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Corrections and juvenile delinquency in the Kingdom of Swaziland : an exploratory study

2015; Iziko South African Museum; Volume: 2015; Linguagem: Inglês

1012-8093

Luke M. Malindisa, John Winterdyk,

Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis

Since gaining its independence in 1968 and the establishment of the Prison Act, there has been increasing recognition that corrections and the welfare of juvenile delinquents in Swaziland has been fraught with a wide range of challenges. In 2013, the Department of Correctional Services, for the first time, undertook a descriptive and exploratory study examining social background patterns of detained juvenile delinquents to establish a profile of juvenile delinquency in Swaziland. Data was collected from all 304 juveniles at Malkerns Industrial School in the rural town of Malkerns. A closed-ended survey with 33 questions was used to collect the data. Overall, the results showed that juvenile offenders in Swaziland have many of the same social challenges as do young offenders in most other parts of the world. The results provided the foundation for a number of recommendations on how Swaziland can consider moving forward in reforming its juvenile justice practices.