009). Ex-prisoners’ views on imprisonment and re-entry. Retrieved from: http://acjr.org.za/resource-centre/Ex-prisoners%20Views%20on%20Imprisonment%20and%20Re-Entry.pdf.
Muntingh, L. (2016). Ten years after the Jali Commission: Assessing the state of South Africa’s prisons. South African Crime Quarterly, 58, 35–44.
National Treasury. (2016). Correctional Services: Estimates of national expenditure (pp. 318–328). Retrieved from: http://www.treasury.gov.za/documents/national%20budget/2016/ene/FullENE.pdf.
Parliamentary Monitoring Group. (2011). Child Justice Act implementation: Briefing by Department of Justice. Retrieved from: http://www.pmg.org.za/report/20110622-joint-meeting-implementation-child-justice-act.
Seggie, J. (2012). Alcohol and South Africa’s youth. The South African Medical Journal, 102(7). Retrieved from http://www.samj.org.za/index.php/samj/article/view/6003/4278.
South African Institute for Race Relations. (2015). South Africa’s housing conundrum. @Liberty, 20(4), 1–7, 11–14. Retrieved from: http://irr.org.za/reports-and-publications/atLiberty/files/liberty-2013-south-africas-housing-conundrum.
South African Police Service. (2016). Crimestats. Retrieved from: https://www.saps.gov.za/services/crimestats.php.
Standing, A. (2005). The threat of gangs and anti-gangs policy: Policy discussion paper. Pretoria, South Africa: Institute for Security Studies.
Statistics South Africa. (2015a). National and provincial labour market: Youth. Statistical release P0211.4.2. Pretoria, South Africa: Author.
Statistics South Africa. (2015b). Vulnerable groups Series I: The social profile of youth, 2009–2014. Pretoria, South Africa: Author.
Statistics South Africa. (2016). Mid-year population estimates 2016. Retrieved from: http://www.statssa.gov.za/?p=8176.
Statistics South Africa. (2017). Health and demographic survey. Pretoria, South Africa: Author.
Steinberg, J. (2004). Nongoloza’s children: Western Cape prison gangs during and after apartheid. Johannesburg, South Africa: Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation.
S. v Williams and Others (1995). (CCT20/94) [1995] ZACC 6; 1995 (3) SA 632; 1995 (7) BCLR 861 (CC) (9 June 1995).
The Presidency. (2015). National youth policy (NYP) for 2015–2020. Retrieved from: http://www.thepresidency.gov.za/download/file/fld/58.
The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (1996).
Uggen, C., & Staff, J. (2001). Work as a turning point for criminal offenders. Corrections Management Quarterly, 5(4), 1–16.
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (2017). “Tik” crystal meth in Cape Town. Retrieved from: http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/frontpage/tik-meth-in-cape-town.html.
Van Zyl Smit, D. (1992). South African law and practice. Durban, South Africa: Butterworths.
Ward, C., & Cooper, A. (2012). Gangs and child safety. In A. Van Niekerk, A. Suffla, & M. Seedat (Eds.), Crime violence and injury in South Africa: Enabling child safety (pp. 148–161). Tygerberg, South Africa: Medical Research Council.
Weybright, E. (2016). The state of methamphetamine (‘tik’) use among youth in the Western Cape, South Africa. The South African Medical Journal, 106(11), 1125–1128.
World Health Organisation (WHO). (2013). Global and regional estimates of violence against women: Prevalence and health effects of intimate partner violence and non-partner sexual violence. Geneva, Switzerland: Author.
Zinn, C. (2014). Gangs target children in Cape Town. Retrieved from https://www.urbanafrica.net/urban-voices/cape-towns-gangs/.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Muntingh, L.M., Larner, S. (2018). Juveniles in Transition: The Situation in South Africa. In: O’Neill, S. (eds) Incarcerated Youth Transitioning Back to the Community. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-0752-2_15
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-0752-2_15
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-13-0751-5
Online ISBN: 978-981-13-0752-2
eBook Packages: Law and CriminologyLaw and Criminology (R0)