SUMMARY OF DCS GREEN PAPER Presentation to the Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services

1
SUMMARY OF DCS GREEN PAPERPresentation to
thePortfolio Committee onCorrectional Services
2
1. MOTIVATION FOR NEW WHITE PAPER

• Based on 1993 Interim Constitution did not
  benefit from 1996 Constitution, 1998 Correctional
  Services Act
• Is not aligned with key current Government
  Policies e.g. corrections in African Renaissance,
  restructuring of SADC
• Not aligned with PFMA range of other Public
  Service Regulations
• Inadequate understanding of causes unique nature
  of crime in SA, place this understanding within
  correction rehabilitation framework
• Does not provide adequate guidance direction to
  long-term departmental policy practice
  development
• Does not address rehabilitation correction as
  societal responsibility
• Silent on Departments contribution towards
  community societal involvement in social crime
  prevention moral regeneration

3
1. MOTIVATION CONTINUED

• Does not provide adequate on Health Care Policy
• Does not adequately address issue of awaiting
  trail detainees
• Does not align Departments hierarchy of
  imperatives promote necessary understanding of
  how Departmental policies are shaped
  legal/Constitutional framework within which it is
  done
• Constitutions definition as Correctional
  Services as singular national competency,
• Relationship with IJS cluster Social Sector
  clusters not addressed
• General lack of consistency in use of
  understanding of terminology definitions such
  terminology is user-friendly consistent with
  philosophy of corrections

4
2. HISTORY OF TRANSFORMATION PERIOD BEFORE
DEMOCRATIZATION IN 1993

• Predominant focus on safety security not
  rehabilitation.
• Militarization became so imbedded significant
  within its organizational culture operations
  over many years.
• Rehabilitation failed to be given central
  attention.
• Human rights took many years of external pressure
  ultimately advent of democracy in 1993, to be
  given primary status.
• Closed prison culture evolved over many years.
• Overcrowding is not present day phenomenon but
  reality that prison administrators had to deal
  with already since early 1900s.
• Early history of South African Correctional
  System.

5
2. TRANSFORMATION PERIOD 1993 UP TO 2000

• Critical events in period
• introduction of human rights culture brought
  about by 1993 Interim Constitution
• alignment of Department with human rights
  culture
• appointment of Inspecting Judge
• approval of National Crime Prevention Strategy
  in 1996
• demilitarization of Department of 1 April 1996
• Other developments of new Constitution in 1996,
  Bill of Rights new Correctional Services Act
  in 1998

6
2. STRATEGIC REALIGNMENT OF DEPARTMENT OF
CORRECTIONAL SERVICES SINCE 2000

• Commitment of Department in 2001 to put
  rehabilitation at center of all its activities.
• Internal strategic planning session in October
  2001 which resulted in adoption of Mvelaphanda.
• Unit Management mainstreamed as vehicle for
  rehabilitation
• Development of Conceptualizing Rehabilitation
  document in 2001
• Plan to develop corporate culture that will
  support philosophy of rehabilitation
  correction.
• Department to come to some very crucial
  conclusions in 2003.
• Corrections is much more that just crime
  prevention

7
2. STRATEGIC REALIGNMENT OF DEPARTMENT OF
CORRECTIONAL SERVICES SINCE 2000 CONTINUE

• Correction as holistic process that focuses on
  social responsibility, social justice,
  participation in democratic activities
  contribution to making South Africa better
  place.
• DCS can achieve its objective behavior social
  circumstances.
• DCS is States agent in rendering final level
  of correction.
• DCS improving its operation in integrated
  governance framework.
• Policies should be aligned with overall policies
  of Government also that of other departments.

8
2. STRATEGIC REALIGNMENT OF DEPARTMENT OF
CORRECTIONAL SERVICES SINCE 2000 CONTINUE

• Many critical challenges
• some are inherent in correctional systems world
  over
• some have particular South African dimension.
• These challenges include
• Overcrowding
• State of DCS facilities
• Insitutional Prison Culture
• Corruption mal-administration
• Training retraining of members for new paradigm
• Aligning organizational structure for new
  paradigm
• Persons awaiting trails
• Illegal immigrants
• Needs of special categories of correctional
• Dealing with HIV/Aids effect management on
  communicable diseases

9
2. STRATEGIC REALIGNMENT OF DEPARTMENT OF
CORRECTIONAL SERVICES SINCE 2000 CONTINUE

• Overcrowding as most important challenge
• Various causes of overcrowding is reflection of
  structural problems in CJS
• Several measures DCS in co-operation with
  partners in JCPS are exploring
• DCS to transform existing institutional culture
  into culture of good governance through
• Development of Risk Fraud Management Strategy
• Internal investigation capacity
• Cost effective utilization resources
• Addressing ongoing incidents of corruption
• Effective utilization of Inspectorate
  Directorate
• Measures DCS undertaking to addresses issues of
  corruption financial management.
• Measures involved external investigations
  conducted at behest of Minister of Correctional
  Services Senior Management
• Gearing DCS for Rehabilitation aimed at
  aligning Departments systems, processes
  structures to enable it to deliver effectively on
  its core business

10
3. CORRECTION AS SOCIETAL RESPONSIBILITY

• Principles philosophy on which new vision for
  Rehabilitation-Centered Correctional Services
  rest
• Interpretation of Correction which asserts that
• Correction based on ideals contained in
  Constitution that all South Africans should
  contribute to maintaining protecting just,
  peaceful safe society in our country.
• Correction is inherent in good citizenship
• Corrections is social responsibility within which
  all sectors / institutions of society including
  DCS should contribute
• Family as first seat of correction
• Many South African families are dysfunctional
• Dysfunctional families provide fertile grounds to
  commit crime for young people in such families to
  commit criminal acts
• Department has with all other social
  institutions Departments crucial task in
  supplementing role of parents in providing
  correction environment for children.

11
4. OBJECTIVES OF CORRECTIONAL SYSTEM

• Department believes rehabilitation prevention
  of recidivism are best achieved through
  correction development, as apposed to
  punishment treatment
• Based on conviction that every human being are
  capable of change transformation if offered
  opportunity resources
• Our approach to Rehabilitation is much more that
  just trying to prevent crime
• Holistic approach in which we try to encourage
  include
• Social responsibility
• Social justice
• Active participation in democratic activities
• Empowerment with life-and other skills
• Contribution to make South Africa better place
  to live in

12
4. OBJECTIVES CONTINUED

• Rehabilitation as process in which we combine
  three important things
• Correction op offending behavior
• Human development
• Promotion of social responsibility positive
  social values
• To assist in Rehabilitation DCS will make use of
  Code of Ethics for correctional clients with
  three objectives
• Inform correctional clients what DCS expects of
  them in correctional environment
• Educate them on what society anticipates to learn
  through rehabilitation process
• Help them to understand what they are expected to
  put back into society once completed their
  sentence.

13
4.1 DEFINING CORRECTIONS

• Correction of offending behavior having
  following objectives
• To promote social responsibility
• Ensure that correctional clients can recognize
  what they did
• Correctional clients can understand why society
  regards that what they did to be unacceptable
• Internalize impact that their action have had on
  victims on society as whole

14
4.1 DEFINING CORRECTIONS CONTINUED

• Primary responsibility of Department of
  Correctional Services to correct offending
  behavior in secure safe humane environment
• Ten key objectives of Correctional System in
  South Africa
• Breaking cycle of crime
• Security risk management
• Implementation of sentence of courts
• Providing environment for controlled phased
  rehabilitation interventions
• Providing guidance support to correctional
  clients within community
• Provision of corrective development measures to
  correctional client
• Reconciliation of correctional client with
  community
• Enhancement of productive capacity of
  correctional clients
• Promotion of healthy familial relations
• Assertion of discipline within correctional
  environment

15
4. VISION

• to be one of best in world in delivering
  correctional services with integrity commitment
  to excellence.

16
4. MISSION

• Placing rehabilitation at center of all DCS
  activities in partnerships with external
  stakeholders, through
• integrated application direction of all
  Departmental DCS resources to focus on
  correction of offending behaviour, promotion of
  social responsibility overall development of
  person under correction.
• cost effective provision of correctional
  facilities that will promote security,
  correction, care development services within
  enabling human rights environment
• Progressive ethical management staff
  practices within which every correctional
  official performs effective correcting
  encouraging role.

17
5. UNIT MANAGEMENT

• Desired method of correctional center management
• Correctional clients accommodated in smaller more
  manageable units with direct supervision
• Team approach to correctional management
• Continuous communication amongst staff between
  staff correctional clients
• System of case management aimed at ensuring
  responsibility involvement of correctional
  client in his/her progress, choices, etc
• Six elements
• Lateral communication
• Direct interactive supervision of correctional
  clients
• Assessment needs-driven programmes in
  structured day correctional plan
• Multi-skilled staff in enabling resourced
  environment
• Restorative, developmental human rights
  approach
• Delegated authority with clear lines of
  accountability

18
7. WHO ARE SOUTH AFRICAS CORRECTIONAL CLIENT

• Offender profile - Various factors - abolition of
  death penalty, introduction of system of
  minimum sentencing
• Increase in prosecution of serious aggressive
  crimes has resulted in
• Increase in aggressive sexual crimes
  categories
• Increase in number of correctional clients that
  serves long sentences
• Significant increase in post-1994 period in
  number of children sentenced to prison
• Challenges for Department
• Increased need for accommodation of increasing
  population maximum-security long term
  correctional clients
• Need for rapid increase in accommodation for
  youth correctional clients

19
8. IDEAL CORRECTIONAL OFFICAL IN APPROPRIATE
ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE

• Relationship between staff correctional client
  is key to correction rehabilitation, as well as
  effective prison management
• Slogan every member is rehabilitator - staff
  members through their actions advance
  rehabilitation objectives or undermine
• Competencies ideal correctional official
• unique combination of personal qualities,
  experience, expertise professional ethics,
  personal development multi-skilling
• Many challenges in relation to Human Resources
• Enhancing status of correctional officials
  within community
• Implementation of human resource provisioning
  strategy with recruitment criteria consistent
  with intention that every correctional official
  is rehabilitator
• Effective career-pathing strategy
  implementation of strict code of behavior by
  clear effectively enforced disciplinary code
  with effective disciplinary procedures

20
8. IDEAL CORRECTIONAL OFFICAL IN APPROPRIATE
ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE

• Ideal correctional official
• High degree of compatibility synergy with Code
  of Ethics conduct
• Embodies values that DCS hopes to instill in
  correctional client
• Displays attitude of serving with pride and
  humility
• Recognize need to take responsibility for
  assigned accountable for ones own omissions or
  actions
• Reflects appreciation of security through
  vigilance of need for ensuring safety of
  correctional clients community
• Displays caring attitude though qualities such
  as integrity, honesty, sound practices,
  adherence to departmental code disassociation
  with all forms of corruption unethical
  responsibility for self-development seriously

21
8. ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE

• Significant challenges in aligning organizational
  culture with new strategic redirection
• Indicators reflecting shortcomings of past
  existing organizational
• High rate of recidivism
• Low recognition of strategic role played by
  frontline employees
• Corruption perceptions
• Well-aligned organizational culture should have
  positive outcomes
• Significant reduction in rate of recidivism
• Re-understanding of critically of frontline
  functions
• Department must earn respect of communities
  broader society
• Importance of already approved seven
  departmental core values
• Development, Efficiency, Responsibility,
  Security, Accountability, Justice, Equity

22
8. IDEAL CORRECTIONAL OFFICAL IN APPROPRIATE
ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE

• Commitment to culture devoid of militaristic
  practice
• align DCS with international standards
• military or paramilitary institution
  inappropriate for Rehabilitation
• DCS performing socio-security function -
  civilian security structure with strong
  social-sector dimension.
• Focus on tight security, on personnel discipline,
  on civilian rank recognition as crucial
  factors in prison management.
• DCS will map out comprehensive identification
  package for both officials correctional clients
  
• Interim use of existing uniform for officials
  together with proposed new insignia.
• Long term complete package will be based on
• Corporate Identity
• Authority Identification / Protocol
• Security
• Function purpose
• Rehabilitation status
• Prison wear

23
9. GOVERNMENTS RESPONSIBLITES TOWARDS ATDs

• Various Constitutional provisions on rights of
  awaiting trial detainees in relation to their
  incarceration their movement through CJS
• Range of services that must be made available to
  unsentenced detainees.
• continuity in education training in line with
  Government policy,
• safety of person,
• access to social welfare services in line with
  Government policy,
• accessibility to state provided health care in
  line with Government policy,
• accessibility to visits, communication
  correspondence with family friends,
• accessibility to recreational reading
  resources,
• accessibility to legal representation
• Social backgrounds of SA awaiting-trial
  detainees- promotion of human development NB.
• Life skills, social development, understanding of
  legal justice system
• Client has identified policy gap

24
9. GOVERNMENTS RESPONSIBLITES TOWARDS ATDs

• Long term policy ATD responsibility of DoJ
• Medium term - Transition policy.
• Short- term management of awaiting trial
  detainees.
• Improved management of CJS re ATDs
• Increased Accommodation of awaiting-trial
  detainees
• Debt offenders
• Department of Home Affairs is responsible for
  illegal immigrants appropriate facilities,
  family accommodation, staff trained in
  international law and immigration law foreign
  languages

25
10. NEEDS-BASED INTERVENTION PLAN

• Intervention targets unique history of
  individual towards positive appropriate norms
  value system, alternative social interaction
  options, development of life skills,
  development of social employment-related skills
• Client-specific Sentence Plan and based on
  admission assessment ongoing reassessment
• needs relating to specific intervention
  programmes that target offending behaviour/s
  (Corrections).
• security needs taken into account human rights
  of individual (Security)
• needs in terms of Physical Emotional Well Being
  (Care)
• education training work allocation needs
  (Development)
• needs in terms of allocated physical
  accommodation (Facilities)
• needs in terms of support after release (After
  Care),
• needs regarding reintegration into community.

26
10. DIFFERENTIATION BETWEEN CORRECTION
DEVELOPMENT

• Correction of offender behaviour deals with
• promotion of social responsibility,
• ensuring that individual can recognize what they
  did as wrong,
• understand why society believes it to be
  unacceptable,
• to internalize impact that their actions have
  had on victims on society as whole.
• Development, deals with life skills of person,
  including
• education training,
• communication skills,
• employability,
• health awareness,
• recreation skills,
• sports skills.
• Aspects that contribute to making person well
  -rounded person.

27
10. EDUCATION

• High levels of illiteracy amongst correctional
  clients in South Africa.
• Also significant proportion of youth
  correctional clients.
• To place significant emphasis on provision of
  literacy classes, basic schooling basis adult
  education for correctional clients
• In partnership with Department of Education, to
  provide education in our correctional centers
  that is in line with educational system of
  society as whole.

28
10. TRAINING PRODUCTIVE WORK

• To base productive work of correctional clients
  on particular principles
• Productive work should be integral to
  correctional sentence plan
• Nature of productive work should be consistent
  with profile of offence category client
  themselves
• Should contribute towards human development
• Should be conducted within framework of
  countrys labour safety legislation
• Nature of productive work should not entrench
  gender racial stereotypes
• Should enhance employability of correctional
  clients

29
10. COMMUNITY SERVICE POVERY ALLEVIATION

• Correctional client involvement in poverty
  alleviation projects aimed at
• Promoting constitutional role responsibility
  to Department
• Enhancing rehabilitation efforts towards clients
  involved
• Furthering Governments commitment to sustainable
  development
• Objectives for DCS poverty alleviation/social
  development projects
• Build close relationships with community seek
  to undo stigmatization of correctional clients
• Support communities in category of high risk,
  poor communities, communities of origin of
  correctional clients
• Not be DCS hand outs to community, but should
  contribute to sustainable development hence
  social crime prevention
• Not be once off events, but be part of
  coordinated multi-year, focused programme of
  Department
• Enhance rehabilitation, correctional client
  employability, skills development preventing
  recidivism as important components of sustainable
  development in line with trends in output of
  economy
• Develop community awareness amongst correctional
  clients, community service attitude, while also
  developing self esteem in individuals.

30
10. GENDER POLICY

• Department understanding of Gender as Social
  relations between men women.
• Gender Policy should be in line with
  Constitution promoting respect for gender
  equality protection, development attainment
  of gender equality.
• DCS approach to Gender will inform management of
  women correctional clients.
• Management of men correctional clients is of
  particular importance in rehabilitation of men
  whose victims have been women children.
• Gender training as crucial aspect of
  rehabilitation of particularly young offenders

31
10. SERVICE TO PAROLED CORRECTIONAL CLIENTS
POLICY, SOCIAL REINTEGRATION INTEGRATED
SUPPORT SYSTEM

• Parole policy makes provision for release of
  detained correctional client under community
  correctional supervision.
• Parole is conditional release that will
  contribute to social reintegration, promoting
  community responsibility for corrections
  restoring harmed relationships.
• participation of community members
• direct involvement of relevant state departments
• direct valued involvement of family friends
• direct involvement of correctional clients
  themselves
• direct input from victims of crimes themselves.
• Social reintegration as most challenging aspect
  of rehabilitation.
• Ongoing component of sentence plan that must
  become integral part of unit management.
• Using term After-care to describe its services
  aimed at promoting effective social integration
  of correctional clients back into their
  communities of origin.

32
10. SERVICE TO PAROLED CORRETIONAL CLIENTS
CONTINUED

• Support to social reintegration will also inform
  our approach to issues like
• Written telephonic communication
• Visits with family, friends loved ones,
• Access to information about world
• Contact with social institutions
• Monitoring of recidivism as essential part in
  effectives of need-based rehabilitation and
  social reintegration
• Prioritizes need to involve other role-players in
  creating integrated support system based on
  following principles
• Correctional clients will be referred by
  community corrections officials to various
  support services for their rehabilitation process
  within their residential areas
• Presentation of programmes shared with other
  role-players
• CBOS NGOs involved in reintegration process
• Integrated support system caters for development
  rehabilitation
• Suitable accommodation for destitute correctional
  clients
• Families /friends/potential employers/other
  role-players involved in obtaining employment for
  correctional clients.

33
11. SAFETY, SECURITY HUMAN DIGNITY AS PART OF
REHABILITATION

• To provide security on different levels.
• These are to (i) public, (ii) personnel, (iii)
  correctional clients from other correctional
  clients, (iv) for correctional clients against
  themselves where applicable.
• Rehabilitation secure, safe orderly custody
  as two sides of same coin.
• Excessive security control should not be
  allowed to transpire at expense of justice.
• Use of force as means of restoring order can
  only be justified in extreme circumstances,
• Security measures to which correctional clients
  detainees are subject should be minimum that is
  needed to ensure their secure custody, safety
  of other correctional clients.

34
11. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION FOR REHABILITATION

• Assessment of risk, must take into account
  impact of incarceration on human being, threat
  that correctional client may pose or herself, to
  staff, to other prisoners to wider community.
• Supports proximity of correctional client to
  his/her family, friends, community.
• Support principle that different security
  categories of correctional clients should not be
  accommodated together.
• Actual facility should not be classified, except
  where it is very specifically designed for
  security purpose. On whole, it is correctional
  clients who should be security classified,
  section in which they are accommodated should
  then be run according to appropriate levels of
  security routine.
• Objective of Security Risk Assessment is to
  determine Security classification for every
  correctional client.
• To do individual Security Risk Assessment use
  new Security Classification Instrument required.

35
11. SAFETY HEALTH OF CORRECTIONAL CLIENTS

• Clients are dependent on Department to provide
  for their safety to ensure that their rights
  are not violated.
• Serious challenge in context of serious
  overcrowding
• Presence of gangs in South Africa correctional
  centres undermines safety of correctional clients

36
11. DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURES PUNISHMENTS IN
CORRECTIONAL CENTRES

• Must be clear code on disciplinary offences,
  investigations, procedures applicable sanctions
  available understandable to all correctional
  clients correctional officials on admission
  entry to Department.
• Principles of natural justice would be respected.

37
12. SPECIAL CATEGORIES OF CORRECTIONAL CLIENTS

• All correctional clients should not be regarded
  as one homogenous grouping.
• Special needs correctional clients
• children below 18 years of age,
• youth correctional clients,
• first offence correctional clients,
• women correctional clients,
• disabled correctional clients,
• aged correctional clients,
• mentally ill clients,
• long-term life correctional clients,
• foreign nationals who are sentenced by South
  African courts.

38
13. APPROPRIATE COST EFFECTIVE FACILITIES

• Facilities of Department should be clearly
  designed as Correctional Development Centres
  which integrate facilities for rehabilitation,
  adequate security conditions consistent with
  human dignity.
• More advantageous option is to avoid private
  running of any more prisons in short term

39
14. EXTERNAL PARTNERHSIPS

• Development of new Rehabilitation-Centered
  Correctional System for South Africa, must take
  into account significant contribution support
  needed from external partners.
• DCS will fail in transformation objective without
  developing, maintaining promoting partnerships
  with communities, community institutions, NGOs,
  private enterprise, other government institutions
  Departments its partners within Integrated
  Justice System.
• Propose active involvement of DCS in community
  initiatives projects - will contribute to aims
  of crime prevention effective reintegration of
  correctional clients.

40
WAY FORWARD

• Presentation to Cabinet committees
• Cabinet discussion approval
• Publication of Green Paper Government Gazette
• Public Hearings January and February 2004
• Evaluation of inputs
• Drafting of White Paper
• Consultations Roll-out on Draft White Paper
• Portfolio Select Committees
• Approval by Cabinet Parliament
• Publication as White Paper target April 2004

41

• THANK YOU!