AWAITING TRAIL CHILDREN'S PLIGHT ADDRESSED IN A NATIONAL SYMPOSIUM

26 July 2000

The Department of Correctional Services is proud to announce that it will be holding a National Symposium involving all departmental stakeholders, at Technikon South Africa Conference Centre, Johannesburg on 1-2 August 2000.

Crime and its effects is increasingly becoming a matter of critical concern to government, the private sector and civil society. While the Department of Correctional Services is the custodian of public resources to protect society and to rehabilitate offenders, the concern remains a societal issue.

The attempt to address the concern via national Symposium will demonstrate a fundamental sense of urgency and necessity for a combative and rehabilitative approach.

The Minister of Correctional Services in his budget vote speech to the National Assembly on 12 May 2000 pointed to the public apathy and lack of interest in prison services. 'The challenge facing us as the elected representative of the people is to establish and maintain meaningful contact with prisoners, this I consider to be imperative in our quest to attain the desired fundamental transformation of our correctional services system. The process of contact will indeed lead to the realization that prisoners are comparable to ourselves in many ways rather than as society's outcast,' he said.

The following topics, will be addressed during the symposium, amongst others.

• Juveniles/children in prison
• Overcrowding and its effects
• The HIV/AIDS problem in our prisons.
• Moral and religious response to a South African problem: the transformation of Religious Care.
• The influence of the prison sub-culture on the well-being of staff: intervention strategies for employees and upliftment..
• Blockages and inefficiencies: Towards an integrated criminal Justice system.
• Reconstructing rehabilitation programmes and encouraging community participation.
• The case for the re-integration of offenders.
• Application of human rights within SA prison context. Intended outputs on the symposium;
• To develop a clearly articulated national strategy to attain the desired fundamental transformation of our correctional services.
• To create a common understanding of the purpose of the correctional system.
• To create a firm foundation for coherent and cohesive roleplaying by all sectors of society.
• To achieve national consensus on the human development of all prisoners and their integration into community as productive and law abiding citizens.

Scope and focus of the symposium: Correctional Services is a societal problem and there is a need to address the issue collectively by all sectors. Participants include members from business, organized labour, public sector, NGO's/CBO's religious organizations and media.

President Thabo Mbeki has been invited to give a keynote address.

Enquiries: Russel Mamabolo Tel: (012) 323-6327 Cell: 082-808-7524

ISSUED BY GOVERNMENT COMMUNICATIONS (GCIS) ON BEHALF OF THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONAL SERVICES