Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Prison Journalism: Can gangsterism and violence be reduced in prison?

18/04/2024

Prison Journalism: Can gangsterism and violence be reduced in prison?Dean Mashimbwe, a Zimbabwean migrant residing in Cape Town, was incarcerated at Pollsmoor Correctional Centre from 2016 until 2017.

by Dean Mashimbwe

18-04-2024 11:00

in Prison Journalism

Prison

Image via Unsplash

During my time in Pollsmoor, I witnessed a lot of gangsterism activities and gang violence. As an eyewitness, I observed that gangsterism is more active among non-sentenced inmates than sentenced inmates. Gangsterism in prison creates an image of power and respect but also causes violence among inmates. Most people affected by the effects of gang activities are non-gang members.

--

Challenges in Combating Gangsterism Gangsterism was going to be stopped, but the biggest problem in South African jails is overcrowding. Gangsterism activities are the order of the day since prisoners have nothing to do. Another main cause of not stopping gangsterism is the poor supervision of inmates. For instance, when I went to Pollsmoor, I saw that gangs are offered a room alone where they practice gangsterism day and night. By doing so, they tend to recruit other inmates who are non-gang members, and the routine continues like that.

The Impact of Overcrowding on Violence Overcrowding in prison cells also causes violence. By doing so, inmates end up forming gangs to stabilize violence, since these gangs have leaders who will control the cell to impose discipline within inmates. The main cause of prisons being overcrowded is waiting for trial inmates, which leads to tension, hostility, and violence. In Pollsmoor, the most aggressive gang members are found in the maximum security prison.

The Role of Society in Sustaining Gangsterism Lack of reintegration into society also causes gangsterism. You find that some inmates already come to prison while they are gangsters. In South Africa, gangs are practised in neighbourhoods like Manenberg and Hanover Park. These are dangerous places which cause gangsterism. Also, the routine of going in and out of jail of an inmate, they tend to go back to the same society unchanged in lifestyle and social circle upon release. This promotes gangsterism as inmates already know how to penetrate gangsterism in order to survive when they go back to prison.

--

Efforts to Reduce Gangsterism Although gang culture is the main activity in South African jails, the Correctional Services have made a lot of efforts to reduce gangsterism in prison. Anti-gang programs are being done in prisons to reduce gangsterism. When we were at Pollsmoor, former inmates and former gang members used to come to prison via these programs to encourage and motivate inmates not to join gangsterism.

Also, some of the efforts made were to keep inmates busy during the day so that they get occupied. Inmates were offered jobs; some went to school and did courses. Also, church services were held. All these were efforts offered by the prison facilities to discourage gangsterism in jail. However, regardless of all these efforts, gangsterism in South Africa will never end because it is a prison culture that is passed from generation to generation.

DISCLAIMER: Submission published as received

--

Should you wish to assist in the rehabilitation of former inmates and help put money into the pockets of those who have struggled to earn a living during and after incarceration, click HERE

RESTORE is an NGO based in Cape Town, South Africa, providing inmates at Pollsmoor Prison with restorative justice opportunities.

If you have any questions you would like to ask our prison journalists, WhatsApp us on 060 011 0211.

Do you have contact with a prison inmate who would like to write for The South African website? If so, send an email to info@thesouthafrican.com or a WhatsApp to 060 011 0211.

You can also follow @TheSAnews on Twitter and The South African on Facebook to get the latest prison journalism articles.

Wil jy geld spaar op jou versekeringspremies? Kliek hier vir 10 top wenke!
LINK: https://www.thesouthafrican.com/culture/prison-journalism/can-gangster...
See more stories from thesouthafrican

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

04/07/2026

Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in Dolby Cinemas Across Japan, Presented in Dolby Atmos and Dolby ...

April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

21/04/2026

Live From NAB 2026: BitFires Colin Bonzey on Growing Spark Platform for Live Cloud-Based Productions

Cloud-based production isnt going anywhere, and BitFire is doubling down by prov...

21/04/2026

Live From NAB 2026: AWSs Jason Dvorkin, Regina Rossi on Driving Innovation With Al-Based Workflows

The topic of artificial intelligence has a stranglehold on the sports-video-prod...

21/04/2026

Live From NAB 2026: T-Mobile for Business' Jason Schnellbacher on Enhancing 5G for Sports Fans, Broadcasters

5G is still a hot topic in live event production, and this workflow continues to...

21/04/2026

Live From NAB 2026: Appears Ed McGivern on Fox Sports Deal, New XM Platform, and VX Software Debut

At the 2026 NAB Show, Ed McGivern, GM and President of Appear US, discusses the ...

21/04/2026

NAB 2026: Studio Network Solutions launches on-premise AI suite for media production workflows

Studio Network Solutions (SNS) has announced an on-premise AI suite designed for...

21/04/2026

NAB 2026: Suite Studios integrates file-streaming technology into Frame.io Drive

Suite Studios has integrated its file-streaming technology into the newly announced Frame.io Drive, a desktop application from Adobe company Frame.io. The colla...

21/04/2026

NAB 2026: Net Insight integrates InSync FrameFormer into Nimbra Edge for media processing

Net Insight has integrated InSync Technology's FrameFormer into the Nimbra E...

21/04/2026

NAB 2026: Fox Sports selects Appear X Platform for live production infrastructure

Fox Sports has selected Appear as a technology partner to support the next phase...

21/04/2026

NAB 2026: Diversified appoints Tyler Affolter as Chief Revenue Officer

Diversified has appointed Tyler Affolter as Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) to lead the company's commercial organisation. The appointment follows the firm'...

21/04/2026

NAB 2026: Layercake integrates Bitmovin into Streamcake platform for end-to-end media orchestration

Layercake has formalised the integration of Bitmovin's video streaming infra...

21/04/2026

NAB 2026: International Judo Federation extends global content distribution partnership with SES

The International Judo Federation (IJF) has extended its distribution partnershi...

21/04/2026

NAB 2026: Glookast integrates Cinnafilm Tachyon plugin to enable GPU-accelerated video processing

Glookast has launched the Cinnafilm Tachyon plugin for its Media Producer and Me...

21/04/2026

NAB 2026: Cadena Tres selects Eutelsat for television signal distribution in Mexico

Eutelsat has entered into an agreement with Cadena Tres, a division of Grupo Ima...

21/04/2026

NAB 2026: Dolby and TV Azteca deploy Dolby Atmos for free-to-air broadcast

Dolby Laboratories and TV Azteca have partnered to introduce Dolby Atmos immersive audio to free-to-air television broadcasts. The implementation utilises the A...

21/04/2026

Verizon and FOX Entertainment leverage 5G and AI for remote production of Extracted

FOX Entertainment partnered with Verizon to overcome significant production hurd...

21/04/2026

NAB 2026: Osprey Video to showcase expanded IP infrastructure and orchestration at NAB Show 2026

Osprey Video has announced its technology showcase for the NAB Show 2026, highli...

21/04/2026

NAB 2026: Riedel introduces IP-based production updates including multiviewer, commentary control and audio connectivity solutions

Riedel Communications (Booth C4908) introduced a range of new solutions at NAB S...

21/04/2026

SportsTechBuzz at NAB 2026, Day 3: Live Reports From the Show Floor in Vegas

The NAB Show is in full swing, and the SVG and SVG Europe editorial teams are chasing down the hottest stories from all over the Las Vegas Convention Center. He...

21/04/2026

NAB 2026: Blackmagic Design Announces URSA Cine Immersive 100G and URSA Cine Live Encoder

Blackmagic Design has announced the URSA Cine Immersive 100G, an immersive cinem...

21/04/2026

Live From NAB 2026: Clark Wire & Cables David McCarthy Showcases New Connectivity, Enclosure Solutions for Modern Broadcast Workflows at NAB Show 2026

Clark Wire & Cable is continuing its evolution from cable supplier to full-scale solutions partner for broadcast and live production. At the 2026 NAB Show, we s...

21/04/2026

Ricky Sensitively Portrays a Post-Incarceration Coming-of-Age

Rashad Frett attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Ricky at Eccles Theatre on January 24, 2025, in Park City, UT. (Photo by George Pimentel/Shut...

21/04/2026

5 Years of Spotify in Pakistan: The Trends Shaping the Country's Music Scene

Five years ago, Spotify arrived in Pakistan, opening a new chapter in the country's music scene. Since then, local listeners have explored across genres, ge...

21/04/2026

The Next Wave of RADAR Spain Artists Arrives for 2026

Since its launch in 2020, RADAR has been our program for spotlighting emerging artists around the world. This year marks the sixth edition of RADAR Spain, our o...

21/04/2026

EverSync SP-10 from Cloudvocal

Offers compact wireless solution for pedalboards Taiwanese audio brand Cloudvocal have announced the availability of a new pedalboard-friendly wireless syst...

21/04/2026

Arturia launch Augmented Persia

Latest hybrid sampling/synthesis instrument arrives Arturia's Augmented series offerings rely on a mixture of sampling and synthesis, allowing users to ...

21/04/2026

Rohde & Schwarz to host Power Electronics Online Conference From Design to Validation in May

Rohde & Schwarz to host Power Electronics Online Conference From Design to Vali...

21/04/2026

MAS and Lockheed Martin Announce F-35 Sustainment Partnership in Quebec

MAS and Lockheed Martin partner to establish an F-35 depot in Canada, enabling in-country sustainment and creating high-skilled aerospace jobs....

21/04/2026

Nielsen data shows Australian outdoor and sport retailers are changing how they advertise to win over outdoor enthusiasts

Advertising strategies shift as competition grows for a large, active and qualit...

21/04/2026

ATSC Celebrates 3.0's Global Expansion

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

21/04/2026

Cinematic Feel Makes Survivor' Built to Last

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

21/04/2026

Live Event Technology Expands Fan Engagement

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

21/04/2026

MS NOW Uses Community to Build Up Its Brand

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

21/04/2026

Why Broadcast Is Well-Positioned to Safeguard Freedom of Speech

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

21/04/2026

AWS Demos AI Tools to Deliver Vertical Video

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

21/04/2026

Video Podcasting Leaps in Popularity

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

21/04/2026

Audio Systems Get Boost From Cloud and AI

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

21/04/2026

Layercake Deepens Bitmovin Integration to Power End-to-End Media Orchestration with Streamcake

Layercake Deepens Bitmovin Integration to Power End-to-End Media Orchestration w...

21/04/2026

Cobalt Digital Announces Launch of blueCORE at NAB Show 2026: Compact Powerhouse Signal Processors for SDI and ST 2110 Workflows

Cobalt Digital Announces Launch of blueCORE at NAB Show 2026: Compact Powerhouse...

21/04/2026

On-Premise AI Suite from Studio Network Solutions Debuts at NAB Show 2026

On-Premise AI Suite from Studio Network Solutions Debuts at NAB Show 2026 Melanie Ciotti April 21, 2026 0 Comments Unlimited processing, no cloud depe...

21/04/2026

IBC appoints Tim Banham as Chief Commercial Officer to dr...

London, 21 April 2026 IBC today announced the appointment of Tim Banham as its first Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), a newly created role that reflects the or...

21/04/2026

Motion Design Tools - April 2026

Motion Design Tools - April 2026 Roland Kahlenberg April 21, 2026 0 Comments Within 2 days, Maxon and Canva announced pro-level motion design apps - A...

21/04/2026

Chaos and Zero Density to Showcase Real-Time Ray Tracing for Virtual Studios and XR

Chaos and Zero Density to Showcase Real-Time Ray Tracing for Virtual Studios and...

21/04/2026

Diversified Appoints Tyler Affolter Chief Revenue Officer

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...