Abstract
M.A.
The aim of sentencing a child to a reform school is to effectively deter the child from
further criminal acts and prevent recidivism. Research into the area of crime and
juvenile delinquency stresses that those traditional approaches encompassing
frameworks of punishment and retribution, as methods of eliciting behavior change do
not work. Incarceration of a child offender should be a last resort and only utilized
when all other possible interventions have failed to achieve a modicum of success
with the child in conflict with the law.
The Inter-Ministerial Committee on Young People at Risk states that "the approach to
working with young people in trouble with the law should focus on restoring societal
harmony and putting wrongs right rather than punishment. The young person should
be held accountable for his / her actions and where possible make amends to the
victim", (IMC, 1996:18). The approach of restoration and repair falls within the
ambits of a Restorative Justice Model, a contemporary approach to child justice that is
achieving far greater positive results, if managed appropriately than the traditional
Retributive Model of child justice.
The aim of this study was to explore the perceptions of professionals working with
children in conflict with the law towards reform schools as a sentence option for
children and, where possible to generate alternatives to this sentence. Key roleplayers
identified for this undertaking were selected from the Departments of Social
Services, Justice, Education, Detention Centers, A Reformatory, and, Community based
NGO's. The role-players were identified from documents perused by the
researcher pertaining to the reform school issue. A focus group as well as individual
interviews was conducted with participants from the above-mentioned professional
arenas. The study was contextualised to the South African situation; however
participants in the study originate from Gauteng and the Western Cape Province.