ABSTRACT
Kenya prison rehabilitation programme is a programme that is used in reforming offenders in prison. The programme consists of designed training activities. Some of these activities include vocational trainings which are mandatory like carpentry, masonry while others are optional like sports, hobbies and motivational activities carried out to reform offenders. The offenders are taken through the activities by prison wardens and counsellors who supervise and record their progress irrespective of the crime one has committed. Despite all the rehabilitation activities, the number of rape recidivists in Kenyan prisons had increased from 12% in 1983 to 25% in 2005. Cases of rape also continue to increase and hardly a day passes without a woman or girl being raped. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of Kenya prison rehabilitation programme on the reformation of rape offenders at Kamiti maximum prison in Nairobi County. The study adopted a descriptive research design. It targeted a sample of 145 respondents who were purposively selected from a total population of 299 rape offenders. Ten prison wardens and four counsellors were conveniently selected from the prison for the study. Data was collected through administration of questionnaires to the selected respondents. The collected data was processed and analysed using frequencies, percentages and chi-square tests at 0.05 significance level, with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 17.0 for windows. The study findings indicated that 31% of rape offenders were above 36 years of age with the youngest being 21 years old. 95.2% of the respondents participated in mandatory activities on a daily basis and 66.2% rated these activities as either very good or excellent. Although optional, participation in motivational activities was also high with majority (78.6%) of the offenders rating these activities as either very good or excellent. The chi-square test indicated significant associations between ratings of both mandatory (Cramer’s V= 0.414, p=0.003) and optional activities (such as self-esteem at Cramer’s V= 0.417, p=0.00) and new skills/knowledge learnt. The study also found that the attitude of rape offenders towards the crime of rape significantly changed as they were going through the rehabilitation programme. Majority of rape offenders (72.4%) perceived the rehabilitation programme as being beneficial to them. 57% of prison wardens and counsellors reported that the rehabilitation programme could be useful in reducing rape recidivism rate. The study concluded that offenders acquired new skills and changed their attitude towards the crime committed. Therefore there is need to provide enough tools and machines; and employ more prison wardens and counsellors.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background information
The Kenya Prison Rehabilitation Programme (KPRP) is a programme that is used in Kenya prisons to reform and rehabilitate all offenders including rape offenders (Dissel, 2001). Prison rehabilitation programmes are universally accepted for reforming offenders before they are released back to the society (Maori, 2008). The name given to a programme depends on the goal it is meant to achieve and the strategy used. In different countries, programmes also vary in the way they are administered, the techniques used for different crimes, the nature of crime, type of offence and the institution in question (Ministry of Justice, 2003).
The first rehabilitation programme was introduced in 1604 by Pope Clement XI in Rome to correct and reform religious offenders (Kenya Prison Service, 2002). Starting from that time different countries introduced rehabilitation programmes in prisons to rehabilitate and reform offenders (Mushanga, 2011).Unlike before where incarceration was used for punishment and deterring, the prisons now focus on rehabilitation to reform the character of the offender and prevent recidivism.
Countries vary in the type of rehabilitation programme they use. Some have special programmes geared towards rehabilitating particular criminals and others have a general programme for all criminals. Examples of such countries which use special programmes for particular crimes include New Zealand, Australia and Britain where the rate of recidivism has remained low. The convicted offenders are taken through planned and scheduled activities which are facilitated by prison wardens and counsellors who are professionals in those activities (Ross & Ewles, 2001). The activities are designed to provide skills which may contain new technologies used in agriculture, carpentry and masonry.
In Kenya, the prison uses a common rehabilitation programme for all offenders irrespective of the crime committed. The general programme used focuses on reforming different types of offenders by equipping them with skills and technologies for self-reliance and income generation after leaving the prison (Kachuk, 2001). The Kenya prison rehabilitation programme was further improved in 2002 through new prison reforms which enabled the institution to have open door policy (Kenya Prison Service, 2007).
Rape, which is a criminal offence in Kenya, continues to rise. The rampant nature of this crime has resulted into a situation where a woman is raped after every three minutes (Ongwae, 2006). The following table shows reported rape cases in police stations in Nairobi County compared to the other crimes, such as murder that are also recorded.
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Item Type: Kenyan Topic | Size: 68 pages | Chapters: 1-5
Format: MS Word | Delivery: Within 30Mins.
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