The government has implemented new prison reforms to allow prisoners to go on home leave so that they will be able to maintain family relationships and reintegrate into society quickly preparing for their release.
This new initiative will only be limited to female prisoners. According to Zimlive, Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services boss Paradzai Zimondi said
In our efforts at modernizing our approach in correctional management systems, soon after independence, we established a more humane correctional center that is the Connemara Open Prison which houses male inmates but we have not stopped as plans are also ongoing to establish other open prison facilities for females across the provinces.;’
The government has already approved sites in Marondera and Mutare to start with. Progress on the implementation in this regard is being delayed by budgetary inadequacies. However, as soon as resources permit, the execution of the projects would commence in earnest.
The open prison system is more conducive for facilitating inmates’ rehabilitation and successful reintegration given that it is at most serving as a halfway home. In this regard, inmates go on home leave while serving their prison terms thereby ensuring that family relations and ties are kept open and intact.
As inmates go on home leave, they interact and stay with their families thus preparing for their release. Upon release, they will not be new persons hence the re-integration process would have commenced while one would be serving his/her prison term.
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