/ 26 May 2004

Punishment, imprisonment no solution to crime

As a nation, we seem to be totally fixated on believing that punishment and imprisonment are the sole answer to crime. Closer examination reveals that this is ridiculous:

  • If punishment works, why is the rate of people who have been in jail, often for lengthy periods, but still re-offend so high? Former correctional services minister Ben Skosana said last year that the rate was 50%, but people working in the field would be inclined to put it at more than 80%

  • While one may argue that the death penalty has a place for certain horrendous crimes, even if it were re-introduced immediately in South Africa its impact on crime is likely to be entirely negligible.

    There is a place for punishment, and certainly there must be consequences for behaviour society deems unacceptable. Imposing these consequences upholds the law and the values of a community. Imprisonment does remove people who are dangerous to society, protecting society from the harm they might inflict. But many observers believe that it is the certainty and swiftness of a sanction, rather than the extent of punishment, that is the real deterrent.

    The truth is that, as a way of thinking about crime and justice, punishment alone is incomplete. It does little for the people who have been hurt and fails to address the reasons why the crime was committed in the first place. As far as keeping the community safe is concerned, imprisonment offers short-term relief: the great majority of prisoners will return to society within five years.

    The framework of restorative justice provides some helpful clues for a way out of this rather bleak picture. First, it defines crime in terms of who was hurt and what their needs are. Its response is to focus on making things as right as possible, placing the primary obligation for this on the offender. It also seeks to involve, as far as possible, those who have been directly and indirectly hurt, thus giving them a very real voice and the opportunity to influence the outcome of an incident, as well as the possibility of restitution. It is often precisely this personal involvement, confrontation and the opportunity to make amends and change behaviour that helps offenders to accept responsibility for their actions.

    Advocates of a restorative justice approach would like to see an end to the view that prison is the solution to all crimes. Prison should be used only as a last resort to protect society from truly dangerous people.

    Secondly, we should invest heavily in community-based sentences, which would include elements of community service and restitution for those offenders who are not a danger to society. Not only are such measures cheaper, but they are more meaningful for everyone.

    Other programmes that need to be expanded include those of diversion for young offenders and adult minor offenders; programmes that bring victims and offenders together in a meeting facilitated by a trained person; support at all stages for people who have been affected by crime; programmes to help offenders re-integrate into the community; programmes that deal with crime prevention at a fundamental level, such as teaching children about respect and other moral values, and programmes on how to deal with conflict in non-violent ways.

    Let us take the hypothetical case of two township teenagers who get into an argument that ends with one stabbing the other. Fortunately, no permanent damage is caused.

    What do we do with the perpetrator? If we send him to a reform school or prison, is he likely to learn how to be less violent? Might it not be more constructive in the long term to bring both the families together, support the offender in offering an apology, devise a way for him to contribute to the medical expenses of the friend and refer him to a programme that will teach him non-violent ways of dealing with conflict?

    It is time for our political leaders to take the complexity of responding to crime seriously and to help us move beyond the ineffectual stereotypes in which we are caught at present. We need our leaders to stop trying to score political points off each other about crime. We need them to lead the way in allocating more resources for restorative justice.

    Mike Batley is the executive director of the Restorative Justice Centre and the chairperson of the Restorative Justice Initiative