The Rehabilitation of Prisoners

The Goals of the Social Work and Rehabilitation Division in the IPS

• To minimize the damage caused by imprisonment and to promote the mental and social welfare of prisoners during the period of their incarceration.
• To try and bring the prisoner to change his behavior patterns and way of life while in prison.
• TO prepare the prisoner for release by drawing up, together with him and community agencies, a realistic rehabilitation plan. The IPS has developed extensive links to community and national authority agencies in order to make the rehabilitation efforts for effective and efficient.

Methods of Work

• Individual Case Work

  Every prisoner is delegated a social worker to see to his particular needs. The caseworker will make use of various techniques - dynamic, behavioral, cognitive and others. The social worker must meet with the prisoner at least three times during his imprisonment - at its beginning, before he begins his program of rehabilitation and near the time of his release. Above this minimum, the number of meetings will depend on the attitude, motivation and difficulties of the prisoner and the work load of the social worker.

• Group Therapy

  The main problems dealt with in this context are: domestic violence, incest, sexual offenses, drug and alcohol abuse, mutual help between inmates, preparation for release, interpersonal communication, husband-wife-children interrelationships.

• Educational Programs

  Educational programs are designed to realize IPS policy that education can provide the prisoner with new coping resources, can enable him to make positive use of his time in prison, develop insight and recognize and reinforce dormant talents. Education can be an agent of change and its effects felt in all aspects of the prisoner's life.

  The leading goals are:
  

  • To help the individual satisfy legitimate, personal and unique needs.
  • To make positive and constructive use of the prisoner's time by teaching him how to learn, imparting normative societal values, broadening his horizons, and fostering his creativity.
  • To provide the means of coping with the strains of daily home and prison life.
  • To give guidance and instruction on vital practical issues.
  • To raise self confidence by fostering and reinforcing the prisoner's talents, to develop his sense of independence, initiative and responsibility by setting individual projects and giving encouragement and feedback.

  Education system design:

  • Formal education (formal classes, from illiteracy level to secondary level, meeting five mornings per week fro terms of three months at a time.
  • Informal education (activity groups, workshops, projects, one-time educational activities on specific topics and special events for all prisoners in a facility.

• Rehabilitation Programs

  The IPS rehabilitation programs form part of the process that prepares the prisoner for release and reintegration into the community.

  The guiding principle of these programs is to permit those prisoners who are motivated to change their ways, and who meet IPS criteria, to gradually spend more time outside prison walls.

  According to the program designed for each individual prisoner, and under close supervision, they take up jobs or study courses, participate in casework or group therapy sessions and enrichment courses, all as far as possible in their home district.

  Although the IPS would like to see as many prisoners as possible benefiting from these programs, it is not easy to find those who can handle the pressures involved. The program demands considerable coping powers, non-involvement in illegal activities in the prison, being drug-free etc.

  Those who are selected enter what is called a "schizophrenic" lifestyle, spending a large part of the day as civilians in a civilian life and returning in the evening to prison and all that that entails.

  Rehabilitation stages

  • In the first stage, the prisoner goes out as one of a group escorted by a senior prison officer.
  • If he satisfies the terms of such groups and performs well with no lapses, then he will transfer to an individual rehabilitation track, whereby he will go out to work or study alone and unescorted to cope by himself with the pressures of work or study.
  • In the third stage he will live in a hostel and spend each weekend on home leave with his family.
  
  

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