DCS fighting a losing battle to root out channels inmates use for smuggling goods into prisons

JOHANNESBURG - The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) is fighting a losing battle to root out channels that inmates use to smuggle goods into prisons.

On Wednesday, night hundreds of illegal items, cellphones, contraband and television sets, were seized by DCS and police officials during a raid at Joburg Prison.

According to the department, inmates smuggle goods into prison in three ways: one, when they are booked out of prison to attend court or medical treatment; two, through corrupt prison officials; or three, through relatives or friends during visitations.

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DCS National Commissioner Samuel Thobakgale said that the department had only a dozen body scanners to service some 240 prisons in the country.

"At the moment, we have 17 body scanners. That’s the capacity we have. We deploy them in high-density correctional facilities where there is a lot of movement. We want to increase these body scanners but one body scanner costs more than R5 million."

He said that overcrowding at Joburg Prison was an issue as the prison currently housed more than 10,000 inmates - more than double its intended capacity.