Department of Correctional Services (South Africa)

Department of Correctional Services
Department overview
Formed1990[1]
JurisdictionGovernment of South Africa
Employees38,459 (2018/19)
Annual budgetR26,800.0 million (2020/21)
Ministers responsible
Department executive
Websitewww.dcs.gov.za

The Department of Correctional Services is a department of the South African government. It is responsible for running South Africa's prison system. The department has about 34,000 staff and is responsible for the administration of 240 prisons, which accommodates about 189,748 inmates. The prisons include minimum, medium and maximum security facilities. The agency is headquartered in the West Block of the Poyntons Building in Pretoria.[2]

The political head of the department is the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, who is supported by a Deputy Minister of Correctional Services.[3] As of June 2024 the minister is Pieter Groenewald[4] and the deputy minister is Lindiwe Ntshalintshali. In the 2020 budget, R26,800.0 million was appropriated for the department. In the 2018/19 financial year the department had 38,459 employees.[5]

  1. ^ "History of Transformation of the Correctional System in South Africa". Department of Correctional Services (South Africa). Archived from the original on 21 May 2008. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  2. ^ "Contact Us Archived 14 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine." Department of Correctional Services. Retrieved on 15 September 2010. "National Department (Head Office) Physical Address : 124 Church Street Cnr Shubart Str Poyntons Building (West Block) Pretoria"
  3. ^ "President Cyril Ramaphosa announces reconfigured departments" (Press release). The Presidency. 14 June 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2020. The Minister of Justice and Correctional Services is responsible for the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DoJ&CD), the Department of Correctional Services (DCS), and the Office of the Chief Justice (OCJ).
  4. ^ Thorne, Seth (30 June 2024). "Ramaphosa announces new cabinet – these are all the new ministers and deputies".
  5. ^ "Vote 22: Correctional Services" (PDF). Estimates of National Expenditure 2020. Pretoria: National Treasury. 2020. ISBN 978-0-621-48100-6. Retrieved 8 August 2020.