Correctional instituitional design-its impact on prisoner rehabilitation.

Abstract

Despite the existence of provisions in the Uganda Prisons Act 2006, aimed at reformation and rehabilitation of offenders, the role of prisons in Uganda in the reformation and rehabilitation of offenders is questionable especially with the increasing recidivism and crime rate in the country (Kalid, 04-2007). However, we have grown accustomed to seeing tall walls, razor wire, do not trespass signs as well as the yellow uniform and connected it to fear, danger and no hope for correction. This is how we view prisons and the inmates that reside in them. This has widened the gap between the convicts and their ability to rehabilitate and get back into the society as better human beings. The prison system is here to stay as Uganda using imprisonment as a punishment. And yet the efforts done to bridge this gap are questionable. These faults bring a need for research into ways in which the environment in which the prisoners stay in, the avenues with which they interact with the community, looked into so as to make rehabilitation more effective and bridge the gap between the inside world of a prison with the outside world. The research therefore created arguments for the information that designers, planners, authorities and general public could utilize so that they can be treated as normal human beings. However, as imprisonment represents the most serious sanction available at the final stage of the criminal justice system, administrators need to reflect and give weight to the major principles of sentencing; viz; • Retribution-the need to satisfy the community/s desire for punishment. • Rehabilitation-the prospect that the prisoner may either reform or recover satisfactorily from the effects of the sentence. • Specific deterrence- the deterrent effect the sentence might have on the offender. • General deterrence-- the deterrent effect the sentence might have on other potential offenders. • Parsimony-using the least punitive and least restrictive sentence necessary to satisfy the purpose of the sentence