Online Reporter
Sikhumbuzo Moyo [email protected]
ZIMBABWE Prisons and Correctional Service (ZPCS) officers have been urged to shun physical confrontation with inmates and instead use established disciplinary procedures to deal with misconduct and reduce complaints to the Zimbabwe Independent Complaints Commission (ZICC).
ZPCS Legal Officer for Harare Metropolitan Province, Principal Correctional Officer (PCO) Lilian Nyathi, said officers must uphold professionalism while respecting the rights and dignity of inmates when maintaining discipline in correctional facilities.
She said physical confrontation was not an acceptable way of dealing with inmates who violate prison regulations, urging officers to embrace modern correctional approaches guided by the law and the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, commonly known as the Mandela Rules.
“If inmates violate prison offences, officers must use lawful disciplinary procedures to maintain discipline within correctional facilities rather than use physical confrontation. Officers should embrace change when it comes to dealing with misbehaving inmates,” said PCO Nyathi.
“ZPCS has adopted a dynamic approach which embraces the Mandela Rules when it comes to inmates’ treatment. In this 21st century, human dignity must be observed and every incarcerated individual should be treated in a humane way as prescribed by the law.”
PCO Nyathi said the ZICC provided an independent mechanism through which inmates and members of the public could raise complaints alleging abuse by members of security services.
She said modernising correctional facilities required officers to move away from a purely punitive mindset and embrace an approach focused on the rehabilitation and reintegration of inmates.
“This approach is consistent with the constitutional requirement that persons deprived of their liberty must be treated humanely and with respect for their inherent dignity,” she said.
The ZICC is constitutionally mandated to monitor misconduct by members of security services and investigate complaints of alleged misconduct.
Inmates and members of the public who believe their rights have been violated by security personnel can lodge complaints with the commission for investigation and redress.
