Date: 24/11/2008

Source: Department of Correctional Services

Title: SA: Balfour: Minister of Correctional Services Ngconde Balfour addresses media and stakeholders to launch Operation Vala for 2008.

As a department we are passionate about the important task we have been given to ensure the safety of the citizens of this country. We carry out this mandate through ensuring that those who might pose a danger to public peace and security are safely locked away in our facilities and rehabilitated in order to break the cycle of crime.

We have been challenged for many years by security breaches, incidents of assault within our facilities as well as escapes. Although these have been on a decline, the anecdotal stories on escapes and other security breaches in the media have left an impression of an institution that is overwhelmed and sometimes helpless. We are here today to say, we do indeed have many pockets of excellence, which we seek to highlight and profile during the Corrections Week.

One of the highlights we are bringing to you and through you to the rest of the nation is successes we continue to make in reducing escapes while we continue to intensify security measures. Just nearly three years ago we decided to design a special festive season security plan we called Operation Vala, that is meant to curb high incidents of escapes and assaults during the festive season. I must point out that there are a number of reasons that lead to this particular problem among them:
* The fact that generally offenders are desperate to spend time with families and loved ones during the festive season
* More offenders are brought into our facilities as a result of special operations by the South African Police Service (SAPS)
* Staff shortages due to the fact that many want to spend time with families
* Unfortunately in some instances corruption by our officials is a contributing factor.

The above mentioned issues are the reason we saw it fit to launch Operation Vala in 2006. Operation Vala is a 50 day campaign that is part of a bigger strategy on security, which is one of our strategic priorities. The campaign essentially seeks to deal with the problems encountered during the festive season. During Operation Vala, at every sphere of leadership focus is on limiting privileges for offenders significantly, scaling down external activities and tightening security by various means including carrying out impromptu raids at the centres.

Of particular concern to us is the kind of danger that the escapes pose on the lives of our officials because of their violent nature. Many of our members have either lost their lives or suffered severe injuries during these escapes a situation that we obviously could not allow to continue unabated. I want to believe memories of 2005 Zonderwater incidents that led to deaths remain vivid in your minds.

As we are starting another leg of Operation Vala, it is very important to reflect on what has been achieved over the past two years.

* We have reduced escapes by 66% between 2005 and 2007, from 48 to 16.
* Incidents of assault also declined by 55% between 2005 to 2007 (details are contact in the fact sheets circulated).

During this festive season, I strongly believe, my officials will again do us proud and drive the campaign with the same or even better zeal to deliver better results.

We know the campaign may inconvenience many people. We request you to bear with us. We also call on all families, communities and other players to assist us by not trying to smuggle illegal substances and through reporting those bent on flouting the security regulations. We also call upon all sectors of our society to give those qualifying for parole and other forms to embrace our request for giving second chances to rehabilitated offenders, and to wear a yellow ribbon in support of this cause.

State of the Art Security Fence
We are continuing with our Safety and Security Enhancement Project, with one crucial pillar being security technology. In this regard I can vouch that Correctional Services is riding the waves of security technology surveys. One of our flagships is the state of the art security fence. Before the end of this session you will view a synoptic video on the project and also get a chance to witness how it works.

We have installed this fence, which we believe ranks among the top security systems in the world at 47 of our Correctional Centres at a cost of over 500 million rand. As a result of these initiatives we have begun to witness significant reductions in the number of escapes. Between 2006 and 2007 we recorded a 14% reduction in the number of escapes, while the number of reported assaults inside our facilities declined by 53%, a substantial reduction I reported to parliament during the budget body.

As the National Commissioner has rightfully said, you can have the best technology in the world but without your ethical, dedicated and hard working officials such targets would only remain a pie in the sky. We know that about four percent of officials may be the proverbial rotten potatoes, but we call upon everyone to understanding that an overwhelming majority is dedicated, loving and hard working.

Our strategies on security continue to focus key areas including continuous training of security officials, dealing expediently with cases of officials involved in assisting in escapes and ensuring that proper disciplinary action is taken, and reviewing internal security controls to make sure they remain effective.

In as much as we are celebrating these milestones, we are not oblivious to the ongoing challenges we face, some of which are a simple product of expediency with which some of the projects were handled. These include, a need to train Correctional Officials to manage control rooms themselves, decentralisation of management of the contracts by trained officials, alignment of the systems and integration of all security systems and facilities, to mention but a few.

In conclusion, I must repeat that we are passionate about our work, but alone we can never attain the ideals you have invested over R11 billion rands to achieve. We therefore need your hand so that we march side by side towards a correctional system that all South Africans can by proud of.

I thank you.