M.A. / The aim of sentencing a child to a reform school is to effectively deter the child from further criminal acts and prevent recidivism. Research into the area of crime and juvenile delinquency stresses that those traditional approaches encompassing frameworks of punishment and retribution, as methods of eliciting behavior change do not work. Incarceration of a child offender should be a last resort and only utilized when all other possible interventions have failed to achieve a modicum of success with the child in conflict with the law. The Inter-Ministerial Committee on Young People at Risk states that "the approach to working with young people in trouble with the law should focus on restoring societal harmony and putting wrongs right rather than punishment. The young person should be held accountable for his / her actions and where possible make amends to the victim", (IMC, 1996:18). The approach of restoration and repair falls within the ambits of a Restorative Justice Model, a contemporary approach to child justice that is achieving far greater positive results, if managed appropriately than the traditional Retributive Model of child justice. The aim of this study was to explore the perceptions of professionals working with children in conflict with the law towards reform schools as a sentence option for children and, where possible to generate alternatives to this sentence. Key roleplayers identified for this undertaking were selected from the Departments of Social Services, Justice, Education, Detention Centers, A Reformatory, and, Community based NGO's. The role-players were identified from documents perused by the researcher pertaining to the reform school issue. A focus group as well as individual interviews was conducted with participants from the above-mentioned professional arenas. The study was contextualised to the South African situation; however participants in the study originate from Gauteng and the Western Cape Province.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uj/uj:9366 |
| Date | 15 August 2012 |
| Creators | Reddy, Shamona |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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