The impact of organised contraband smuggled into correctional facilities in the Gauteng region

Abstract

The safety of correctional officials, criminals who are incarcerated, and people who are being held while awaiting trial are all seriously threatened by contraband in facilities. This study filled a gap in the literature in South Africa about the smuggling of contraband into correctional facilities. Data were collected at four correctional institutions among thirteen such facilities in the Gauteng region. In order to fully understand the phenomenon under inquiry, the researcher used a mixed-method approach, which combines both quantitative and qualitative methods of inquiry. The study examined contraband smuggling at the selected correctional facilities to address the topic under investigation. Correctional officials performed search and recovery operations to find and seize such unauthorized items after it was discovered that offenders were involved. The respondents, who comprised both inmates and officials, indicated that correctional officials, offenders, and visitors were conduits for contraband smuggling into correctional facilities. According to the data, inmates attacked correctional officials for gang-related reasons rather than problems with contraband. It was also discovered that in order to stop this pandemic, present policies and techniques to stop, identify, and remove contraband from correctional facilities need to be reassessed.