Ex-offenders creating opportunities for themselves

• A very successful and well-attended three-day conference, conducted in partnership with the Department of Correctional Services and the Justice College, on prison overcrowding, restorative justice and alternative sentencing options as well as rehabilitation and offender reintegration, for which NICRO obtained full government support and involvement. This proved to be a valuable vehicle through which NICRO was able to achieve one of its primary objectives: to vigorously promote the greater use of non-custodial sentencing, effective correctional supervision and underscore the importance of addressing prison overcrowding and poor prison conditions
• An approach by one of the commissioners at the Department of Correctional Services to discuss and contribute towards the development and design of an in-prison rehabilitation and reintegration programme, although the planning of the joint seminar has not been undertaken as yet
• Increasing ministerial support, especially on the part of the Minister of Correctional Services, Minister Balfour
• NICRO also succeeded in starting work on a research programme in prison: looking at the aspect of fatherhood and absent fathers with groups of Tough Enough Project prisoners and former prisoners, together with the Human Sciences Research Council and Psychology Department of the University of KwaZulu-Natal
• An intersectoral workshop was held on March 23, 2006 in De Aar, Northern Cape, to introduce offender reintegration services to and form partnerships with other relevant stakeholders in the province
• NICRO North West actively focused on the economic empowerment of its Tough Enough Project clients and, in collaboration with Department of Correctional Services and the Rustenburg Association of Business, facilitated MICRO MBA entrepreneurial training for 75 offenders
• The Offender Reintegration Programme in collaboration with Department of Correctional Services coordinated and implemented the first ever Correctional Arts and Cultural Festival for three districts (involving six participating prisons) within the North West Province
• NICRO Eastern Cape launched an advocacy plan to lobby for improved relations between warders and inmates by providing anger management and conflict resolution training to both warders and prisoners.
• Research into the effects of imprisonment on babies incarcerated with their mothers commenced. The findings will be available later in 2006.