Monograph 52: After Prison, The Case for Offender Reintegration, By Lukas Muntingh
Although imprisonment as a punishment for crimes
and transgressions is well established throughout the world, less
attention is paid to offender reintegration once prisoners are released
back into society. It is argued that the successful re-entry into
society after a period of incarceration is crucial if crime is to be
curbed substantially in the near future.
This monograph provides a background on the socio-political
context within which imprisonment occurs in South Africa, as well as in
the rest of the world. A review of changes in recent South African
legislation is provided, and theoretical viewpoints on offender
reintegration are discussed. In this regard, attention is paid to:
- deterrence;
- incapacitation;
- retribution and restoration; and
- reintegration.
To be effective, reintegration programmes must be:
- multilayered and created by people with vision;
- transformational;
- journey-based;
- process-based;
- multipurpose;
- multifocused;
- multidimensional;
- multiresourced;
- holistic in approach; and
- presenting an active experience.
Descriptions of a number of international
and local offender reintegration initiatives are provided. The purpose
is not only to identify the strengths of these initiatives, but also to
point towards the shortcomings in an attempt to develop appropriate and
effective programmes. International examples include:
- Project Reintegration of Offenders (RIO), Texas Workforce Commission
- Boot camps, United States
- Ringe Prison, Denmark
- Safer Foundation, Chicago
- Delaware Department of Corrections’ Life Skills Programme
For the purposes of this monograph, local
examples are drawn from reintegration services rendered by
non-governmental organisations (NGOs). These provide interesting case
studies as they are developed organically and often initiated by former
prisoners. The examples of programmes are not exhaustive and the choice
does not reflect any form of value judgement about other available
programmes. Examples include:
- National Institute for Crime Prevention and the Reintegration of Offenders (NICRO)
- Common Prisoners Rehabilitation Agency (COMPRA)
- South African Prisoners’ Organisation for Human Rights (SAPOHR)
- Prison Fellowship International (PFI)
- Gauteng Rehabilitation Trust (GRT)
- Khulisa Programme of Mass Media Marketing (KPMMM)
- Learn and Earn Trust (LET)
Areas that warrant further attention and in-depth study include:
- former prisoners and recidivism rates;
- reintegration problems faced by former offenders;
- reintegration programme design and development;
- quantitative information on prisoners and former prisoners;
- employer attitudes to and practices with regard to former prisoners;
- human rights and prisoners;
- the effects of current sentencing policies and practices on crime;
- the effects of imprisonment on the families of prisoners; and
- the needs of and resources available to families of prisoners.
The lack of research on offender
reintegration has resulted in political decision makers who are poorly
informed on requirements to reduce crime in the long term. Offender
reintegration needs to be raised to a level where it is acknowledged as a
legitimate crime reduction strategy.
Offender reintegration will only achieve success if an
integrated approach is followed where the state, civil society and the
private sector pool resources and knowledge to restore the breach in the
community.
