Exploring the perspectives of young offenders and correctional officers on rehabilitation programmes in Malawi: A mixed methods study

Abstract

The young people on the wrong side of the law are incarcerated at specific penitentiaries known as Young Offenders' Rehabilitation Centres (YORCs) in Malawi. Using the good lives model and risk needs responsivity principles, this study sought to explore the perspectives of young offenders and correctional officers on the nature and meaningfulness of the offenders’ rehabilitation at the five YORCs in Malawi. The study involved 340 participants in mixed-methods research utilising a convergent design. Specifically, the study involved randomly selected 290 young offenders (mean age = 19.8) in a descriptive survey, 25 ex-offenders and 25 correctional officers in semi-structured interviews. The key findings were that although most inmates were socio-economically disadvantaged, signalling the need for comprehensive rehabilitation, the study found that both inmates and correctional offenders viewed correctional activities in the YORCs as not inadequate. Thus, a few rehabilitative activities, such as education, farming and skills training, were haphazardly accessible at various YORCs. Many young offenders were forced to work in prison farms at three facilities disregarding their educational statuses. It was concluded that offender rehabilitation was not handled as a constitutionally mandated obligation in Malawi since the rehabilitation centres focused on security and agricultural productivity.