Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has reiterated calls for signal-blocking technology to be implemented at Pollsmoor Prison, warning that criminals behind bars are continuing to run gang operations via cellphones.
His remarks were in response to criticism from the South African Prisoner Organisation for Human Rights (SAPOHR), which opposes the City’s proposals for tighter communication controls within prisons.
No right
“Prisoners simply do not have the right to communicate freely beyond the prison walls,” Hill-Lewis said.
“We have real examples of police and prosecutors doing good work to get gangsters put away, only for them to continue to run their criminal gangs from inside prison. It makes a mockery of the justice system. To suggest that these prisoners have an entrenched right to do as they please while behind bars is simply ludicrous.”
Hill-Lewis stressed that while inmates should be allowed to contact legal representatives and family via monitored prison landlines use of illicit cellphones poses a significant threat to public safety.
We know for a fact that underworld figures inside Pollsmoor are pulling strings from there, including extortion threats and disruptions to City infrastructure projects.
“A concerted effort is needed to block these communications, which includes raids to remove illegal phones, pinpointing unauthorised usage, intercepting criminal communications, and yes, using signal-blocking technology, if that’s what it took to protect residents on the outside from criminal threats.
” Inmates must know if they try to coordinate crime they will be caught and prosecuted with ease, thanks to the correct technology being in place.”
Monitor
The Mayor recently wrote to Correctional Services Minister Pieter Groenewald, urging the department to pilot signal blocking and related technologies at Pollsmoor.
This followed multiple reports of crimes being coordinated by phone from within the prison.
During a recent site inspection in Bishop Lavis the Mayor was informed that a roads project had been halted after a contractor received an extortion threat from an inmate.
The City has pledged its support to national correctional authorities, offering:
- Intelligence-sharing to identify criminal activity linked to Pollsmoor;
- Technical and logistical support to install signal blocking technology; and
- Public awareness campaigns to bolster support for enforcement.
Corruption
Mayco member for Safety and Security JP Smith also called for lifestyle audits of prison staff, amid concerns that corruption was enabling the smuggling of contraband such as cellphones into correctional facilities.
“Information provided to the City illustrates that corruption and extortion are rife,” he pointed out.
“Devices such as phones are being brought in either by staff or through a failure to search inmates properly. This corruption fuels the criminal economy inside prisons and undermines justice.”
Smith added that stronger enforcement around parolees, combined with urgent lifestyle audits for wardens, could help restore integrity and accountability within the correctional system.
You must be logged in to post a comment.