Children in Prison in South Africa - Community Law Centre

Where programmes are jn placeIn some of the prisons, the social workers reportedthat programmes were in place.At Rustenbiirg, the social workers reported that theyaim to put the children through at least three socialwork programmes before they complete half of theirsentence. Researchers were told that, within ten daysof arrival, Rustenburg prisoners are interviewed by thesocial workers. Prisoners then undergo an orientationprogramme to prepare them for their stay. They arealso asked to provide their parents contact details sothey could be informed of the whereabouts of theirchildren. This information is then sent to parentsthrough 'the South African Police Service.Social workers at Rustenburg also claimed that theyinform the prisoners about the support systems .availableto them, both inside and outside prison, includingpsychological and medical services. Life skills programmesprovided include health programmes onsexual orientation and drug and alcohol abuse andprogrammes on responsibility and conflict resolution.Once the juveniles have completed these programmes,they are channelled either to the school or the trainingworkshops, depending on their levels of educationand interest.Near the completion of their sentences, the prisonersundergo community reintegration programmes. Thesocial workers assist the juveniles in looking for jobsand inform their parents of their imminent release.At Pollsmoor Medium A Section, the social worker saysthat each juvenile is placed in a programme based onhis needs. Programmes offered include a drug andalcohol programme (which about 25 juveniles were 'attending at the time of the visit); an aggression programme(which very few juveniles seemed interestedin joining); a life skills programme; a peer pressureprogramme; a sexual offenders programme and aneconomic programme focusing mainly on petty crime.The social worker said that the most common problemsshe encountered were the lack of communication andinteraction skills.Sentenced children at Westville Youth Centre are offeredseveral programmes, including group therapy. Grouptherapy is usually conducted over ten sessions withchildren referred by the probation board or the prisonstaff. The group meets two or three times a week,and work covers issues such as how children havecontributed to their problems, rational behaviour therapy,understanding cognitive processes and taking, controlover their lives. These groups often inspire the juvenilesto approach, the social workers for individual sessionsto discuss family problems.What the children sayAlthough social workers at Rustenburg Prison-provideda detailed description of their programme at the prisons,only one of the eight children interviewed said he hadseen the social worker in connection with contacting.his parents, and one other said he had attended a sixday preparation for release programme. However, itwas noted that there is one social worker and oneauxiliary allocated to the entire juvenile section - 99juveniles and 19 children under the age of 18 on theday of the visit.Discrepancies such as this emerged frequently duringthe visits.In some cases, the children indicated that they didnot wish to participate in such programmes.At Leeuwkop Medium B, rehabilitation programmesinclude: programmes on alcohol and drug abuse,programmes for sex offenders, a pre-release programme,life skills and coping skills and reality therapy. In addition,researchers were told that each prisoner undergoesan orientation programme on arrival. However, only asmall number of prisoners, about 30%, participate inprogrammes. The staff said children were more likely toparticipate if they join up at the beginning of their periodof imprisonment; otherwise they become demotivatedand soon join, the 'culture of inactivity'. Only five ofthe fifteen prisoners interviewed said they had takenpart in programmes. Most complained that prisonwas a bad place, that there was a lack of stimulationand that they spent their days sleeping or lying ontheir beds.The life skills facilitators at Westville Youth Centre saidthat is not always easy to keep children focused duringgroup work. They try to use videos on topics that interestthe children in order to keep them active and avoid usinga lecturing approach. In this way they hope to alleviatesome of the boredom of prison life and give the childrensomething to think about "beyond things like breakingcell windows". They work with children in one cell atREHABILITATION PROGRAMMES