Jobs, Visits, Aim to Keep Kids Out of Prey Sar
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Jobs, Visits, Aim to Keep Kids Out of Prey Sar
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/25192/ ... -prey-sar/
A new program will bring job training and family visits to 40 young inmates in Prey Sar correctional center starting next month.
The General Department of Prisons agreed yesterday to allow prison outreach organization This Life Cambodia to work with detainees in the notorious detention center.
This Life executive director Billy Gorter said young offenders are less likely to break the law again if they are taught a useful skill and reconnected with their family when they are released. Starting next month, social workers and teachers from his organization will start working with prisoners at Prey Sar between the ages of 14 and 18 who are due for release in between 12 and 18 months.
This Life began working with prisoners in Siem Reap in 2010 and has proven successful in reducing recidivism rates there. Before the program was introduced, 60 percent of young prisoners at Siem Reap’s prison would be back in prison within just six months of being released, Mr. Gorter said, but now recidivism rates have dropped to only two percent.
Human rights groups have condemned Prey Sar for its poor conditions they say have led to the deaths of multiple inmates. The center was the subject of a scathing report by human rights group Licadho, that pointed out excessive pre-trial detention, poor healthcare and a common practice of bribes.
Despite its poor reputation, Department of Prisons spokesman Nuth Savna insisted that Prey Sar exists to help the people held in its walls.
“Their detention is not meant to punish them; it’s meant to educate and correct them,” he said.
Although the center’s other problems remain unresolved, the vocational training classes introduced by This Life at Prey Sar next month will at least offer inmates an education, focusing on practical skills like electrical engineering and repairing air-conditioning units.
Along with its vocational training program, This Life aims to reconnect children with estranged family members.
“In a lot of cases the children are disconnected from their families once they enter the system,” said Mr. Gorter. “There are difficulties that prevent parents from visiting.”
One of these difficulties is distance. A child could be placed in a prison as far as 200 kilometers from home, and getting to the prison can be prohibitively expensive for the family. Once at the prison, family members have to navigate a complex, often corrupt system.
“Visiting prison is a scary thing,” said Mr. Gorter. “It’s quite daunting for families. Facilitating the initial visits shows the families the steps.”
This Life makes the visitation process easier. It pays for transport for prisoners’ families and helps them through the bureaucratic process of visiting their child once a month. Mr. Gorter said that helping children stay in touch with their families like this ensures they will have a support network when they leave the prison.
If successful, the new Prey Sar system led by This Life could serve as a model for other prisons with young detainees, said Mr. Savna.
“If this program is successful, we’ll use it as a lesson to be copied to teach minors at other prisons,” he said.
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