Exploring correctional supervision

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:Crime in South Africa is a common occurrence and crimes committed byyoung people are rapidly becoming a serious problem. During the 19th andzo centuries, young offenders were institutionalised in reform schools forexample. However, social workers and probation officers realized that theconfinement in these schools caused frustration amongst the young offendersand also encouraged further deviant behaviour.In South Africa, the Department of Correctional Services implementedcommunity corrections, on 1 June 1993, as an alternative sentence option toimprisonment. Community corrections have two distinctive forms, namelycorrectional supervision and parole supervision. Correctional supervision is acommunity-based sentence, which is prescribed by the courts and is servedwithin the community under strict supervision and control of correctionalofficials and probation officers. The Department of Correctional Servicesmainly implemented correctional supervision in order to divert youngoffenders away from being exposed to the harsh and severe life ofincarceration.The goal of the study was to explore correctional supervision as an alternativesentence option and present a description of this sentence for the juveniledelinquents. The objectives were to explore the juvenile offender's perceptionof correctional supervision, the impact of this sentence on the offender'sfamily members and the availability and the role that the probation officersplay during the juvenile's sentence to correctional supervision.The contents of the report focused on describing the phenomenon of juveniledelinquency and other related topics, such as theories and contributing factors,and correctional supervision as an alternative sentence option.Exploratory-descriptive research was done and questionnaires were utilizedas instruments for data collection from the juvenile offenders, their familymembers and the probation officers. The juvenile offenders were part of theDepartment of Correctional Services' (Worcester) justice system and theprobation officers are employed at the Department.Conclusions and recommendations are made regarding the respondents'perceptions, opinions and experiences of the sentence of correctionalsupervision. The proposed recommendations should be a guide for theDepartment of Correctional Services in order to change certain factors thatcontribute to the poor co-operation of juvenile offenders sentenced tocorrectional supervision.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University