CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.6 Recommendations
The research would indicate from the answers to the survey questionnaire and the interviews that there is room for improvement in the method in Pollsmoor Correctional Youth Centre addresses the problems of substance abuse and the rehabilitation of offenders faced with this problem.
The findings indicate that the youth offenders at the Pollsmoor Correctional Youth Centre would like to attend programmes which will manage or assist them to overcome their substance-abuse problems.
They further indicate that the prison does not identify substance abusers on admission nor does it offer programmes to offenders being admitted to help them deal with their problem.
This lack of identification of substance abusers on admission leads to prison authorities placing an emphasis on drug and crime prevention (including the
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trading of drugs) rather than on the health problem of drug abuse. The prison authorities now have two problems to cope with, the first being the problem of offenders having to deal with their drug problem and the second being the drug trade in the prison. The first greatly impacts on the second. By not dealing with the offender‟s substance abuse addiction offenders remain focused on obtaining drugs while in prison (rather than on their rehabilitation) which perpetuates the increase demand in the market for drugs. This study contends that should the prison undertake programmes to reduce drug dependency among offenders, it will reduce the market for drugs. This could be the beginning of a downward trend in substance abuse within the Youth Centre.
By reducing the drug trade and the substance dependency the prison facilities can be directed more towards rehabilitation rather than towards crime and drug control.
There is also a need to provide stimulation in the form of activities for the offenders to partake in. These would include developing skills which would further enhance their ability to obtain employment.
5.6.1 Formation of an Addiction Research Department
The first step in the process is to create a unit or department within the centre or within the Department of Correctional Services which will be solely responsible for measures in dealing with all forms of addiction as has been done in the Canadian Correctional Services.
At present there is no single department which deals with this. It currently falls under the authority of the social workers. They currently have no implemented policy to deal with addiction and already have an over- burdened workload and this is without adding the extra responsibility of substance addiction. The programme currently being provided is a single programme which is attended by the offenders sentenced for drug related crimes. Once it has been completed by the offender he has complied with his sentence plan. It does not evaluate his progress in any way. This programme and procedure does not comply with many of the requirements
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stipulated in the Intervention Programme Design as researched from the Canadian Correctional Services. Comparison between the two programmes would indicate a large number of shortfalls in the approach to and the programmes currently provided for substance abusers in Pollsmoor.
It is foreseen that this department will be responsible for the research, development and implementation of all addiction policies and programmes within the correctional centre. It could be piloted at the Male Youth Centre and be structured under Development and Care, which is the internal department responsible for the social workers and these programmes.
The department will need to be led by an individual suitably qualified and with a passion for substance abuse rehabilitation. This could be a social worker, psychologist, psychiatrist or doctor with experience in dealing with persons with addictions. It would be important that the head of this department be able to manage and drive this initiative. Good organisational and managerial skills may be more important than the person‟s qualification as a social worker or psychiatrist. It may be possible to “head hunt” this person in both the private and public sectors.
The head of this Addiction Research Department would need to appoint staff to assist in the operation of the centre. These staff members would also need to be suitably qualified. They would need to include Substance Abuse Counsellors, Social Workers, Psychologists and medically trained Nursing Personnel.
The department would also be responsible for the training of Correctional Personnel who work with the offenders in the units in which they are billeted. It is important that these personnel have the necessary training in order to identify addicts and substance abusers. Their identification would augment the admittance procedure that is also proposed. There needs to be an ongoing campaign to identify and eradicate all substance abuse and to assist those persons who are addicts.
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An important aspect of this Addiction Research Department is the ongoing education of the personnel involved with the programmes and counselling of abusers. Continuous education and training is an important aspect to the Canadian Addiction Research Centre. This education extends to the substance abuse awareness programmes provided to all offenders in the Centre.
The department would have as a mandate the continued research into substance abuse and addictions. This is not a project with a specified time for completion. As drug dealers are introducing new drugs into the system so this Addiction Research Department needs to be up to date with these trends and developments. It will educate and liaise with other Government Departments and community rehabilitation centres.
This department needs to be accorded the authority to develop, implement and conduct programmes as it considers adequate to rehabilitate substance abusers and prevent the entry of drugs into the prison. The current lack of importance shown to this problem would indicate that the higher echelons of management need to endorse the importance of this initiative.
5.6.2 Admittance procedures
The admittance procedures need to be amended with the input of the Addiction Research department. The research carried out by the Canadian Addiction Research Centre indicates the importance of the first 48 to 72 hours after admittance into the centre. They state that 70% of offenders admitted into prison have substance abuse problems. In the survey 86%
indicated admitted to the use of substances other than alcohol. This indicates that the admission procedure would appear to be a critical area in which to identify substance abusers at the beginning of their term in prison. Addicts or substance abusers are currently not identified or tested in any manner, whether voluntarily or not, when they are admitted to the correctional centre. It would be preferable for identification to occur as early as possible and to occur at the time of their admittance rather than having to identify them as a result of the drug prevention carried out by
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the correctional officials in the normal course of their duties. By not identifying on admittance, many of the offenders who are dependant on drugs will not necessarily be identified at all.
All offenders undergo an admittance procedure at which their personal information is obtained and their rehabilitation and sentence plan is explained to them. At this stage the procedure should include the identification of substance abusers and addicts. This would have to be a voluntary declaration because it is against a person‟s constitutional right to be forced to undergo any drug tests or to declare as to whether they abuse any substance or not. Should the offenders undergo a medical examination which includes a blood test, then it would be possible to check for substance abuse and to place the person under observation should they not have voluntarily divulged such information.
The admittance procedure should include the possibility for a full disclosure by the offender of any substance abuse and an explanation of the assistance that can be provided should it be required. This will allow the offender to enrol for any or all the necessary programmes.
As part of the substance education and awareness newly admitted offenders should attend lectures on substance abuse and the help that is available before they become entrenched into the prison life and possibly gangsterism.
5.6.3 Interaction with community-based drug rehabilitation centres
The offenders come from and will return to their communities. Many who will have been on programmes offered by the Correctional Centre may not have completed these programmes by the time that they are released and need to continue with the programmes. Others may still require on-going support to assist them to cope with any abuse problem and reduce the possibility of relapse.
The people in charge of the rehabilitation programmes, in the centre, need to interact with community-based rehabilitation centres. This will allow
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for the offenders‟ programme files to be handed on to the centre closest to that offender‟s home when he is released. It will also allow for interaction between the respective persons providing the support services. In this manner the drug abuser will move from the one centre to the other without any interruption in the programme thereby preserving the rehabilitation efforts that have already been achieved with the drug-abuser. It will provide the continued peer support needed in their rehabilitation.
The close interaction between the Correctional Drug Abuse Centre and those in the communities will have further positive effects:
Communication with the community-based centres will enable the prison to maintain up–to-date knowledge of the community drug problems as this is from where the offenders come from. Knowledge of the environment in which the offenders reside will improve one‟s understanding of the challenges facing them and of how best to deal with these challenges.
Drug abuse, addiction and the trading in drugs is a challenge facing society as a whole and not only a single community. It affects the young and old as well as the rich and poor. The rich normally have the funds to buy the designer drugs. It is therefore important that all rehabilitation centres communicate with one another as much as possible in order to pass on the latest information, research and findings.