Challenges to effective prison governance in South Africa

In an attempt to broaden the debate on prison reform in South Africa, this article reports on the findings of the investigation into the status of governance in selected prisons around the country. The study. which set out to identify instances of good practice in the management of prisons, was conducted in five state prisons and in two private prisons during 2004 and 2005. The state prisons were selected from a list of institutions designated 'Centres of Excellence' by the Department of Correctional Services (DCS). Although the management regimens in the two private prisons evidenced numerous instances of sound management practice (to be discussed below), the research, as a whole, was oriented to the governance of state prisons. Before proceeding to a discussion of this research, however, it is of value to briefly comment on some of the generic challenges to good governance faced by prisons worldwide