Perceptions of offenders and correctional officials on the rehabilitation programmes in maximum correctional centres – North West Province
Abstract
Rehabilitation in any correctional setting is a process and not an event aimed at bringing about behavioural and attitudinal change in the lives of those convicted for criminal behaviour. In the process of trying to bring about change, challenges are encountered, either structurally or attitudinally. This study examined the perceptions of offenders and correctional officials on rehabilitation programmes in maximum correctional centres, in the North-West province.
While rehabilitation is regarded by policy documents in the Department of Correctional Services as a right of offenders, the actual implementation is more difficult to realise. The identified problem pointed to a need for relevant literature in order to review on aspects such as: the meaning of rehabilitation, the process of rehabilitation in a prison setting, together with different rehabilitation programmes in correctional settings. Thereafter, different theoretical frameworks were reviewed in order to understand the phenomena at hand holistically. The learning theory helped to show that much as criminal behaviour is learned, this very behaviour in a more conducive environment can be unlearned. With the ecosystems practice perspective the influence of environmental systems on the offenders and how they in turn influence these were looked into. Ground work was laid with the strength-based perspective which showed the importance of tapping upon the inherent strengths of offenders over and above their deficits.
Qualitative research was used as a research paradigm. Using in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and key-informant interviews, a total of 25 participants were purposefully selected. Data analysed was descriptive and the following are some of the findings: The results revealed that: rehabilitation is a process of change which aims at correcting and not punishing; Both sampled correctional officials and offenders perceived rehabilitation as valuable, having experienced and or witnessed change in themselves or others; Barriers to rehabilitation process are varied, with overcrowding and its accompaniments as key; Existing rehabilitation programmes are implementable though sometimes not fully implemented based on the identified constraints; and lastly one of the strategies recommended by offenders is the broadening of stakeholder involvement in the rehabilitation process.
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