How Safe Are Correctional Environments in Zambia?

Ensuring Ethical Treatment and Security in Zambian Correctional Facilities

We often focus too much on the behavior of the sheep and neglect the role of the shepherds. Think of the correctional system as a field where the sheep represent the inmates, and the shepherds are the correctional officers. While it’s easy to concentrate on the behavior of the sheep—how they graze, stray, or interact—it’s crucial to remember that the shepherds play a vital role in shaping their environment and guiding their behavior.

Just as a shepherd’s methods can determine whether the sheep are led to pasture or into danger, the behavior of correctional officers influences the transformation process of inmates. If the shepherd is harsh, inconsistent, or neglectful, the sheep may become skittish and unmanageable. Conversely, a shepherd who is fair, understanding, and attentive helps guide the sheep towards a better path.

Similarly, in a correctional setting, officers who exhibit ethical behavior, fairness, and empathy can foster a positive environment that encourages inmates’ transformation and rehabilitation. Their conduct can either support or undermine the process of change, making their role as crucial as the inmates’ willingness to change themselves.

Correctional officers hold significant power and responsibility, which necessitates the highest ethical standards. Their conduct with inmates must be rooted in professionalism and integrity, safeguarding the rights and dignity of individuals under their supervision. This article examines the plausible code of conduct for correctional officers, the treatment and rights of inmates, and the challenges faced by the Zambian correctional system, particularly concerning officer misconduct and systemic failures.

Ethical Standards and Professionalism

Correctional officers are entrusted with maintaining order, security, and rehabilitation within correctional facilities. Their behavior should reflect:

1. Integrity and Honesty: Officers must act truthfully and transparently, upholding the law and correctional policies without deviation.
2. Respect and Fairness: Every inmate must be treated with respect and fairness, irrespective of their crimes, ensuring that their basic human rights are protected.
3. Confidentiality: Officers must protect the confidentiality of inmates’ personal information, sharing it only when necessary for legal or professional reasons.
4. Accountability: Officers should be accountable for their actions, accepting responsibility for their conduct and decisions.
5. Impartiality: Personal biases should never influence the treatment of inmates. Officers must remain neutral and impartial in all interactions.

Inmate Treatment and Rights

A correctional facility is not a hotel, but it should not be a depiction of hell on earth. From the author’s observations, authorities have strived to ensure that inmate treatment and rights are respected. Indeed, inmates have rights that must be upheld throughout their incarceration. These include:

1. Right to Safety: Inmates should be protected from physical, emotional, and sexual abuse.( Case in point- mashat/officer chipimo rumors) Facilities must ensure a safe environment.
2. Right to Basic Needs: Access to adequate food, water, shelter, and medical care is a fundamental right.
3. Right to Rehabilitation: Inmates should have access to educational, vocational, and rehabilitation programs to aid their reintegration into society.

4. Right to Fair Treatment: Discrimination based on race, gender, religion, or any other factor is unacceptable.

5. Right to Communication: Inmates should be allowed to maintain contact with family and legal representatives.

Challenges in Zambian Correctional Facilities

The Zambian correctional system faces several challenges in meeting its objectives:

1. Officer Misconduct: Instances of unethical behavior, such as inappropriate relationships with inmates, undermine the integrity of the correctional system and exploit vulnerable individuals.

2. Resource Limitations: Inadequate funding and resources can lead to overcrowded facilities, insufficient healthcare, and limited rehabilitation programs.

3. Promiscuity and Unethical Conduct: The prevalence of promiscuity among officers exacerbates issues of misconduct( case in point officer P Sikanyika/R Mwango, P Sikanyika / M Hamunyemba, ) compromising the safety and rehabilitation of inmates.

Unethical behavior has been reported during officer recruitment and training, where young female recruits are given contraceptives during training to avoid pregnancy by their instructors. This compromises training objectives and subjects female correctional officers to traumatic experiences, which, regrettably, are considered normal within the system.

Ensuring Ethical Conduct and Effective Rehabilitation

To maximize correctional objectives and reintegrate rehabilitated offenders into society, the following measures are essential:

1. Strict Enforcement of Ethical Standards: Implementing and strictly enforcing a robust code of conduct for officers, with severe consequences for violations, is crucial. While human resource guidelines and other policies might be in place, the absence of a marriage policy and reliance on the marriage act leaves room for loopholes that damage the family unit of some officers.

2. Training and Education: Continuous training on ethical behavior, human rights, and professional conduct should be mandatory for all correctional officers.

3. Adequate Resources: Ensuring sufficient funding and resources to address overcrowding, healthcare, and rehabilitation needs is essential. Zambia’s correctional system needs to be prioritized in terms of funding if sustainable rehabilitation is to be realized.
4. Monitoring and Accountability: Establishing independent oversight bodies to monitor the conduct of officers and the treatment of inmates.

5. Support Systems: Providing psychological support and counseling for both officers and inmates to address mental health issues and reduce misconduct.

The role of correctional officers is pivotal in the justice system, and their adherence to ethical standards is essential for the credibility of correctional facilities. By respecting the rights of inmates and maintaining professionalism, the Zambian correctional system can better achieve its objectives of rehabilitation and reintegration, ensuring a safer and more just society.

About the Author

Eng. Chaliafya Katungula is an advocate for ethical practices, forestry, engineering, and community mobilization, with a keen interest in improving the treatment of inmates and addressing the challenges faced by correctional institutions in Zambia. He has firsthand experience witnessing unethical behavior by correctional officers while residing as an “unchained inmate” at Kansenshi Prison Camp House No. Ksq3, Ndola, from 2015 to 2021. If correctional officers are unethical with each other, such as through extramarital affairs, there is no guarantee that inmates, who have limited choices, can be safeguarded. Similarly, if one considers financial plunder alone without addressing resource abuse, they might miss that some officers may exploit inmates for personal gain, such as using correctional manpower for their private farm holdings without compensation—a topic for another discussion.

“There is a reason why wild dogs have no shepherds- their ways are wildly on the other hand human behaviour can be reshaped, rebuilt and transformation through rehabilitation programs is possible with the right minded people in the process”

Eng. Chaliafya Katungula
F(A+C+T+A+R)