Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2006. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
South African Press Association - May 23, 2006
"The days of voluntary engagement in rehabilitation programmes are numbered, as in due course we will finalise a policy to introduce compulsory rehabilitation programmes for all offenders in our centres," Balfour told MPs in the National Assembly during debate on his budget vote.
"Central to delivery on our mandate is the provision of humane and secure custody in an environment conducive to rehabilitation of offenders," he said.
Intervention in terms of development and care for offenders is premised on the need to build "socially responsible characters from smashed personalities".
"To realise this mammoth task, the department is finalising a new policy for the introduction of compulsory rehabilitation programmes, which were designed and accredited in the last financial year," he said.
These include sexual offenders' programmes, anger management, HIV/Aids awareness and pre-release programmes, which gave strong indications of effectiveness during the pilot phase last year.
The programmes mark a focus on root causes of crime in society.
Balfour said the department will also complete its comprehensive HIV/Aids prevalence survey among inmates and staff members this year.
He emphasised the status of inmates will be regarded as confidential and nobody will be forced to reveal their status.
At an earlier briefing on Tuesday, Balfour said the survey will help introduce a holistic approach to address the impact and effect of HIV/Aids in prisons and among staff members.
At the moment, not all correctional centres are anti-retroviral-accredited sites. This prevents the department from dispensing medication to infected inmates, because of legal and constitutional imperatives, which require Department of Health intervention and involvement, Balfour said.
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