A South African Medical Journal (SAMJ) study explains that South Africa has the fourth highest global incarceration rate, with more than 165,000 prisoners in 237 prisons. There is rapid turnover of awaiting-trial prisoners, with 79% imprisoned for less than 12 months and the number of people passing through the system annually exceeding 368,000. There are at any time about 3,200 prisoners awaiting trial in Pollsmoor, the 3rd-largest facility with awaiting trial prisoners in the country. These prisoners are mostly kept in communal cells of 40 to 60 people each.1
Click here to read the full article.
