NCJ Number
191370
Journal
Crime & Justice International Volume: 17 Issue: 55 Dated: September 2001 Pages: 9-10,31-34,35
Date Published
September 2001
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This article reviews the transformations that have occurred in South African corrections since the country became a democracy in 1994 and suggests further changes.
Abstract
One of the primary duties of the first democratic government in South Africa was to transform the interim Constitution into a permanent one. This achievement had a significant influence on Correctional Services. In specifying Correctional Services as part of the Public Service, the Constitution aimed to make Correctional Services an instrument of public service delivery. After becoming a Public Service department, the Department of Correctional Services was mandated to demilitarize corrections. This was necessary to make the transition from a punitive approach to a more humane and developmental approach in corrections. This involved staff retraining; cultural change through identified core values; consultation with, and the "buying in" of all stakeholders; rewards to reinforce the new required behavior; development of a new disciplinary system for misconduct by staff; and the design of new uniforms to reflect demilitarization. In early 1997 the first draft of the Correctional Services Bill was completed, and on November 19, 1998, the new Correctional Services Act was promulgated. Only certain sections of this act were implemented by May 2001. The looming problem in overcrowding is the rapid increase in the number of presentence detainees. Further, the likelihood of being sentenced to prison when found guilty is much greater than the likelihood of receiving a noncustodial sentence. Community corrections is divided into correctional supervision and parole supervision. South Africa is at the cross-roads regarding whether it will place more emphasis on offender rehabilitation and treatment through expanded community-based programs, or it will pursue a punitive philosophy that emphasizes maximum security and harsh prison confinement. This article concludes that only a mixed and flexible package of humane penal institutions and alternatives to imprisonment will contribute to the reduction of imprisonment and further transformation of South African corrections. 23 references