There are well documented societal issues that impact the prison population and crime rate. These factors include poverty, a lack of education or employment opportunities, drug or alcohol use and abuse, racial disparity, exposure to others involved in criminal activity, and mental illness.

What is the cause of overcrowding in prisons?

The immediate cause of overcrowding is either overuse of imprisonment or insufficient prison capacity. 2 Also the remedy is simple: send fewer offenders to prison and/or for shorter periods, or build more prisons.

What causes overcrowding in prisons in South Africa?

At the end of March 2016, South Africa's prisons only had 119,134 bed spaces available for its 161,984 inmates. “The main driving factor behind overcrowding is the remand detainee population,” Clare Ballard from the advocacy organisation Lawyers for Human Rights told Africa Check.