Rehabilitation has largely dominated the work of the Fiji Corrections Service. In fact it runs parallel to the security function of the department. It constitutes one of the three-pronged roles of the department in the form of Change, amid Safety & Security and Care. The Commissioner’s Orders pave the way for the rehabilitation of inmates. Programs seeking to contribute to a rehabilitative environment can reduce the opportunity for bad behaviour to occur within prison and provide an environment in which staff can offer positive examples.
Such programs provide the opportunity for developing basic skills and interests that may assist inmates to undertake more education, vocational training (work skills), parenting skills, drugs and alcohol. The prison environment aims to encourage positive changes in behavior and attitude, provide good social examples, challenge of offending behavior and promoting self-esteem and encouraging inmates to take responsibility for their actions. The upbringing of an inmate’s spiritual life is also an essential part of the rehabilitation program.
Since the introduction of the Yellow Ribbon Program in 2008 in which rehabilitation became the key focus of the organisation, the Fiji Corrections Service launched its first Rehabilitation Policy in 2017.
Commissioner of Corrections, Commander Francis Kean hopes that the effectiveness of this Rehabilitation Policy will be measured by the recidivism rate and more importantly the lives we restore in becoming law abiding citizens of this country.
(Refer to the Rehabilitation Policy on Publications)