NICRO Annual Report 2002-2003

Celia Dawson Provincial Director

The KwaZulu-Natal Board of Management has been greatly enhanced with the election of the Judge President of Natal, Judge Tshabalala, as well as two prominent woman achievers in our province: Judge Leona Theron, the youngest ever judge at the time of her appointment, and the Director of Public Prosecutions, Advocate Shamila Batohi, who previously led the Scorpions’ prosecuting team in the province. The Board also undertook an evaluation of its services, and held a successful management training programme during the year under review.

Highlights

Another successful provincial Creative Arts event was staged in partnership with the Department of Correctional Services, with 500 prison arts and craft entries from 200 prisoners in twelve prisons. The award ceremony was attended by the Deputy Mayor of Pietermaritzburg and several local dignitaries. Seven of the paintings entered into the competition by two artists were of such a high calibre that they were sent to the United Kingdom for auction at the launch of the NICRO UK Trust.

An additional highlight of the year was the establishment of a Family Visitors Centre for the family members of NICRO KwaZulu-Natal Tough Enough Programme (TEP) participants at the Pietermaritzburg Prison.

The Computer Training Project is a public-private partnership between NICRO KwaZulu-Natal, the Department of Correctional Services and Digital Partnership South Africa, which provided refurbished computers for TEP participants. The project targets successive groups of sentenced woman offenders in the Westville Female Prison who are taught skills to equip them for successful reintegration. This will be made possible through the use of a computer-aided life skills programme, adapted from the NICRO Tough Enough Programme specifically for this purpose.

The opening of the first decentralised advice office in the rural community of Muden, where we have been rendering services for the past two years, was a major milestone in the evolution of community victim support services in the province. Given the topographical layout of this community, and the absence of public transport to the distant corners of the villages, services are difficult to access. The establishment of the NICRO advice office, which is located in a hut on the homestead of a volunteer, has improved conditions for those wishing to report and discuss their personal difficulties with a trained volunteer.

NICRO KwaZulu-Natal staged its first Business Awards celebration in honour of the accomplishments of micro-entrepreneurs involved in the Economic Opportunities Project in March 2003. The participants and audience were treated to a keynote address by Mr Cedric Dube of ITHALA. Twenty-five entrepreneurs received accolades for their achievements in pursuit of their business objectives, with three entrepreneurs receiving the major awards. The province also published its first Business Directory highlighting the achievements of these entrepreneurs.

The Journey Programme for troubled youth has once again led youngsters to confront the emotional and developmental issues that affect their lives. Through the partnership with the Wildlife Education Society of South Africa, NICRO KwaZulu-Natal was able to present these programmes regularly during the year. Capacity-building training was provided for social workers from the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Social Welfare and Population Development in Vryheid and Ladysmith. This training focused on diversion, restorative justice and the draft Child Justice Bill.

The Department for Safety and Security has implemented four pilot projects to build crime prevention capacity in the areas of Mpungamhlophe, Ekuvukeni, Esikhawini and Kokstad. These projects are the direct result of ongoing partnerships established with NICRO, the South African Police Services, the Provincial HIV/Aids Action Unit, the KwaZulu-Natal Youth Commission, the South African Youth Council and the Provincial Community Police Board. A NICRO diversion team member was involved, together with the other partners, in training youth at social crime prevention workshops.

		Individual	Workshops	Total
	CVS	7891	4205	12096
	DIV	2479	1166	3645
	OR	1338	165	1503
	EOP	559	297	856
	Total	12267	5833	18100

Community Victim Support

Following a number of staff resignations volunteers displayed tenacity, commitment and passion in keeping the services running. They continued to counsel, provide emotional support and information to victims, liase with the courts, and have expanded outreach initiatives and service delivery. Services, including a child witness court preparation service, are now also rendered from the newly established Sexual Offences Court at the Mankweng Court.

Technology and research organisation CSIR research findings around social fabric crimes (offences committed by people known to the victims in familiar environments) point to a disturbingly high rate of crimes of this kind in the province. This resulted in the MEC for Safety and Liaison taking action and arranging a consultative meeting with key stakeholders and role-players. NICRO was invited to attend and to contribute towards the efforts to combat crimes of this nature, especially where women and children are involved. Given NICRO's exceptional track record in the province, we were asked to spearhead campaigns to address child abuse, rape and domestic violence. While the organization is not in a position to lead the campaign at this time, it will nevertheless remain an active partner in this process.

Diversion

The newly established Sexual Offences Court is increasingly referring young sexual offenders to NICRO's life skills programme as a sentencing option. In the absence of a specific programme dealing with young sex offenders the courts have expressed the opinion that a suspended sentence is not sufficient and preventative measures to ensure that young offenders do not re-offend are required. A need for a specific sexual offences programme and trained facilitators has therefore been identified. Capacity building and networking with other organisations are envisaged to address this need.

The Economic Opportunities Project

The successful Cosmo Leisure Restaurant and Guest House, situated five kilometres from the city of Polokwane and established by eight enterprising local women, has gone from strength to strength thanks to the support of NICRO's Economic Opportunities Project. Following NICRO's assistance to prepare and submit a business development plan the eight shareholders succeeded in securing R3 million from the Department of Trade and Industry. The guest house has also provided employment opportunities for 15 other local community members.

Individual Workshops Total CVS 2356 1155 3511 DIV 942 182 1124 EOP 322 226 548 Total 3620 1563 5183