Prisoners need specific programmes
May 16, 2008, 08:22

The Prisons Department wants to customise its rehabilitation programmes to suit the prisoners’ offences.

Assistant Prisons Commissioner Auta Moceisuva said prisoners are currently lumped together irrespective of the reasons they were imprisoned.

“There should be different programmes for prisoners with different types of offence but that is not the case at the moment and it is something we would like to change,” he said.

The programmes that are in place such as computer literacy and vocational programmes like farming are being taken by all inmates.

Another issue he has raised was the support mechanism, which is seriously lacking in the community outside the prison walls.

To address this, Mr Moceisuva said the department is currently exploring alternatives to better re-integrate inmates into the community.

“We are, for instance, looking at establishing a half way house to help inmates who are about to be released to re-adjust better to public life. We have observed that when they are suddenly released to go back, many of them experience a culture shock,” he said.

Mr Moceisuva said the halfway house will be prepared for inmates to be slowly released back into society. However, he emphasised that community partnership was critical for effective rehabilitation and re-integration.



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