Browsing by Author "Coetzee Jacobus"

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    Unit management in correctional services: A socio-economic perspective on programme delivery
    (University of the Western Cape, 2000) Coetzee Jacobus
    1998 saw the promulgation of the Correctional Services Act, Act 111 of 1998, which represented a total break from the 1959 Act, Act 8 of 1959. The Correctional Services Act 111 of 1998 is embedded in the framework of the new Constitution of a democratic South Africa with its emphasis on human rights. Within the framework of the Constitution of South Africa, the Department of Correctional Services is moving from a quasi-military institution to a civic power which is publicly accountable for its actions regarding the manner in which it manages its prisons and inmate population. It is evident that policy development in Correctional Services is aimed at improved control, better management, more humane conditions and normality behind prison walls. As part of a strategy to deal with the daunting task of managing an increasing inmate population1 the Executive Management Board of the South African Department of Correctional Services granted approval, through decision 26/95, to develop and apply unit management in South African prisons. The South African Department of Correctional Services refers to unit management as an approach to inmate and prison management, designed to improve control and relationships by dividing the larger prison population into smaller, more manageable groups and to improve the delivery of correctional services. Through the implementation of unit management, the South African Department of Correctional Services is seeking to create a significant realignment in the way in which it manages its correctional facilities and inmate population. This realignment is a long-term process and derives from a fundamental reappraisal of policy.