TWENTY FIRST CENTURY AND REHABILITATION PROGRAMMES FOR
INMATES IN ZIMBABWE PRISONS

TWENTY FIRST CENTURY AND REHABILITATION PROGRAMMES FOR
INMATES IN ZIMBABWE PRISONS

SAMANYANGA ITAI

CHIGUNWE GILLIET

The study was set to establish the extent to which Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional
Services (ZPCS) provide rehabilitation and correctional services. World over, people are
imprisoned after the courts have found them to be guilt of an offence. Incarcerating an
offender is regarded as punishment enough. The Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services
adopted the international standards that emphasise rehabilitation and empowerment of
inmates with employment opportunity skills whilst serving. The study adopted the qualitative
paradigm and descriptive survey method. Convenient sampling and snowballing were used
to select prison officers whom were involved in the interviews. The findings revealed that
ZPCS emphasises on the development and empowerment of offenders to lead a crime free
life through equipping them with employment and vocational skills. It was revealed that
ZPCS does not have standard rehabilitation and correctional service programmes. Career
guidance and counselling is not much priority provision for inmates. There is need to include
career guidance programme in the rehabilitation and correctional package so that inmates
make informed decisions on choosing vocational and career programmes. ZPCS should also
put in place some standard measures of rehabilitation and correctional services as well as
quality assurance monitoring instruments in Zimbabwe‟s prison services.

AARJSH
ASIAN ACADEMIC RESEARCH
J O U R N A L O F S O C I A L
S C I E N C E & H U M A N I T I E S

2015