Pretoria - Correctional Services National Commissioner Tom Moyane has expressed concern about the high number of young people behind bars.
"My heart bleeds when I see so many youths languishing in jail and losing prime years of their lives because of crime," he said.
Addressing an anti-crime campaign at the Modimolle Correctional Centre, Commissioner Moyane said youths between the ages of 18 and 35 years were behind bars, with many serving maximum jail terms.
He urged hundreds of juveniles incarcerated at Modimolle Correctional Centre of Excellence to make use of the opportunities given to them by Correctional Services so that they can leave the centre as "changed beings".
He also called on Correctional Services managers and officials to strengthen their outreach programmes aimed at improving the lives of ordinary South Africans.
Commissioner Moyane also led an entourage that included the Speaker of Modimolle Municipality Mr. Mashau, Councillors and Executive Managers of Correctional Services and the Department of Justice in harvesting vegetables for donation to a centre for displaced children.
The Correctional Centre that houses juveniles adopted the children's centre in 2008 and started a dedicated vegetable garden that has provided vegetables sustainably since then.
The children's centre supports about 200 children daily with at least one balanced meal with community members serving as volunteers.
Moyane praised the initiative at the Modimolle Correctional Centre saying: "We definitely cannot afford to fold our arms while scores of children go to bed hungry without knowing where the next meal will come from.
"We cannot rest while increasing scores of young offenders are swelling our already overcrowded correctional centres and just watch them do nothing with their time and energy, while opportunities are plenty for their productive engagement in projects that have a direct positive spin off for the Department," he said.
The event formed part of this year's Corrections Week campaign aimed at building public awareness, understanding and better participation of the public and stakeholders in the administration of Corrections.
The theme of the campaign is "Together doing more to break the cycle of crime."
