Policy debate on Correctional Services, Deputy Minister, Honourable Loretta Jacobus, National Council of Provinces (NCOP)

Chairperson
Minister of Correctional Services, Mr Ngconde Balfour
Members of Cabinet and Members of Parliament
National Commissioner of Correctional Services Mr Vernie Petersen and your executive management team
The Acting Inspecting Judge, Judge Deon Van Zyl
Chairperson of the National Council on Correctional Service, Judge Desai,
Honoured and special guests
Our valued stakeholders and partners
Our personnel and officials from the Department of Correctional Services
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen

This month, we are celebrating the immeasurable contribution of young people to the attainment of a free and democratic South Africa. Some of the young people who contributed to the birth of this new nation are occupying key strategic positions in this house and right across our nation. The category I am talking about had a noble mission and clarity of purpose to spare no effort in freeing our people from repression, oppression and discrimination.

Our mission today is to create an environment where today's youth can also make the best use of the foundation laid by the "Class of '76". We must address challenges that face families, communities and the broader society currently, like unemployment, lack of education, family violence, HIV and AIDS, and peer pressure.

This reality facing our youth demands that correctional services must along side improving security, emphasise rehabilitation and development programmes aimed at turning these young people languishing in our correctional facilities into socially responsible and productive citizens.

Strengthening the capacity of correctional services to deliver on its core mandate is an integral part of government's priority of consolidating and advancing the fight against crime. As announced by the President in his State of The Nation Address earlier this year, these priorities include among others the revamping of the criminal justice system to intensify our offensive against crime.

Improved Offender Development Interventions
The White Paper implores us to intervene in ways that could turn an offender into a socially responsible and law-abiding citizen who builds instead of harming society.

As a result, we have established a number of strategic and sustainable partnerships with other government departments and civil society organisations. For example, the Department of Correctional Service and the President's Award for Youth Empowerment Programme are currently engaged in skills training initiatives involving over 2 000 inmates from 65 correctional centres around the country.

We have intensified levels of offender participation in various programmes which include sport, arts, culture, agriculture, and skills development programmes in collaboration with the Department of Labour.

Enhancing appropriate handling of children in conflict with the law
Whilst the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) sees itself as a place of new beginnings, we are concerned at the fast-growing trend of children who are in our custody for having committed serious violent crimes.

One area of great achievement is the reduction of the number of children incarcerated in correctional centres. We have reduced the numbers of children in correctional centres by 51% from 4 129 in 2003 to 2 079 in 2007. This came about as a result of integrated intervention of Justice Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS) and social sector clusters that have taken collaboration to new heights over the years.

Currently we are assessing possible multiple implications of the Child Justice Bill on correctional services to ensure appropriate design of its rollout programme under the guidance of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development.

Intensifying the onslaught against the HIV and AIDS pandemic
We have reviewed our comprehensive HIV and AIDS programme, in line with the National Strategic Plan (NSP) (2007 to 2011) and continue to improve on its implementation resulting in the following achievements:
* 376 officials trained as master trainers and peer educators
* 296 support groups were established while also running nearly 6 000 HIV and AIDS awareness and health education sessions
* 320 were trained on voluntary counselling and testing
* Currently there are 16 accredited Antiretroviral (ARV) sites in correctional services with 4 294 offenders being on ARV therapy.

The progress we have made was acknowledged by the Deputy President recently when we launched the 16th antiretroviral management site in the Pretoria Management Area.

Affirming of victim participation
Chairperson, we had made a clear undertaking before to intensify efforts aimed at mainstreaming victims' roles and responsibilities in the management of our offender population, particularly in the parole system. We invested a lot on this project, including the provision of training, amongst others, victim empowerment to the Chairpersons and their Deputies of the 52 Correctional Supervision and Parole Board (CSPB) as well as all their support personnel.

Enhancing care to realise constitutional obligation to humane treatment
Chairperson, our Constitution implores us to ensure that basic human rights of all South Africans inclusive of offenders. These include everyone's right to primary health care services, subject to institutional means.

* It is common knowledge that the whole South African healthcare system has been suffering from the drain of scarce skills inclusive of medical practitioners, nurses, psychologists and social workers. Correctional Services is no exception from this national norm, which informed government's intervention through the introduction of Occupation Specific Dispensation for these professionals.
* With the numbers of social workers improving, the Department reached 157 44 offenders.
* Provided spiritual care services with 165 000 sessions held inclusive of group and individual sessions.
* We reached only 84% of our targeted delivery of psychological services with 13 034 offenders reached against our target of 15 500 in the previous financial year.
* The introduction of Occupation Specific Dispensation (OSD) for psychologists and educationists in 2009.
* A job evaluation process is underway, as part of the department's recruitment and retention strategy to improve the conditions of service of professionals in our employment.

Improving functioning of statutory bodies for enhanced service delivery

Judicial Inspectorate of Prisons
Let me take this opportunity to thank Judge Yekiso for acting in this position over the past year, and welcome his successor Judge Deon Van Zyl. Among the tasks of the Judicial Inspectorate is to:
* Inspect or arrange for inspection of correctional centres in order to report on the treatment of offenders and their conditions;
* To inspect any corrupt or dishonest practices in correctional centres;
* The Inspecting Judge must submit an annual report to the President and the Minister, as stipulated in the Act.

The allocated budget for this Inspectorate for the 2008/09 financial year is R17 905 million.

National Council on Correctional Services
Chairperson, the National Council on Correctional Services (NCCS) continued with its statutory responsibility to advise the Minister of Correctional Services in relation to parole placement recommendations for offenders serving life sentences.

During the year under review, the NCCS has also interacted with the department in relation to the development of the incarceration framework as envisaged in the Correctional Services Amendment Act. The allocated budget for the NCCS in the current financial year is R703 000.

Conclusion
The continued stigmatisation, marginalisation and social isolation of former offenders often lead to repeat offending and a continuation of the cycle of crime.

Let us, therefore, embrace and welcome ex-offenders and acknowledge the fact that they have paid their dues to society. Let us, indeed, place all hands on deck to ensure that it is indeed business unusual.

Thank you.

Issued by: Department of Correctional Services
11 June 2008