RFL
From Cyberlaw
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Chapter One: REVERENCE for LIFE
The Correctional Services In Jamaica â The Prison System
Imprisonment emerged as a major form of punishment for crimes during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, and has traditionally been considered the most effective way of protecting a community from threat of wrongdoers (Griffin, 1996). The prison system in Jamaica that was established when Jamaica was a British colony, functioned along penal lines until the late twentieth century, as three separate institutions â the Prisons, the Probation Services and the Juvenile Institutions or Approved Schools. In 1975 these were merged to create the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) (âSocial Development Commissionâ, 2001, Rhone, 2003).
The DCS became the agency of the Ministry of National Security and Justice that was responsible for containing, protecting and rehabilitating offenders who had been given custodial sentences in Jamaica (âPlanning Institute of Jamaicaâ, 2000). Between 1926 and 1993 correctional services in Jamaica was the subject of several studies and reports that traced the history of its development, that identified weaknesses in, and made recommendations to improve the conditions of the penal system (âGovernment of Jamaicaâ, 1993, Niles & Bernard, 2000).
The Report of the National Task Force in Crime, 1993, also called The Wolfe Report, which was commissioned by the Government of Jamaica, suggested that prison conditions had âremained essentially the same since 1926â. That report noted that none of the recommendations of seven previous reports had been properly implemented; suggested that the frequent upsurges of violent crime occurring in Jamaica since 1991 and 1992 were symptomatic of issues which were âtreating the symptoms rather than providing a solutionâ, and recommended the solution as one which should deal with âthe essential root causes ⦠the peopleâ. âTo control crimeâ, it stated, âGovernment must become the facilitator in creating conditions whereby humankind may be offered the opportunity of self-actualisationâ (âGovernment of Jamaicaâ, 1993)
The Wolfe Report spoke of Jamaica having âan inhuman penal system that results in a high level of recidivismâ. The Wolfe Report as well as the reports of various taskforces of 1988, 1954, 1948, 1937 and 1926, cited inhumane conditions, overcrowding, poor facilities, long lock down periods and limited meaningful occupation, employment and recreation (âGovernment of Jamaicaâ, 1993, Niles and Bernard, 2000). The Jamaican prison system also received a negative report from the United Nations Human Rights Committee in 1977, when that Committee reviewed Jamaicaâs report on its implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The Criminal Records (Rehabilitation of Offenders) Act of 1989 marked a serious step in the recognition of the value of rehabilitation programs in Jamaica. The law stipulated that offences committed were to be punishable by incarceration but that those who were incarcerated had to be placed in rehabilitation programs (âNational Committee of Crime and Violenceâ, 2002). The DCS thus had a major challenge to reshape the prevailing culture of punishment into a uniform culture based on the principles of rehabilitation (Rhone, 2003).
Between 1990 and 1993 as the idea of rehabilitation took hold as rehabilitation literature of that era cited correlations between low levels of literacy and repeat offenders, and recommended the implementation of vocational training as a means of reducing recidivism (Keiser, 1999). Several rehabilitation programs were implemented in Jamaica. Inmates were exposed to remedial literacy training and other vocational skills based programs that included carpentry, baking, shoe making, welding (Niles & Bernard, 2000, âSocial Development Commissionâ, 2001).
The DCS had widened its training programmes to include remedial adult literacy programmes and a formal education curriculum that ranged from primary school level (Grade 1) through high school and tertiary level. Vocational training was also broadened to include block making, screen-printing, electronics and information technology. These several different initiatives continued to be implemented with the assistance of other government agencies and civic society groups (âSocial Development Commissionâ, 2001).
Church affiliated groups and ministries played a central role in the rehabilitation process and brought a different dimension to the process. In 1993, the Cornerstone Ministries (CSM), a ChristianâCentred Training School, delivered a combined correctional education programme that embraced literacy delivery, penance, spiritual upliftment and encouragement. CSM shared the gospel of Christ while providing inmates as well as correctional officers with formal skills training in welding, agriculture, cabinet making and joinery and entrepreneurship. CSM also provided formal courses in mathematics, agriculture, science and biology (âSocial Development Commissionâ, 2001). Some prisons supported conditional release programmes and pre-parole programmes such as day release, work release for training (academic), release for employment and special occasions, compassionate release and weekend passes for family visits.
However, these programs were never practised in any sustainable way as, at the slightest sign of trouble, the system was shut down and the inmates locked down. Since the prison system continued to be volatile, rehabilitation was a discontinuous process that appeared to serve the administrative need for security and not the needs of the inmate clients or the purpose of community acceptance on their return to the community (âDepartment of Correctional Servicesâ, 2001).
Niles and Bernard (2000), in reporting on the developments in Jamaican prisons over a seven year period, noted that the emphasis within the Jamaican institutions seemed to be on the development of positive values and attitudes among inmates, followed by skills training. They however further suggested that although a wide variety of interventions were directed at rehabilitation, there was a gap between the intent of programmes and actual results.
The Correctional Services In Jamaica: The Prison Culture
The Wolfe Report had suggested that no reform could take place without considering change in two areas - at the level of the institution, and at the level of the people, those who are incarcerated as well as those who supervised the incarcerated (âGovernment of Jamaicaâ, 1993). When Lt. Colonel Prescod assumed office as Commissioner of Corrections in 1993, within the squalid environment of the prisons there was a profound lack of discipline within the institution (Rhone, 2003). The culture of the institution, as documented in the1977 report of the United Nations Human Rights Committee, was still very evident. There was habitual absenteeism of Correctional Officers, who displayed a high level of dissatisfaction and very low coping skills in respect of administering and maintaining the programs. Thus, in spite of the attempts to rehabilitate the inmates, their prison environment retained its reputation as a volatile one, and there continued to be open demonstrations of distrust and disunity between the administrative staff, the warders and the inmates. (âDepartment of Correctional Servicesâ, 2001, âSocial Development Commissionâ, 2001).
The participation of the inmates in the programs was so high that inmates assumed leadership roles in directing and influencing their participation in those programs. These programs included social events outside the prison community, talent competitions, mentoring and unaccompanied weekend furloughs, and led to reduction in sentences and early release from the prisons. There was however strong resistance from staff, and those tensions undermined the efforts of the DCS to successfully implement the programs. The effectiveness of the operations of the DCS was constantly being challenged by low morale and interdiction, and the administration continued to suffer from various levels of conflict, including industrial action.
The prevailing organisational culture of the DCS reflected the culture of Goffmanâs âtotal institutionâ, and was characterised by inefficiency and corruption that centred on the âold-style power of the guardsâ, which âhad its roots deep in a culture of hierarchy and oppressionâ (âGovernment of Jamaicaâ, 1993, âSocial Development Commissionâ, 2001, Rhone, 2003, Diligio, 2005).
The release programme was terminated during a period which saw administrative changes, the suspension of an entire population of warders who had not been directly involved in the process, and the escape of inmates out on furlough (âGovernment of Jamaicaâ, 1993).
As a result, focus was shifted to changing the culture of administration, through the formal retraining of Jamaican correctional officers in new ways of managing the inmates. Programmes to effect a positive approach to health, attitudes and values in the prison population were introduced. One such programme, the Reverence for Life Foundation (RLF), was introduced in 1996 to the prison system (Niles and Bernard, 2000, âDepartment of Correctional Servicesâ, 2001, âSocial Development Commissionâ, 2001)
The RLF was then introduced into the correctional system at a minimum security Rehabilitation Centre â the South Camp Rehabilitation Centre. The RLF concept added yet another dimension to the rehabilitation process, for while it supported the focus on security, it emphasised social therapeutic treatment and growth through self-actualisation, personal system goals, competencies, beliefs and values to strengthen self-worth and self-esteem. Inmates were encouraged to play leadership roles in guiding their destiny and to share their strengths with others in the internal and external communities as part of the journey toward rehabilitation (âReverence for Life Foundationâ, 2000, âSocial Development Commissionâ, 2001).
The RLF programme was implemented as a two-part process. The first part provided counselling and coaching skills to the inmates through emphasis on life affirming principles that supported a reverence for the physical human existence. The counselling and coaching concept was based on the need for persons to value themselves, and to assume full responsibility for their physical expressions as these determine their actions and give others an understanding of their self image and self worth (âReverence for Life Foundationâ, 2000, âSocial Development Commissionâ, 2001). The RLF training attempted to guide new thought processes and to support new behaviour patterns in the inmates. Its principles emphasised the act of positive doing, and its practice linked simple physical concepts, such as health lifestyle practices and use of positive language, with love of self, self acceptance, generosity, understanding of others, and the reverence for life. Its aim was to create and sustain in the trainees, a culture of life affirming values that would inspire self-respect, high self-esteem and self-confidence.
The RLF vocational manifesto spoke of support for training courses in literacy and numeracy, information technology, computer technology, graphic arts and design, digital audio and videography in music, broadcasting and the creative arts. Delivery was to include self-paced online programs that would lead to local and international certification. The aim was to promote skills development, facilitate work-study, promote entrepreneurial development and build confidence through a holistic approach to personal development (âReverence for Life Foundationâ, 2000, âSocial Development Commissionâ, 2001). Inmates and staff were expected to work together in an ongoing self-enhancement program and partnership that would build respect and trust. Staff would assist inmates in redirecting their lives in positive ways, and inmates would be able to publish their writings, songs and poetry and otherwise see tangible expression of their creative ideas.
Under the RLF program, sports and the creative arts were brought into the mainstream of prison activity and became a positive link for the institution with the wider community. Inmates participated in teams that they established based on an apparent or believed talent for football, cricket, singing, writing, drama, music, mentoring and ministering. The inmates chose their activity and named that activity to reflect their belief and its focus. Participation was voluntary and open to all inmates of the Rehabilitation Centre. Teams that excelled hosted concerts in the prisons for the wider community and were allowed to compete in competitions at the country level (âReverence for Life Foundationâ, 2000, âSocial Development Commissionâ, 2001).
The initial number of one team with eleven inmates grew over three years to twelve teams with one hundred and eighty five active participants in teams with names such as Suns of God, Gospel Choir, Transformational Unit, God Messengers, Righteous Reggae Vibrations, Students Expressing Truth (SET), Council of Elders, and Corner Youth Ministry. This number represented more than seventy five percent of the number of inmates at the South Camp Correctional Centre (Ministry of Industry and Commerce INTEC Project, 2000).
By 1999 the program had also spread from the South Camp Rehabilitation Centre, to two other institutions at the formal request of the inmates to the Commissioner of Corrections. The demonstrated success of these programs eventually resulted in tangible support in 1999, from other stakeholders, in the form of the provision of computers to establish computer facilities at the prisons (âMinistry of Industry, Commerce and Technologyâ, 2002). The provision of computer access was expected to support strategies for sharing of information across the prison network, to support the basic literacy training while providing creative learning experiences and new opportunities for inmates to develop sustainable technical as well as personal skills which would support their re-entry into the community.
The RLF rehabilitation program focused intensely on reintegrating inmates into the wider community (Social Development Commission, 2001). Inmates were encouraged to display their creative talents at shows and in talent competitions inside as well as outside of the institution. Work release programs allowed escorted inmates to participate in work or education and mentoring activities outside the institution. As inmates approached their parole, they were permitted unescorted leave or furloughs to visit families in their community on weekends (âDepartment of Correctional Servicesâ, 2001). The tangible result of the RLF was the furlough and mentoring programme as a final step in the rehabilitation process, which demonstrated the readiness of the inmate for return to the community.
It was estimated that eighty percent of inmates would be returning to society within four to five years, and thus the rehabilitation process should ensure that those offenders became useful citizens in society and did not return to correctional centres (Niles & Bernard, 2000). According to Colonel Prescod, returning offenders to the community on a gradual basis became an important goal for the inmates themselves (Rhone, 2003). The inmates worked as a team and mentored each other, worked at securing rewards and replaced illegal activities with legal ones such as the weekend out on furlough. The system promoted trust that the inmates would uphold their end of the bargain, and even parents and relatives became involved in the process and ensured the return of the inmates after a furlough.
The Correctional Services In Jamaica: Rehabilitation
In 1993, the recidivism rate was 50 percent. With the deepening of the rehabilitation process, that rate had trended downward to 25 percent in 1998. Colonel Prescod related this directly to the RLF rehabilitation program which gave the inmates worthwhile experiences and encouraged them to continue to make choices to ensure a desired change in their lives (Rhone, 2003). The RLF program however, challenged the status quo of the traditional prison system. It attempted to guide staff and correctional officers in a more humane way of managing inmates, and in new approaches to diagnosing and treating all wards of the DCS (âSocial Development Commissionâ, 2001; âDepartment of Correctional Servicesâ, 2001, Rhone, 2003). It appeared to support a shift in the power structure in the prisons system, and aggravated the conflict between the concepts of punishment and rehabilitation. It needed the support of administrators and warders. Those officers withheld full support for the program, and industrial action locked down the prisons and slowed down progress in this regard.
In order to begin the process of measuring success, in 1997 a Risk Assessment Programme was introduced to provide staff with the tools for diagnosing and treating inmates and wards of the DCS and to develop standard treatment procedures for all the rehabilitation programs. The risk assessment instruments were very narrowly focused at the individual risk factor level, with emphasis on the crime committed, in order to determine where the inmate should be placed in the system (âDepartment of Correctional Servicesâ, 2001). The inmates were rated on a scale from âAâ, hardened criminal to âDâ, low criminality. From this assessment, the rehabilitation needs of all new inmates were determined. The inmates were reassessed every three months to further determine the effects of the rehabilitation programme, their suitability for participating in a furlough programme and any eligibility for parole (âSocial Development Commissionâ, 2001).
Between 1998 through to January 2000, the unrest in the correctional services led to the periodic suspension of the rehabilitation programs. The recidivism rate began to rise. The DCS and Social Services Commission, submitted a budget of approximately US 60 million dollars for implementing a rehabilitation process which was to be supported by information technology. However, the DCS had not adequately evaluated their rehabilitation programs during the period 1993 to 1998, to support the claim that these programs had contributed to the reduction of the level of recidivism. A tracer study of a selected batch of ex-offenders who had been released from the prisons between July 1996 and December 1997 had not yet been completed (âDepartment of Correctional Servicesâ, 2001). As there had been some contraction in the Jamaican economy, the expenditure for the rehabilitation program was not supported, and tax dollars were redirected to other productive economic sectors (âPlanning Institute of Jamaicaâ, 2000).
Jamaica concurrently began to experience a rising prison population and a surging crime rate that was fuelled by the repatriation of criminals with Jamaican nationality from the United States (âDepartment of Correctional Servicesâ, 2001). This began to refocus national interest in alternatives to incarceration, and as was happening internationally, rehabilitation programs again found favor as a response to the overcrowding problem in the prisons.
The problems in the correctional services continued to be a source of investigation. The National Committee on Crime and Violence deliberated during 2001 and produced a report in 2002 that identified one of the factors giving rise to crime and violence as a lack of community empowerment to address or ameliorate problems before they escalated. That Committee recommended that the judicial system should give individuals and communities the opportunity to make a fresh start to redeem themselves (âNational Committee on Crime and Violenceâ 2002). It supported tough legislative provisions to deal with hard-core criminals, but recommended that communities be empowered to plan their best possible future and to solve their problems. One major concern of the Committee was that the push by the authorities to get 'tough on crimeâ resulted in young offenders being placed in a penal system, to emerge later with a âlife strangling prison record and an even worse attitude towards law and orderâ. The Committee agreed that the system did not sufficiently rehabilitate the offender.
The DCS recognized the importance of developing a recognized formal approach to rehabilitation in order to persuade stakeholders to continue support for its rehabilitation programs. The DCS also recognized that there was still âno concrete, systematic process in place to guide it in managing rehabilitation as a core strategic functionâ. âA National Rehabilitation Strategy: A Client Rehabilitation and Reintegration Strategy for The Department Of Correctional Servicesâ was developed in 2000 and launched by the Governor General of Jamaica (âDepartment of Correctional Servicesâ, 2001). It had been crafted with the involvement of DCS staff and was based on the premise that a rehabilitative approach was the best bet for reducing recidivism, for improving the lives of those who were incarcerated, and for reducing the further threat to society by facilitating public safety. It cited surveys that suggested that there was some positive support for âcorrectional rehabilitationâ which would grow if intervention programs were executed more effectively and the rate of success proven or demonstrated.
The National Strategy redefined the inmates and wards, or persons âwho had been voluntarily or involuntarily entrusted into the care of the Department of Correctional Servicesâ as âclientsâ of the system; it defined âclient rehabilitationâ as âa process of empowering those who have been placed into the care of the Department of Corrections so that they could become law-abiding productive members of society â. It suggested that a successful rehabilitation program would be relevant to the needs of the DCS, had to impact the principles of rehabilitation on the daily life and experiences of the clients during their incarceration; had to influence the view of the wider public as to the purpose of correctional institutions in order to ensure the reintegration of the client into society (âSocial Development Commissionâ, 2001; âDepartment of Correctional Servicesâ, 2001). It further recommended that the education programs be designed to improve numeracy and literacy, social skills and an appreciation of community needs; to restore self-esteem and to support work experience and reintegration.
However there remained some difficulty to agree on what would work in the context of crime and violence. Niles and Bernard (2000) had identified problems with the documentation and management of the prison population. They had cited a delay in classification of inmates on initial entry to prison, and a Classification Committee that was âovercautiousâ in its classification. They noted that the inmates themselves had expressed dissatisfaction at the method of selection for the persons to go on parole, and recommended that an independent and transparent process be implemented in this regard. The Wolfe Report recommended the establishment of an independent Classification Committee that should use data as the basis of decision making (âGovernment of Jamaicaâ, 1993).. The quality of the data to be collected was not indicated as an issue to be addressed.
However, the quality of data collected in the context of prison culture had been cited by Bodkin as being inadequate to explain the multiple effects associated with persons who are incarcerated (Bodkin, 2005). Bodkin suggested that the data collected in respect of US federal, state, and jail inmates lacked depth and comprehensiveness, as it only offered demographic information, offense history and recidivism rates, and that while such data was âuseful in certain situations, their lack of depth prevents one from studying larger issues like the difficulties of adjusting to life outside prison, finding adequate employment, and staying out of troubleâ¦â. He further suggested that empirical evidence that could better begin to explain and understand multiple effects, should include data on attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors of inmates (Bodkin , 2005 )
REFERENCES CITED
Department of Correctional Services (2001). A National Rehabilitation Strategy: A client Rehabilitation and Reintegration Strategy for the Department of Correctional Services (DCS). Prepared for the Department of Correctional Services, Kingston, Jamaica by Planning Concepts (Management Consultants), Ontario, Canada.
Griffin, John Brian, (1996). Innovations in correctional services an excursion through the changing prisons culture of Victoria. Resource Material Series No. 56
Keiser, George M. (1999). NIC: Helping to integrate inmates back into the community. Corrections Today, 61 (3), 103
Niles, Bradley and Bernard, Ayodeji (2000). Beginning again: Approaches to education for rehabilitation in Caribbean prisons. Education for all in the Caribbean: Assessment; Unesco 2000 Monograph, Series 24. Available at FTP: http://www.unescocaribbean.org/education/pdfdoc/bnfinal.pdf.
Planning Institute of Jamaica, 2000. Economic and social survey Jamaica, 1998. Planning Institute of Jamaica, Kingston, Jamaica,
Reverence for Life Foundation (2000). Manifesto of the Transformational Unit, A member of the Reverence for Life Foundation, South Camp Rehabilitation Centre, Jamaica.
Rhone, Camella (2003). Executive Interview: Transforming the culture of the correctional services in Jamaica: An interview with Lt. Colonel John Prescod. Journal of Applied Management and Entrepreneurship, 8 (2), 87-97.
Social Development Commission (2001). Information technology (Intec) community project. Ministry of Local Government, Jamaica.
CyberStrategy
Cyber Strategy for a Developing Nation Case Study: Jamaica
Reverence for Life is a non-denominational program which espouses a philosophy of self-development. The program had taken root among inmates in Kingston's prisons, and had been embraced and supported by the Commissioner of Corrections, a man named John Prescod.
Our initial approach was to capitalize on the inmates interest in music by using music as a means of teaching digital skills. We sought to develop a program in which computer labs in the prisons would serve as recording and production studios in which inmates would learn a range of useful (and employable) digital skills. This was a fine idea for an inmate skill-training program as far as it went, but it failed to take into account the opposition of the guards. Commissioner Prescod had developed an antagonism for the warders, and they for him. From the warder viewpoint Prescod took the inmate side in a social environment in which the warders were powerful stakeholders with lives at risk. They felt humiliated, the rehabilitation program in many ways an affront to their authority. In January 2000, when Prescod announced that he would extend his stay as commissioner for two more years, 800 guards went out on strike. Some say they expected the prisons would erupt in riot and Prescod would be forced to resign. But there was no riot. Prescod and Green had established a trust environment sufficient to permit him to run the prisons for the next eighteen months with a skeleton crew of warders and a population of inmates largely controlling themselves.
