The correctional experience of adult offenders has largely been ignored in comparison to youth and adolescent offenders in the correctional literature and even more so in terms of repeated offending behaviour. The perspective that self-esteem is also considered an important behavioural motivator and outcome of life experiences is reflected in the high amount of inclusion it enjoys as a treatment outcome in numerous correctional rehabilitation programmes. However, the dearth of research on the level of self-esteem of repeat offenders internationally and in the South African context does not reflect the importance of this relationship and with a 95% recidivism rate in South African prisons one can understand the need for investigation into this phenomenon. Descriptive, comparative and explanatory analyses were conducted using the self-concept theory of Carl Rogers to guide the research. A purposive sample of 73 male repeat offenders from correctional centres in the Zululand area of the KwaZulu-Natal province were included in the study. Self-esteem was assessed through the use of the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory (Adult Form) and relative theoretical and empirical perspectives were utilised in the development of a questionnaire used to quantitatively assess multiple variables related to self-esteem and repeat offending behaviour. The level of self-esteem was therefore assessed in terms of the type of offence/s committed by the participants and in relation to a number of demographic (age, education, marital status, number of children and childhood socioeconomic status), psychosocial (parental closeness, parental availability, need for acceptance, familial abuse and treatment by community upon release) and correctional (exposure to correctional environment, experience of victimisation inside the correctional facility, visitations, conditions of the correctional centres and programme participation) variables. Inferential (t-tests, ANOVA and correlations) and descriptive (means, standard deviations and frequency distributions) statistical analyses were utilised to compare the self-esteem scores of the participants and provide a general description of the characteristics of the sample respectively. The reliability of the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory (Adult Form) was also assessed producing a Cronbach alpha of .69 indicating that it was a reliable measure of self-esteem in the South African correctional context. The results indicated that the self-esteem scores of South African repeat offenders varied significantly in terms of offence type with aggressive offenders showing significantly higher levels of self-esteem than sexual, economic, narcotic and “other” offenders. Participants from the remaining offending categories did not show significant differences in self-esteem between one another. Demographic variables (age, education, marital status, number of children and childhood socioeconomic status) were not found to have a significant effect on self-esteem scores. Psychosocial variables related to familial relations (parental closeness and parental availability) were not found to be significantly different despite clear patterns emerging indicating an increase in self-esteem when parental bonds were strong and parents were perceived as available during childhood. The analysis of data related to the need for acceptance by friends and family members indicated that despite the repeated offending nature of the sample that there was still a degree of acceptance with conventional norms and values. Self-esteem was also seen to improve with perceptions of community support and fairness of treatment by community upon release. Experiences of abuse prior to incarceration and victimisation within the correctional facility were seen to negatively affect self-esteem however time and context related variables were determined to play a mediating role due to the increased effect witnessed for experiences that were more recent. Further correctional variables analysed showed increases in self-esteem in terms of prolonged exposure to the correctional environment, and increase in the frequency of visitations and positive perceptions of satisfaction with the conditions in the correctional centres. Programme participation was was however found to have no significant effect on self-esteem. Recommendations formulated for future research included the need for a longitudinal research design and the incorporation of contextual data in the form of non-offending control groups for the establishment of cultural norms and values through the use of qualitative interviews. The generally negative life experiences of repeat offenders were concluded to increase the need for the use of psychological defences and the creation of an increasingly false reality in an attempt to maintain some form of psychological consistency. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

Many community development initiatives place great emphasis on the need for the a participatory approach towards development. Here the beneficiaries are expected to engage in dialogue and collective action in order to be empowered and consequently developed. This study therefore seeks to explore the elements of dialogue and collective action in a crime prevention and health promotion intervention that was administered by a non-governmental organisation called Footballers for Life (F4L) at the Heidelberg Correctional Centre (Johannesburg, South Africa) from March to August 2011 amongst a group of 40 male offenders. Premised on the idea that true human development should be participatory and therefore dialogical, this study used Participatory Communication to explore dialogue for collective action within the mentioned intervention. Participatory Communication was applied through the use of the Communication for Participatory Development Model (CFPD), which was used as a guide through which dialogue for collective action was explored. Furthermore, F4L is an organisation that uses retired professional football stars who, acting as role models, offer a unique approach towards effecting behaviour change amongst the communities they work with. Hence in this regard this study used the Social Cognitive Theory to primarily explore the significance of role modelling towards behaviour change in the F4L programme at the Heidelberg Correctional Centre. Taking a qualitative research approach, this study used interviews, focus groups as well as a participant observation schedule to collect the relevant data. This data was analysed through a thematic analysis which was facilitated through the use of a data analysis software package called NVivo. The study reveals how the offenders were excluded from the initial dialogue that took place between F4L and the prison in the recognition of the problems facing the offenders and planning of the intervention. Upon invitation to join the F4L programme the offenders went into it without any sense of ownership or clear understanding of what the programme was about potentially threatening the envisaged purpose of the programme. However, the study also found that the democratic leadership style and genuine efforts of the F4L head Coach (Silver) were able to play a key role in fostering a sense of brotherhood and therefore ownership of the developmental process amongst the offenders leading to the attainment of certain individual as well as social outcomes, i.e. self-reliance, empathy, budgeting skills, collective efficacy as well as communal trust. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.

Recidivism rates among ex-offender populations have consistently remained high. With over 600,000 ex-offenders being released from prison each year, reducing the rate of recidivism among the ex-offender class has become a highly debated issue. Ensuring ex-offenders successfully reintegrate into the community post-incarceration may help to reduce recidivism rates. Through a qualitative thematic analysis, this study examined various policies and program that may impact recidivism rates among ex-offenders. The policies and programs reviewed in this study were categorized among six main themes which were identified in prior literature as the most crucial elements needed for successful reintegration. The findings indicate that while many policy changes have been made to positively impact ex-offender reintegration by allowing initial access to services post-release from prison, more should be done to ensure ex-offenders actually receive needed services.

No description available.

This thesis examines the attitudes and rehabilitative potential of female inmates in a California state women's prison.

In the past twenty years boot camps have been evaluated for effectiveness on reducing recidivism, crowding, and costs to the Departments of Corrections. Program and offender characteristics have been studied. This analysis intends to determine how well studied boot camps are, why there is so much disagreement in the findings, and what impact, if any, boot camp programming has had in corrections.

This study aims to explore the management of offenders’ education for optimum rehabilitation in a Correctional Centre in Gauteng. In this study the nature of correctional education management is explored in relation to the self-concept of offenders as learners, as well as their view and experience on their future position as released parolees striving for reintegration into the society. Methodologically, the study is located in the qualitative paradigm where a questionnaire was designed to gather the respondents’ demographic profiles, and to extract from them the factors that influence crime propensity and amenability to correction through correctional education. The questionnaire was targeted at all functionally literate participants who indicated their interest at the sampling stage. The research site was a Correctional Centre in the Gauteng Province. Respondents comprised sixteen offenders and five officials. The key findings of this research are that policy intervention is crucial to improve the management of offenders’ education, so to remove barriers that hinder the exercise of effective education. How offenders’ education is managed impacts on their receptiveness of education. This implies their fate as future ex-offenders and their prospects of employment after release as citizens are tarnished with the stigma of a criminal record. Their self-esteem seems to improve with the acquisition of well managed education, while on the other hand, propensity to recidivate is high where the management of their education has failed and hopelessness and lack of motivation in planning for a better future pervade. Thus, proper management of offenders’ education can go a long way to ensure their successful reintegration in the society. The research report concludes with recommendations that could have implications for future research in the context of correctional education management, as well as implementation and monitoring of such management via policy in order to achieve optimum rehabilitation of offenders. / Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed. (Education Management)

The research into case management was made necessary by the emphasis that the South African prison authorities of today placed on the rehabilitation of offenders. The lack of respect for human dignity, the need to reduce crime in South African prisons and the successful reintegration of offenders into the community are some of the reasons why the research became important. The idea behind introducing case management is to bring back humanity to the offender; to make the offender part of a team which is working towards a mutual goal: to promote the well being of the offender. Topics addressed include the case management process as a sub-system of sentence planning, the role of the correctional officer and the role of the offender and the community in the successful implementation of case management in prisons. The philosophy of case management is also spelled out in the study, covering the implementation of case management within the criminal justice system in Australia, Canada, United States of America, South Africa and the United Kingdom. During any process of incarceration, documentation forms an integral part of the process and in the situation of the case management process, it is just as important. In this study, the researcher discussed those documents that form part of the case file and which play an important role in the successful implementation of case management. The importance of case management in prisons as well as the fact that it can be implemented without the support of the unit management approach cannot be overemphasised. The research contributes largely to scientific knowledge in stressing the importance of sentence planning for each offender within the Criminal Justice System. The case file, which includes the individual sentence plan and the active involvement of the correctional officer and the offender, forms a vital part of the management of the rehabilitation of the offender in today's prison systems. / Penology / D. Litt et Phil.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2000. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The research problem of this study is "The use of prison labour in die Western Cape agriculture". The aim of this qualitative-historical study was to determine how this system of labour was established, functioned and eventually came to an end. To research this topic was not easy. Most of the documentary sources have been destroyed. Therefore, the main source of information were interviews with the relevant prison wardens and guards, as well as farmers who used prison labour in the past. Prison labour played only a small part in the penal system of the Cape Colony before the nineteenth century. The focus of punishment was on the body of the criminal - inflicting physical pain. Since the early 1800's prisoners were used for the maintenance of roads and on work in Governmental gardens. Prisoners were rented ' . out to farmers, on an informal basis, since 1806. A formal system of prison labour, based on the principle of rehabilitating punishment, was introduced by the Governor John Montagu in 1843. For example, prisoners were classified according to their behavior, rather than their crimes. In 1888 free prison labour was abolished and a standard wage was introduced. The use of prison labour by private persons increased systematically after the Second World War. The reason for this was a growing labour shortage in especially agriculture. The system of farm prisons or so-called "outposts" was established to address this problem. In 194 7 the Landsdown Commission accepted the principle of farm prisons. The first farm prison was opened in 1953. The establishment of these outposts had a twofold aim: firstly, it supplied farmers with a constant source of labour. Secondly, it served as a deliverance for the state, as this would relieve the overcrowding in prisons and reduce costs. Between 1953 and 1988 a_total of thirteen outposts were established in the Western Cape. Farmers' unions carried the costs of building the prisons and were also responsible for their maintenance. The Department of Prisons was responsible for the appointment of prisonguards and their remuneration. A Central Outpost Committee was established that served as a link between the various farmers' unions and the Department. South Africa's policy on prison labour was in line with the United Nations' "Standard Minimum Rules" for the treatment of prisoners, having rehabilitation as main objective. However, this system of farm prisons clashed with the international trade ethos of the time. It was seen as "slave labour" that gave South African farmers an unfair competitive advantage. In 1988 prison labour was terminated and outposts were closed, due to the threat of sanctions and boycotts of South African agricultural products. The empirical evidence of this study largely supports the Marxist interpretation of punishment in society. According to Ma.rXism, punishment systems and prison labour serve the economic interests of the dominant classes. At the same time it also gives credence to the Weberian interpretation, in which the systematic monitoring and treatment of prisoners are a manifestation of the tendency towards increasing rationalisation in Western society. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die navorsingsprobleem van hierdie studie is "Die gebruik van gevangene arbeid in die Wes-Kaapse landbou". Die doel van hierdie kwalitatief-historiese ondersoek was om vas te stel hoe hierdie sisteem van arbeid ontstaan, gefunksioneer en tot 'n einde gekom het. Navorsing van hierdie onderwerp was nie maklik nie. Die meeste dokumentere bronne was reeds vemietig. Gevolglik moes hoofsaaklik staatgemaak word op onderhoude met hoofde en bewaarders van gevangenisse, asook boere wat destyds van gevangene arbeid gebruik gemaak het. Gevangene arbeid het 'n relatief klein rol gespeel in die strafstelsel van die Kaapkolonie voor die negentiende eeu. Die klem van straf was op die liggaam van die beskuldigde - die toepassing van fisiese pyn. Vanaf die vroee 1800's 1s gevangenes egter gebruik vir die instandhouding van strate en vir werk m Regeringstuine. V anaf 1806 is gevangenes ook op informele basis aan boere uitgehuur. 'n Formele stelsel van gevangene arbeid, gebasseer op die beginsel van rehabiliterende straf, is in 1843 deur die destydse Goeweneur John Montagu ingestel. Gevangenes is byvoorbeeld geklassifiseer volgens hul optrede, eerder as hul misdaad. In 1888 is gratis gevangene arbeid afgeskaf en voorsiening is gemaak vir 'n standaard loon. Na die Tweede Wereldoorlog het die gebruik van gevangene arbeid deur privaat persone sistematies toegeneem. Die rede hiervoor was 'n groeiende arbeidstekort in veral die landbou. Laasgenoemde is hoofsaaklik aangespreek deur die stelsel van plaastronke of sogenaamde "buiteposte". In 194 7 het die Landsdown Kommissie plaastronke in beginsel goedgekeur. Die eerste plaastronk, of "buitepos" soos daarna verwys is, is in 1953 geopen. Die oprigting van buiteposte het 'n tweeledige doel gehad: eerstens, het dit vir boere'n konstante voorraad van arbeid te verskaf. Tweedens was dit vir die staat 'n uitkoms, aangesien dit die oorbevolking in stedelike tronke sou verlig en kostes sou besnoei. Daarbenewens sou hierdie nuwe stelsel hydra tot die rehabilitasie van korter-termyn gevangenes. Tussen 1953 en 1988 het daar altesame dertien buiteposte in die Wes-Kaap bestaan. Boereverenigings het die oprigtingskoste van die onderskeie tronke gedra. Hierbenewens moes hulle ook ondemeem om die tronke te onderhou, terwyl die Departement van Gevangenisse verantwoordelik was vir die beskikbaarstelling van bewaarders en hul vergoeding. 'n Sentrale Buiteposkomitee is gestig wat as skakel gedien het tussen die betrokke boereverenigings en die Departement. Suid-Afrika se beleid rakende gevangene arbeid was in pas met die Verenigde Nasies se "Standaard Minimum Reels" vir die behandeling van gevangenes, met rehabilitasie as sentrale motief. Die stelsel van plaastronke het egter ingedruis teen die intemasionale handels-etos van die tyd en is as "slawe arbeid" gesien wat vir SuidAfrikaanse boere 'n onregverdige mededingende voordeel gegee het. Uit vrese vir sanksies en boikotte van Suid-Afrikaanse landbou produkte, is gevangene arbeid gestaak en buiteposte teen die einde van 1988 gesluit. Die empiriese getuienis van hierdie ondersoek staaf in 'n groot mate die Marxistiese interpretasie van straf in die samelewing. Hiervolgens dien strafstelsels en gevangene arbeid die ekonomiese belange van die dominante klasse. Terselfdertyd steun dit die Weberiaanse interpretasie waarvolgens die sistematiese monitering en behandeling van gevangenes in tronke 'n manifestasie 1s van die tendens tot toenemende rasionalisasie in die Westerse samelewing.

Thesis (MPA)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Increasingly, concerns are being raised about the growing incidents of recidivism in South Africa. Of great concern is that reoffending often involves serious crimes such as murder, rape, robbery and substance abuse. The main purpose of this research was to assess how well rehabilitation programmes are implemented in the Boksburg Management Area, and to determine whether such efforts benefited offenders. Based on a qualitative case study design, data was collected from this area using semi-structured interviews, document analysis and observation in September 2013. Participants included programme officials, social workers, facilitators, case managers, inmates and representatives from participating NPOs and CBOs. A nonprobability sampling method called purposive sampling was utilised to construct this sample. The study used the 5C model as the basis for assessing the implementation of the rehabilitation programme in the Boksburg Management Area and the following findings are as identified. Firstly, the officials are conversant with the goals of the rehabilitation programme. The country’s socio economic circumstances have an influence on rehabilitation as evidenced by the wide variety of projects offered, including literacy initiatives, bakery services, furniture manufacturing, and welding, landscaping and community-based agricultural projects. Commitment can be increased and harnessed to obtain support for organisational ends and interests through such ploys as participation in decisions and actions. Capacity is the key to successful execution and sustainability of rehabilitative programme. Lastly, the offenders as clients are the key beneficiaries of rehabilitation programmes and that formation of alliances with civil organisations is critical for effective implementation of rehabilitation programme. It was therefore concluded that while substantial gains had been realised in implementing the rehabilitation programme, however more efforts were required to improve access to rehabilitation services. Amongst other things, the study recommended that institutional capacity be improved to ensure that inmates benefit immensely from the rehabilitation programme. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Daar word toenemend kommer uitgespreek oor groeiende residivisme in Suid-Afrika. Die feit dat herhalende oortredings dikwels ernstige misdade soos moord, verkragting, roof en delmmisbruik insluit, is erg kommerwekkend. Die hoofdoel van hierdie navorsing was om vas te stel hoe doeltreffend rehabilitasieprogramme in die Boskburg Bestuursarea geïmplimenteer word en om vas te stel of sulke pogings oortreders bevoordeel het. Die studie-ontwerp van die ondersoek is gebaseer op kwalitatiewe gevallestudies. Data is uit hierdie area bekom deur die gebruik van semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude, dokument anaslise en observasie gedurende September 2013. Deelnemers het programbeamptes, maatskaplike werkers, fasiliteerders, saakbestuurders, gevangenes en verteenwoordigers van deelnemende nie-winsgewende organisasies en gemeenskapsgebaseerde organisasies ingesluit. ‘n Nie-waarskynlikheids steekproefmetode, bekend as ‘n doelmatigheidssteekproefneming, is gebruik om hierdie steekproef saam te stel. Die studie het die 5C model as basis vir die assessering van die rehabilitasieprogram in die Boksburg Bestuursarea gebruik en die volgende bevindings is gemaak. Eerstens is bevind dat die beamptes vertroud is met die doelwitte van die rehabilitasieprogram. Die land se sosio-ekonomiese onstandigehde het ‘n invloed op rehabilitasie soos bewys deur ‘n wye verskeidenheid projekte wat aangebied word, insluitend geletterdheidsinisiatiewe, bakkerydienste, meubelvervaardiging, sweiswerk, tuinaanleg en gemeenskapsgebaseerde landbouprojekte. Betrokkenheid kan verhoog en behou word, met die oog daarop om ondersteuning vir organisatoriese doelwitte en belange te verkry, deur byvoorbeeld deelname aan besluite en aksies. Kapasiteit is die sleutel tot die suksesvolle uitvoering en volhoubaarheid ‘n rehabilitasieprogram. Laastens, is oortreders as kliënte die vernaamste voordeeltrekkers van rehabilitasieprograamme. Die vorming van bondgenootskappe met burgerlike organisasies is van kritieke belang vir die effektiewe implementasie van ‘n rehabilitasieprogram. Hoewel beduidende vordering reeds plaasgevind het met die implementasie van die rehabilitasieprogram, was die gevolgtrekking dus dat meer pogings vereis word om toegang tot rehabilitasiedienste te verbeter. Die studie het, onder andere, aanbeveel dat institusionele kapasiteit verbeter moet word om te verseker dat gevangenes ontsaglik baat vind by die rehabilitasieprogram.