|
The Department of
Correctional Services (DCS) Community Services |
COMMUNITY
SERVICES
The Community Service is
an arm of the Correctional Services and is comprised of Probation Officers.
It functions
in the courts of Law, homes,
schools, the
Juvenile and Adult Correctional
Centres, and in the wider community.
It enables
the provision of confidential
reports as
requested for
the courts in assisting the process of sentencing. When non-custodial
and other orders
are made, offenders are placed under the supervision of Probation Officers and all effort is directed to the primary goal
of rehabilitation. COURTS
OF LAW The Probation
Officer does Social Inquiry Reports for all courts. In the case of the adult
courts, reports have to be done on the request of the Resident Magistrates or
Judges. These reports provide information of the entire lifestyle of the
offender and assist the court in deciding the best treatment for the
offender. Sentencing ranges from Incarceration
to Community-based Orders
e.g. Probation, Supervision, Suspended Sentence Supervision, and Community Service
Orders. It
is the duty of the Probation Officer to befriend, advise
and assist the offender during the period of his Court Order to re-adjust to
the acceptable norms of his society. JUVENILE
CORRECTIONAL CENTRES Receive
wards from the Juvenile and Family Courts. These might be 12 years old and
are not kept in the institution beyond 18 years old. The school aims at
providing the wards with a rounded development and re-fitting them into society. ADULT
CORRECTIONAL CENTRE
Probation Officers
provide a through-care service for inmates of the eight adult Correctional
Centres. Inmates have the opportunity
to express their personal problems and of having a trained social worker to
assist them to find solutions. Through the Probation Officer, they keep in
touch with homes and property, and do not suffer the total fear of
losing their belongings. Inmates who complete their term of sentence are also
given emotional and material support. It also enables
financial assistance via Rehabilitation Grant. The Parole Act makes it
possible for an inmate to spend a part of his sentence in the community. At
the very outset, Probation Officers in the field and in the Centres are
required to prepare parole reports for the Parole Board in respect of
applicants. The inmates who are granted parole are supervised by Probation
After-Care Officers, who assist parolees to become worthy citizens. NON-CUSTODIAL
ORDERS These orders give the
offender the opportunity of paying back to society, without becoming an
economic burden, and suffering greater damage to character. Subject to
supervision by the Probation After-Care Officer, the offender follows a
treatment plan, which aims at helping him to change his lifestyle and at the
same time be gainfully employed. He lives at home with his family during this
process and develops the independence, which gives a sense of worth, He does
not suffer grave social stigma, nor does he lose his place in society. It
is accepted, however, that not all offenders can be treated by non-custodial
sentence, and so the Community Service Programme is geared to facilitate
custodial and non-custodial treatment by providing through care programmes. |
