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Madam Programme Director,
Councillor Ramolle,
Chief Magistrate Van der Walt,
Other distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen.

It is a privilege for me to participate in the official opening ceremony of this Community Corrections Office that will serve the community of Greater Soshanguve. I am also pleased that so many representatives of our stakeholders, some community leaders and members of the public are present today to share in this occasion.

Whilst I know, many of you may well be acquainted with the terms "community corrections" and "correctional supervision" I think there are still a large number of people who have not heard of these concepts or who do not really understand what they mean.

I think it is therefore necessary for me to just briefly share some information with you on the concept of correctional supervision and how it originated in South Africa.

The Department of Correctional Services is mandated to deliver an effective correctional service for the entire country. To do this it is necessary for the Department not to function in isolation but to fulfil its rightful role within the criminal justice system of the country.

It also requires of the Department to adhere to best practices in Corrections and to always be aware of acceptable international trends in Corrections that may be implemented with success in our country.

This mandate to strive for effectiveness coupled with mounting pressure on the Department in terms of an ever increasing prison population, escalating detention cost and a growing realisation that, perhaps, there are people occupying prison beds who are guilty of lesser crimes and who could perhaps have been dealt with better outside of prison, has led the Department to explore other options.

In the early nineties, a South African delegation visited several countries to research systems of correctional supervision that were practised by them. The system that was applied in Georgia in the United States of America was found to be possibly the best suited for South African circumstances.

This led to the establishment of a multidisciplinary task team with the terms of reference to formulate a South African model of correctional supervision, based on the Georgia experience, and to draft legislation that would meet the South African needs and realities.

On 6 May 1991 a White Paper was tabled in Parliament, charging the Department of Correctional Services with the management of offenders placed under correctional supervision. An Amendment Act to this extent was approved by Parliament on 14 June 1991.

On 15 August 1991, correctional supervision was introduced in the magisterial districts of Pretoria and Wonderboom. This provided law courts with a sentencing option aimed at perpetrators of less serious crimes as an alternative to imprisonment. During 1992, implementation at other magisterial districts started until eventually it was an available alternative sentencing option in all magisterial districts.

With the establishment of correctional supervision, the way was also open for the introduction of parole supervision since it could easily be moulded into the same supervisional infrastructure that correctional supervision had created.

The aim of correctional supervision is to control, to keep a check on and to rehabilitate those persons who, according to a court of law, should rather serve their sentences within the community. As I have already mentioned, it is not just any person that can be considered for correctional supervision by the courts of law.

Minimum requirements are that such a person must pose a low risk to the community, he or she must have a fixed and verifiable address and he or she must have a means of support or must be financially independent.

It must be clearly understood that Correctional Services does not impose the sentence. This remains the responsibility of the judiciary. We merely paved the way for the sentencing option to be introduced to the country and we are obviously responsible for managing the system.

The system of correctional supervision has many benefits and I would like to point them out to you. For the Department of Correctional Services this service holds the following benefits:

* It reduces the prison population in our already overpopulated prisons;

* It creates more space to accommodate hardened criminals who belong in prison;

* It brings with it a major saving for the Department and by implication also for the taxpayer. The cost of keeping one person in the system of correctional supervision for one day is R12.03 as compared to the R88.62 it would have cost if he was kept in prison for one day;

* It also promotes humane living conditions in prison since it creates more space for those in prison and it lessens the pressure on the infrastructure and services.

For the offenders, and by implication for their family members and members of the community, the system has the benefit that offenders remain within the community and they are exposed to the normal influences of the community. It also protects the offenders against the negative influences that hardened criminals would necessarily have had on them in prison.

Another major benefit of correctional supervision is that it allows the offenders to care for their families and to accept responsibility for themselves and their families. It also assists the offenders in retaining their employment, thus allowing them the ability to earn income and to still contribute to the economy of the country.

Without dwelling too much on detail, I just want to refer to the essence of the punishment that is implied by correctional supervision. Although the specific conditions that are applicable to offenders are decided on an individual basis, it may contain a combination of the following:

- House arrest;
- Restriction to a magisterial district or districts;
- Compulsory visits to a Community Corrections Office;
- Obtaining or keeping of employment;
- Payment of victim compensation if the court so orders;
- The rendering of community service for which there is no payment;
- Participation in treatment programmes which are for instance aimed at the prevention and treatment of drug and alcohol abuse; and
- The compulsory attendance of educational lectures and talks.

Monitoring officials of the Department, exercise control over the offenders by means of telephonic contact and personal visits to their places of work or their homes or places at which community service is rendered.

Violation of conditions can lead to remedial action being taken with, at worst, the sentence of correctional supervision being revoked in the case of offenders:

- Being found guilty of an offence;
- Failing to report for correctional supervision;
- Being guilty of repeated violation of conditions; or
- When they behave in such a way that it becomes clear that correctional supervision is not an appropriate sentence.

In such a case, the court will be requested to consider imposing a different sentence which most probably will be imprisonment.

Let me make it clear that imprisonment remains the most appropriate means of sentence for those offenders who pose a real threat to the community.

What we have brought to the community of Soshanguve is the infrastructure to facilitate the management and supervision of people sentenced to correctional supervision, those who are released on parole as well as awaiting-trial prisoners who are placed under community corrections by a court.

What started as three borrowed offices within the magistrate's court buildings, is today a fully-fledged community corrections office that is housed within this building. From the side of Correctional Services I can make the commitment that we will render this service with enthusiasm and dedication.

It is very important however to note that we cannot render this service in isolation. We are dependent on the judiciary to impose this sentence where appropriate and just. We are also very proud of the members of the community who are assisting us with the rendering of the services.

There are many ways in which the community can assist us. Volunteers can for instance:

- Present pre-release programmes;
- Present treatment programmes to offenders who are still incarcerated;
- Present correctional programmes to offenders at Community Corrections Offices;
- Compile and submit pre-sentence reports to courts with a view to determine a suitable sentence or treatment;
- Monitor offenders at their places of residence and workplaces and at the institutions where they are rendering community service;
- Operate the whole community corrections component at remote places under the control of the local Head of Community Corrections; and
- They can provide training to offenders to improve their skills, both during imprisonment and after placement in the community.

You must always remember that Correctional Services is dealing with people who have failed the community in one way or another. It has caused them to end up in the custody of Correctional Services where we deal with them in such a manner that they are likely to mend their ways.

The community is the main beneficiary of this process and therefore the rendering of correctional services is a collective social responsibility.

We are glad to be present in Soshanguve and we are looking forward to establishing and maintaining a healthy and mutually beneficial relationship with you.

Thank you.

Issued by: Department of Correctional Services, 8 June 2001