Open AccessEMERGENCY MEASURES: Early releases to alleviate prison overcrowding
Author(s) -
Makubetse Sekhonyane
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
sa crime quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2413-3108
pISSN - 1991-3877
DOI - 10.17159/2413-3108/2002/v0i1a1089
Subject(s) - overcrowding , prison , retributive justice , punishment (psychology) , criminology , rehabilitation , political science , sociology , psychology , law , economic justice , social psychology , neuroscience
The current overcrowding in South African prisons has necessitated the move away from a strictly retributive approach to offending behaviour, to that of rehabilitation and restoration. Another solution to the overcrowding problem has been the early release of certain categories of offenders. This has not been met with much support. It is however becoming increasingly clear that locking people up does not solve the problem of crime but could even exacerbate it. The result is that even more people are locked away, thus putting a strain on the capacity and effective management of prisons.