‘Give ex-prisoners a fresh start’
A STUDY conducted by a Durban advocate recommends that to curb repeat crimes by paroled offenders they should be assisted with a state grant and early clearance of criminal records from the National Criminal Register which could improve their access to employment.
Sabera Khan, 50, of Bellair, who was concerned by the high number of criminals reoffending, decided to investigate the efficacy of programmes and strategies to reintegrate former prisoners into the economy and society.
Khan, who passed her mini-dissertation with distinction, was awarded a Master of Law in Criminal Justice at the University of Kwazulu-natal’s graduation ceremony this week.
“Over the years I have seen a number of reports of parolees reoffending while on parole. From my investigation I found that parolees were not adequately rehabilitated. They need further intervention,” she said.
“After serving their time and being released into society there are no jobs for them. They are still shunned by the community. There needs to be a shift in mindset. Why can’t a grant be implemented for former prisoners who have served their time? How will we get them to reintegrate if we don’t show them that they have been rehabilitated?”
Khan plans to pursue a PHD and further her research.
“Hopefully through research such as mine we would be able to improve policies,” she said.
In her study, Khan examined sentencing options and community correction that endorse former prisoners’ reintegration into society.
She said international studies had revealed that reduced recidivism was linked to the implementation of alternative sentencing options, improved access to employment and social acceptance of former prisoners,
which requires the implementation of the principle of restorative justice, non-custodial sentences and prisoner empowerment.
Having worked in the criminal justice field for more than 20 years, Khan had observed that many former prisoners were repeat offenders.
She acknowledged that while various interventions had been made
such as changing the name “prisons” to “correctional centres”, the criminal justice system seems to be struggling to implement programmes and to encourage a mindset that release from a correctional centre implies that the former prisoner is rehabilitated and as such ought to have smooth reintegration into the economy and society.
“I believe that failure to reintegrate a former prisoner means that the punishment never really ends, even when the official sentence is over. Once people have paid their debt to society, they ought to have a fresh start,” she said.
Professor Managay Reddi, UKZN’S Criminal Justice expert and Khan’s supervisor, said Khan’s research was innovative and relevant and contained recommendations that had the potential to significantly improve the criminal justice system if adopted.
“Sabera was an excellent student who was keen to be guided and challenged during my supervision of her,” said Reddi.
Khan is a senior state advocate in the Asset Forfeiture Unit of the National Prosecuting Authority, where she is responsible for combating organised crime and money laundering. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Law) and a Bachelor of Law from the then University of Durban-westville, a certificate in Islamic Law from UKZN and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from North West University.
“From a very young age I was encouraged to learn to be self-sufficient and never to allow my disadvantaged background to stop me from pursuing my dreams. My late elder brother always said that an independent woman lives true to her own values and can never be controlled or manipulated to do otherwise. She owns her own power. I owe all my academic achievements to him,” she said.
Khan’s daughter, Jameela Sona Ally, will graduate from UKZN this week with a Bachelor of Architectural Studies.