CC image courtesy of Dylan Oliphant
The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) will assess the legal implications of the installation of CCTV cameras in South African prisons.
According to a report by the Cape Argus newspaper, the SAHRC will conduct research into what other jurisdictions are doing regarding prisons and will present the results to parliament’s correctional services oversight committee.
Lawrence Mushwana, head of the SAHRC, said today no decision has yet been taken on the matter, but it has already weighed the rights of prisoners against those of the public.
“If you look at the consequences that are happening everyday in our prisons, it’s something that should have been done yesterday,” Mushwana was quoted as saying.
Judith Cohen, a SAHRC member, said options must be explored “because certainly, when a person is sentenced to go to prison, the judge doesn’t add ‘and you’re sentenced to be raped on your first night’.”
