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This morning I paid a visit to the pre-release centre at the Pollsmoor Correctional Facility in Cape Town. The centre is currently facilitating the release of inmates who qualify for such following the special remission of sentences announced by the President on Freedom Day, 27 April, this year.

The facility is managing the pre-release programme and has released substantial numbers of qualifying inmates already. They are doing this in batches, depending on the seriousness of the offence, and giving preference to younger inmates or individuals with disabilities.

I accordingly met with the group being released today, as well as the officials giving the pre-release course, which consists of four morning sessions covering topics such as appropriate social interaction, how to be a good parent, job application techniques and CV writing.

While many inmates underwent previous courses in, for example, anger management and sexual offences as part of their sentence plans, inmates serving sentences of less than 24 months do not get any rehabilitation treatment other than the pre-release course. The programme also seeks to establish addresses for the inmates and find suitable accommodation, either with relatives or in shelters or half-way houses where necessary.

It was quite depressing to note that three quarters of the inmates I met this morning admitted to serving second or more sentences, indicating a large degree of re-offending.

While the pre-release course is obviously necessary and presented with dedication, whether it amounts to much in the end is questionable.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) maintains that the pre-release programme needs to be far more holistic, with a greater focus on rehabilitation and reintegration.

It is imperative that the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) introduce the policy on special remissions promised in 2008. The DA will continue to pursue this in the correctional services portfolio committee.

The policy should specifically include the exploration of creative alternatives to the current model, which has pre-release as a part of the correctional services environment. Having the pre-release centres within the correctional services environment reinforces the adversarial relationship between inmates and warders within the context of ranks and gang culture.

These pre-release centres currently being run by the DCS should, for example, ideally be run by the Department of Social Development or Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) like the National Institute for Crime Prevention and the Rehabilitation of Offenders (NICRO).

The DA will continue to monitor the special remissions process and pursue the finalisation of a policy framework that will mitigate the potential risks of early release of prisoners and identify mechanisms to address any potentially negative consequences.