Goodwood Centre of Excellence or Goodwood Correctional Centre is a medium security
prison
A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where Prisoner, people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state ...
in
Edgemead, Cape Town and run by the
South African Department of Correctional Services. Despite its location in Edgemead the prison is named after the nearby neighbourhood of
Goodwood.
Background
The centre was established in 1997 to accommodate awaiting trial detainees. Due to overcrowding within the South African prison system – most notably at
Pollsmoor,
Drakenstein
The Drakenstein mountain is a mountain range in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It lies opposite Simonsberg Mountain and is part of the Cape Fold Belt. It is named after ex-soldier Hendrik Adriaan van Rheede tot Drakenstein, who wa ...
,
Helderstroom – the centre was converted into a "Centre of Excellence". Thereby allowing it to better accommodate sentenced prisoners in addition to awaiting trial detainees.
Due to the prison's focus on prisoner education and reform as well as its better quality prison facilities it has been dubbed a "five-star jail" by the South African media.
By 2010/11 the prison had a 113% occupancy rate.
Notable inmates
References
Prisons in South Africa
Residential buildings in Cape Town
Residential buildings completed in 1997
1997 establishments in South Africa
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