Correctional services department presents spiritual care expo
“External partners play an important role in helping offenders realise the effects of their actions and how to make amends, which is an important element in the rehabilitation process,” says Molatedi.
The Department of Correctional Services held a three-day expo at the Springs Civic Centre on Wednesday to highlight the importance of spiritual care and support for prisoners and victims.
Speaking at the beginning of the expo, Rev Manganya called it a day of restoration where all in attendance could come together and be revived.
Gauteng Regional Commissioner Thakane Molatedi emphasised how important spiritual care is both for inmates and for those outside prison.
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“Before there was this perception that correctional services was an enclosed environment, but now we are hosting this expo to say please come into our space.
“We are doing this because we came to the realisation that as a department, we cannot do corrections alone.
“Corrections are a societal responsibility and hence we are embarking on these initiatives,” says Molatedi.
The commissioner says as correctional facilities, they are the last leg of the justice system, and while inmates should serve their time, it is also important that preventative measures be put in place to prevent more young men and women from stepping into their facilities.
“As a department, we don’t have the resources, which is why we should work together.
“We have a better chance of achieving more by working together than as individuals,” says Molatedi.
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Molatedi says families and community are central to the rehabilitation of offenders, and if those sectors and the department worked well together, crime would be a thing of the past.
“External partners play an important role in helping offenders realise the effects of their actions and how to make amends, which is an important element in the rehabilitation process,” says Molatedi.
As a department, Molatedi says each facility has been provided with a chaplain and is afforded the opportunity to practise their religion.
Molatedi went on to say rehabilitation can only be achieved though the delivery of key services to offenders, including both correction of the offending behaviour and the development of the human being.
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