This is one of the statistics revealed by the Area Commissioner for the Department of Correctional Service (DCS), Nthako Nyapotse, today. 

He was speaking at a roundtable discussion on improving the conditions of arrested and detained persons that took place at the Grootvlei prison outside Bloemfontein. 

Further statistics show that there are currently about 159 000 prisoners in the country, but only bed space for 120 000 inmates. Nyapotse says the DCS has identified strategies to evaluate overpopulation.

“We remove children from our facilities to a place of safety. There are not a lot, we have about three now. There is also a court judgment that says illegal immigrants should not be held in our facilities. We also decrease the number of remanded detainees with bail, in terms of Section 63 of the Criminal Procedures Act,” says Nyapotse.

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