Trends and Phases of Corrections in Africa

1. Trends and Phases of Corrections in Africa By Maicibi, N. Alhas (Ph D) Research and Policy Development Advisor (UNAFRI)

2. Introduction • Current craze for change of the name of the service from Prison to Prison Service then to Correctional • The negative connotation and disdain of ‘prison’. • The meaning- ‘as a place for those physically confined and deprived of their rights’. • Perceptions: individuals and the public

3. Introduction, cont’d • Yesterday Vs Today – African Corrections • Yesterday, offenders were managed without incarceration • Prisons-like places were mainly for holding purposes • They were for enhancing social harmony • It was compensation/ conciliation rather than punishment • Focus was on both offender and victims • Holding ‘imprisonment’ was the alternative to non custodial • **Today, focus is mainly on the offender • The non custodial are the alternatives**

4. Africans Vs Europeans • Why the practice of incarceration for the 2 groups? • For colonised/Africans, it was a holding facility for compensation; while wrongdoing was rectified to get restitution rather than punishment • For colonialists/Europeans, it was to control and subdue potential rebellious natives; not for rehabilitation but for economic, political, religious and social subjugation, and means to justify cheap labour.

5. Phases of Correctional • Decarceration: no prisons, correcting within community • Incarceration: Prisons were a holding, restraining facility-knife Logic • Prisons became a punishment facility-Knife Logic • Prisons are now perceived as correctional facility-Needle Logic *** All to make communities safer***

6. Elements of Major Styles of Social Control (A.V:1990:20)

7. Vision and Mission of Corrections • * Vision • A correctional service for achieving a crime free Society • A Correctional Service of excellence in Africa & beyond • As the best provider of custodial and correctional practices • As the strongest agent of community protection • As the enabler of humane and secure society thru crime prevention • **As the nucleus of professional corrections in Africa and a front runner in the world. **

8. Mission • To promote human rights of prisons, and the public through provision of safe and humane custody • To contain offenders in human and safe conditions in order to facilitate responsible administration of justice • To promote criminal justice institutions’ reforms for a secure society

9. Mission, cont’d • To enable community safety and security through mitigation of the role of offenders • To effectively and efficiently provide and maintain a humane custodial and correctional services to inmates. • **To pave way for best correctional practice in Africa and beyond.**

10. Orientations of the Service’s Management • Current orientation The Reactive Orientation Most international instruments only address the two below: • Concentration on the inmates: Numbers, Rights, Feeding, Welfare • Concentration on the infrastructure • Facilities, building, amenities • Early releases: Parole, probation , pardon, etc ####This is reactive#####

11. Expected Orientation: TheProactive as a multi-actor orientation • Concentration on the staff also • Welfare • Motivation • Participation • Image boosting • Attitudinal change-staff, inmates, public

12. Correcting outside the facility • Extension of the concept of Community Corrections to include Community mobilization as a multi-actor orientation approach: Judiciary, Parliament, Executive -Concentration on how to reduce prison congestion through preemptive prevention -Using the Not There Alternatives (NTA)

13. Correcting outside, cont’d • ** Some NTAs: ** • Encouraging diversionary measures • Encouraging the African ‘restorative justice’ system • Encouraging out of court settlement • Encouraging community service • Be more open to public

14. Sensitization of Magistrates and communities on Community service sentencing option; fines, acquittals, bails, parole and probation Creation of mini courts in prisons Allow inmates engage in political and civic activities

15. Crime Prevention: A Proactivity • Working closely with agencies of crime prevention e.g UNAFRI, UNODC etc • Working hard in the community to prevent re-offending/recidivism • Constructive engagement of the parliament for review of laws • * Borrow Maicibi’s generic formula for fighting crime**

16. Correctional Refinery Crime Prevention Steam NTA Diversions ADR RJS Out of court settlement Community Service • Acquittals Fines Bails Parole and probation Courts (Judiciary) Prisons

17. Maicibi generic formula for fighting Crime B < C Where: B => Benefits Mb - Monetary & economic benefits to the criminal Pb – Psychological & physiological benefits to the criminal Sb- Sociological benefits to the criminal Ec- Ease & level of success in committing the crime C => Costs Mt –Monetary & time to commit the crime Fa – Fear & probability of being apprehended & arrested Pc – Probability of conviction & its harshness Lo – Lost opportunities & stigmatization Key: B Vs C B > C : Mb+Pb+Sb+ Ec > Mt+Fa+Pc+Lo means that benefits outweigh the costs. B<C : Mb+Pb+Sb+Ec < Mt+Fa+Pc+Lo means that costs outweigh the benefits B>Chas a slim chance of deterring crave to commit crime B<Chas a high chance of deterring crave to commit crime **Target and strategy should be to increase the Cs and decrease the Bs.

18. Prisons Facility Tree Inability for proper containment Corruption Diseases Army of remand inmates Jail violence/riots Inadequate programming Poor service delivery Overcrowding Court decisional delays Recognition and Funding Corruption The burden of prove Neglect of restorative justice Closed prisons’ system Poor access to legal Aid Poverty NTA

19. CONCLUSION • Thank you for being a wonderful audience • MaicibiAlhas(Ph D.) • UNAFRI