UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA (UNISA)
College of Law
⋄
REHABILITATION IN SOUTH AFRICAN
PRISONS
CMY3704 — Formal Reaction to Crime
Assignment 1 — Semester 1 2026
⋄
Module Code: CMY3704
Module Name: Formal Reaction to Crime
Student Name: [Student Name]
Student Number: [Student Number]
Assignment No.: Assignment 1
Due Date: March 2026
Semester: Semester 1 – 2026
Unique Number: [Unique Number]
, UNISA | CMY3704 Rehabilitation in South African Prisons
Introduction
The question of whether South African prisons actually rehabilitate offenders is not an ab-
stract one. It lands squarely in the lives of people like Davey R., the case study presented in
the CMY3704 study guide, a man whose trajectory through the correctional system illumi-
nates both what rehabilitation could mean in theory and what it tends to produce in prac-
tice. The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) is constitutionally mandated to rehabil-
itate sentenced offenders and reintegrate them into society as law-abiding citizens (Victor-
Zietsman, n.d.; South African Government, 2005). Yet South Africa’s recidivism rate, which
academic research places anywhere between 55 and 95 per cent, raises a pointed question
about how well that mandate is being met (Schoeman, 2025).
This assignment critically discusses the effectiveness of rehabilitation in South African pris-
ons using the Davey R. case study as its analytical anchor. The discussion is grounded in the
CMY3704 study guide and supported by peer-reviewed academic sources. It examines the
legal and policy framework for rehabilitation, the programmes available within correctional
centres, the structural obstacles that undermine their delivery, and what a genuinely effective
rehabilitation model might look like in the South African context.
Page 2 of 13
College of Law
⋄
REHABILITATION IN SOUTH AFRICAN
PRISONS
CMY3704 — Formal Reaction to Crime
Assignment 1 — Semester 1 2026
⋄
Module Code: CMY3704
Module Name: Formal Reaction to Crime
Student Name: [Student Name]
Student Number: [Student Number]
Assignment No.: Assignment 1
Due Date: March 2026
Semester: Semester 1 – 2026
Unique Number: [Unique Number]
, UNISA | CMY3704 Rehabilitation in South African Prisons
Introduction
The question of whether South African prisons actually rehabilitate offenders is not an ab-
stract one. It lands squarely in the lives of people like Davey R., the case study presented in
the CMY3704 study guide, a man whose trajectory through the correctional system illumi-
nates both what rehabilitation could mean in theory and what it tends to produce in prac-
tice. The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) is constitutionally mandated to rehabil-
itate sentenced offenders and reintegrate them into society as law-abiding citizens (Victor-
Zietsman, n.d.; South African Government, 2005). Yet South Africa’s recidivism rate, which
academic research places anywhere between 55 and 95 per cent, raises a pointed question
about how well that mandate is being met (Schoeman, 2025).
This assignment critically discusses the effectiveness of rehabilitation in South African pris-
ons using the Davey R. case study as its analytical anchor. The discussion is grounded in the
CMY3704 study guide and supported by peer-reviewed academic sources. It examines the
legal and policy framework for rehabilitation, the programmes available within correctional
centres, the structural obstacles that undermine their delivery, and what a genuinely effective
rehabilitation model might look like in the South African context.
Page 2 of 13
