Tours to Correctional Services
“Never Trade Your Uniform of Excellence for a Uniform of Regret”
Since February 2007, Pillar to Post, in collaboration with the Department of Education, the Department of Correctional Services have been hosting school tours to five different prisons in Gauteng, demonstrating to high-risk learners, with the help of offenders, that crime doesn’t pay.
The tours are not available to the public as is exclusive for school learners and educators. Furthermore, this programme does not glamorise offenders, nor does it glamorise prison. The tour rather dispels the myth that prison is a five-star hotel, as learners see first hand that it is rather an overcrowded place of punishment, where dreams become illusions and a place where you become nothing more than a number.
Nothing that the learners experience on tour is candy-coated and the message is loud and clear, but the approach is gentle and loving and it is this combination which is the winning formula. It is this formula which is making schools safer, eradicating not only petty crime, but also organised crime such as car theft syndicates, drug dealers and gangsterism.
Learners will be exposed to horrific overcrowding where offenders share beds, sleep in shifts, sleep on the floor. Offenders are locked up in overcrowded cells for 23 hours a day, the only stimulation being one-hour exercise per day. Cells designed for 38 offenders are now occupied with 60 to 90 offenders, sharing one toilet, one shower and one basin.
Programme of the day
Each tour commences at the closest prescribed centre at 08h30 and ends at 13h30 and accommodates 62 learners and 3 educators at a time (maximum of 65 people per tour, per day). The tour schedule consists of:
· Pillar to Post tour guide to meet bus at entrance to brief learners and educators about rules and regulations and code of conduct for the day
· Hard-hitting motivational talks / testimonies by a variety of offenders
· Guided tours of crowded communal and single cells
· Drama performed by offenders
The drama is about a school boy who gets mixed up with the wrong crowd. One day, after committing a crime with his new “friends”, they go to the local tavern where he is arrested during a police raid. He ends up being convicted, only to discover the hardships, loneliness and isolation of prison. His world is filled with regret, having lost out on his hopes and dreams. The play ends with each member of the cast giving advice to the learners to stay away from crime.
· Group discussions between offenders and learners, headed by offenders
· Lunch and refreshments (optional)
· Travel back to school
Achievements
The programme has achieved the following:
· The programme has been participated by over 700 schools (44 100 learners and 1 400 educators)
· All schools that participated reported a change in behaviour and criminal activities at their school
· The programme has been featured in sixty three newspapers, as well as a wide range of electronic media including television, radio and websites. Please see "Tour Media" links
· The drama “Crime Doesn’t Pay – It Costs” was featured at the 2009 Grahamstown National Arts Festival and presented at five public performances
· The programme is currently operational in 5 Correctional Centres in Gauteng. Namely Leeuwkop Centre, Boksburg Centre, Johannesburg Centre, Krugersdorp Centre and Pretoria Central Centre
· The programme was piloted on a small scale at Grootvlei Centre in Bloemfontein, Free State and Barberton Centre in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga
· The programme was featured as the flagship programme, three years in a row by the Department of Correctional Services during Corrections Week in 2007, 2008 and 2009
Objectives
The objectives of this programme is to:
· To reform the outlook of our youth about crime
· To rehabilitate youth before serving time
· To create a safer school environment
· To show learners first hand the reality and harsh results of crime
· To prevent young South Africans from shifting from being a learner to becoming an offender
· For the youth of your province to rediscover their sense of existence
· To create a safer country
Target Audience
The beneficiaries of this programme includes:
· High risk school learners (Grades 7 – 12)
· Educators
· Parents (School Governing Bodies and School Management Teams)
Cost of Tour
The cost per tour is:
- R 5 200 per tour (Including bus and including lunch)
- R 4 300 per tour (Including bus and excluding lunch)
- R 3 700 per tour (Excluding bus and including lunch)
- R 2 800 per tour (Excluding bus and excluding lunch)
These costs are based on a maximum group of 65 learners and includes the following:
· Bus hire, 65 seater (optional)
· Employment of ex-offender as tour guide
· Guided tour of various available sections
· Presentation of a 45 minute drama
· Props and costumes for drama
· Pre-production (script fee, auditions and rehearsals costs for drama)
· Sound Equipment for drama and motivational talks
· Motivational talks / testimonies by offenders
· Group discussions led by offenders
· Lunch and refreshments (optional)
· Evaluation / statistics / notes give to school after tour
· Assisting learners who ask for assistance, with outside NGO's such as SANCA
· Management and administration
Availablity of Correctional Services
· Leeuwkop CS: Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays only
· Johannesburg CS: Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays only
· Krugersdorp CS: Wednesdays only
· Boksburg CS: Tuesdays only
· Pretoria Central CS: Thursdays only
The tours are not available to the public as is exclusive for school learners and educators. Furthermore, this programme does not glamorise offenders, nor does it glamorise prison. The tour rather dispels the myth that prison is a five-star hotel, as learners see first hand that it is rather an overcrowded place of punishment, where dreams become illusions and a place where you become nothing more than a number.
Nothing that the learners experience on tour is candy-coated and the message is loud and clear, but the approach is gentle and loving and it is this combination which is the winning formula. It is this formula which is making schools safer, eradicating not only petty crime, but also organised crime such as car theft syndicates, drug dealers and gangsterism.
Learners will be exposed to horrific overcrowding where offenders share beds, sleep in shifts, sleep on the floor. Offenders are locked up in overcrowded cells for 23 hours a day, the only stimulation being one-hour exercise per day. Cells designed for 38 offenders are now occupied with 60 to 90 offenders, sharing one toilet, one shower and one basin.
Programme of the day
Each tour commences at the closest prescribed centre at 08h30 and ends at 13h30 and accommodates 62 learners and 3 educators at a time (maximum of 65 people per tour, per day). The tour schedule consists of:
· Pillar to Post tour guide to meet bus at entrance to brief learners and educators about rules and regulations and code of conduct for the day
· Hard-hitting motivational talks / testimonies by a variety of offenders
· Guided tours of crowded communal and single cells
· Drama performed by offenders
The drama is about a school boy who gets mixed up with the wrong crowd. One day, after committing a crime with his new “friends”, they go to the local tavern where he is arrested during a police raid. He ends up being convicted, only to discover the hardships, loneliness and isolation of prison. His world is filled with regret, having lost out on his hopes and dreams. The play ends with each member of the cast giving advice to the learners to stay away from crime.
· Group discussions between offenders and learners, headed by offenders
· Lunch and refreshments (optional)
· Travel back to school
Achievements
The programme has achieved the following:
· The programme has been participated by over 700 schools (44 100 learners and 1 400 educators)
· All schools that participated reported a change in behaviour and criminal activities at their school
· The programme has been featured in sixty three newspapers, as well as a wide range of electronic media including television, radio and websites. Please see "Tour Media" links
· The drama “Crime Doesn’t Pay – It Costs” was featured at the 2009 Grahamstown National Arts Festival and presented at five public performances
· The programme is currently operational in 5 Correctional Centres in Gauteng. Namely Leeuwkop Centre, Boksburg Centre, Johannesburg Centre, Krugersdorp Centre and Pretoria Central Centre
· The programme was piloted on a small scale at Grootvlei Centre in Bloemfontein, Free State and Barberton Centre in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga
· The programme was featured as the flagship programme, three years in a row by the Department of Correctional Services during Corrections Week in 2007, 2008 and 2009
Objectives
The objectives of this programme is to:
· To reform the outlook of our youth about crime
· To rehabilitate youth before serving time
· To create a safer school environment
· To show learners first hand the reality and harsh results of crime
· To prevent young South Africans from shifting from being a learner to becoming an offender
· For the youth of your province to rediscover their sense of existence
· To create a safer country
Target Audience
The beneficiaries of this programme includes:
· High risk school learners (Grades 7 – 12)
· Educators
· Parents (School Governing Bodies and School Management Teams)
Cost of Tour
The cost per tour is:
- R 5 200 per tour (Including bus and including lunch)
- R 4 300 per tour (Including bus and excluding lunch)
- R 3 700 per tour (Excluding bus and including lunch)
- R 2 800 per tour (Excluding bus and excluding lunch)
These costs are based on a maximum group of 65 learners and includes the following:
· Bus hire, 65 seater (optional)
· Employment of ex-offender as tour guide
· Guided tour of various available sections
· Presentation of a 45 minute drama
· Props and costumes for drama
· Pre-production (script fee, auditions and rehearsals costs for drama)
· Sound Equipment for drama and motivational talks
· Motivational talks / testimonies by offenders
· Group discussions led by offenders
· Lunch and refreshments (optional)
· Evaluation / statistics / notes give to school after tour
· Assisting learners who ask for assistance, with outside NGO's such as SANCA
· Management and administration
Availablity of Correctional Services
· Leeuwkop CS: Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays only
· Johannesburg CS: Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays only
· Krugersdorp CS: Wednesdays only
· Boksburg CS: Tuesdays only
· Pretoria Central CS: Thursdays only