Prisoners honour Madiba on Mandela Day – They take a pledge to stop the cycle of crime

Over 120 offenders at Zonderwater Correctional Centers - Medium A and B, Cullinan, on Mandela Day last year took a pledge to break the cycle of crime in their families, communities and in South Africa, in honour of former president of the Republic of South Africa, Nelson Mandela.

The offenders participated in a very intense training Get Out and Stay Out: (GOSO) Overcoming Self-Imposed Limitations programme, graduate and took a pledge to never re-offend upon release.

Launching in South Africa

Get Out and Stay Out: Overcoming Self-Imposed Limitations (GOSO) is a re-entry programme that Professor Khalil Osiris launched in South Africa on Nelson Mandela Day 2012 at Zonderwater Correctional Centre, Pretoria. Osiris, an internationally recognized restorative justice practice and behavioural transformation expert and a formerly incarcerated person who spent 20 years in prison is also founder of Martin Luther King (MLK).

“Using a restorative justice approach, the programme teaches that re-entry must focus on victim awareness, offender accountability, and community engagement,” Osiris said.

Since Osiris’ first lecture at Zonderwater Correctional Centre, on Mandela Day 2012, he has implemented GOSO at medium A and B centers. Also, he has conducted a series of GOSO re-entry lectures at numerous correctional centres for members as well as offenders, including a workshop for Gauteng correctional services psychologists titled, Criminogenic Needs:

THE GRADUATION DAY!

“Through GOSO, I realized it’s

never too late to take

responsibility for my actions,

and to ask for forgiveness from

my Creator, my victims and

quiet honestly, from myself!’

Inmate Freddy Kekana

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Breaking the Cycle of Crime in South Africa

Over 120 offenders graduate at Zonderwater Centre A and B, in the history of the centres.

VOICES ON GOSO From Research to Practice. Criminal justice research indicates that effective correctional programmes address risk factors associated with criminal behaviour. These risk factors are re-ferred to as “criminogenic needs,” and professor teaches offenders to understand their own and work through them to be release ready. “Criminogenic needs are attributes of offenders that are directly linked to their criminal behav-iour.

The GOSO re-entry programme teaches offend-ers how to use cognitive behavioural interven-tions to target their own criminogenic needs. This instructional process is an evidence-based approach designed to equip and encourage of-fenders to take responsibility for reducing their risk of re-offending, thereby break the cycle of crime in their families and their communities,” he said.

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I take responsibility for my choices and for being in

prison. I am accountable for educating myself to Get Out and Stay Out. In honour of Nelson Mandela

Day, I pledge to break the cycle of crime in my family and community.

T H E P L E D G E O F F E N D E R S M A D E O N T H E D A Y

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“ On Nelson Mandela Day 2013, graduates at Zonderwater medium A and B received certificates for their successful completion of the GOSO re-entry programme. At the graduation a collection of the graduates’ writings was compiled to be released in a book titled, Prisoners Honour Madiba: Breaking the Cycle of Crime in South Africa this year. Coinciding with the graduation I announce the launch of a national campaign called Breaking the Cycle of Crime in South Africa,” Osiris added.

“ The goal of the Breaking the Cycle of Crime campaign is to recruit and train 10 000 offenders, over the next three years, to pledge to break the cycle of crime in their families and communities – in honour of Mandela Day, particularly Madiba’s positive example of re-entry after serving 27 years in prison.”

First Breaking the Cycle of Crime campaign

The first annual Breaking the Cycle of Crime campaign pledge will be held at Zonderwater Correctional Centre on Nelson Mandela Day. A unique aspect of the campaign is that it is offender-led and youth-centered. This unique aspect is based on the fact that most of the offenders in the GOSO programme are parents. The GOSO re-entry programme provides targeted support services for children who have an incarcerated (or formerly incarcerated) family member. This focus is informed by the fact that research shows children who have an incarcerated family member have a greater likelihood of having disciplinary problems in schools and a greater risk of dropping out as well as getting involved in criminal behaviour.

The Department of Correctional Services puts rehabilitation at the centre of its activities. The White

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on Corrections in South Africa states that the Department views the correction of offending behaviour as having the following four objectives:

Promoting social responsibility

Ensuring that offenders can recognize what they did is wrong

Ensuring offenders understand why society regards what they did is unacceptable

Ensuring offenders internalize the impact that their actions have had on their victims and society as a whole

To correct offending behaviour, the above four objectives require offender buy-in. The best way to encourage and support offender buy-in is through effective correctional programming. Using a curriculum based on criminogenic needs

require offender buy-in. The best way to encourage and support offender buy-in is through effective correctional programming. Using a curriculum based on criminogenic needs research and restorative justice practices, the GOSO re-entry programme’s fundamental aim is to ensure offender accountability and encourage offender buy-in.

The GOSO re-entry programme and its Breaking the Cycle of Crime campaign are aligned with the Correctional Services Act (Act No 11 of 1998), the White Paper on Corrections, and the Strategic Plan of the Department in the fundamental belief that every human being is capable of change and transformation, if offered the opportunity and the necessary resources. The Breaking the Cycle of Crime campaign will provide 10 000 offenders, over the next three years, with the opportunity and necessary resources to change and transform their lives for the better – starting while they are in prison. Offenders had prepared an impressive 67-minute programme for the day.

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‘GOSO gave me a moment to honour Madiba and

drink from his fountain of inspiration to turn the

cornerstone in my own life!’ Inmate Mandla Madonsela

‘As a professional with many years of experience in a Correctional Centre, I realize that Prof. Osiris is bringing

in something very unique to any correctional setting

namely - personal experience as a formerly incarcerated person who had to face many challenges during and after

serving time. He also brought an academic perspective to the process, he has a wealth of

theoretical and practical knowledge through his life experience and studies,’ Social worker at Zonderwater Correctional Centre A, Anina Alberts

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‘Observing, consistently, how offenders respond confronting their way of

thinking, their behaviour, and their approach to challenges in life in such an honest manner. When they are honestly

facing the truth, the process of change from within, can truly begin,’ Mona–Marique Dreyer, psychologist at Zonderwater Correctional Centre A

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‘“Additionally, he brings the balance into

this work of rehabilitation. He has the ability to bring together both the theoretical

and practical experience. His ability to

speak with passion into the inner being of each individual reaches every person through his programme,” Social worker at

Zonderwater Correctional Centre A, Anina Alberts

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