ABSTRACT

This study explored the experiences of released juvenile offenders in Accra and was underpinned by Lazarus and Folkman‘s Transactional Model of Stress, Appraisal, and Coping. The study sought to find out (1) what challenges do released juvenile offenders in Accra encounter. (2) the factors that contribute to challenges faced by released juvenile offenders in Accra and (3) the coping strategies employed by released juvenile offenders in Accra to deal with challenges they experience. Twelve male released juvenile offenders, were recruited purposively to participate in the study. Data was gathered through in-depth interviews and was analyzed using Smith and Osborne‘s (2008) Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) method.

The study found out that, released juvenile offenders in Accra had some challenges in education and employment. The study further found out that, poverty, stigmatization, and lack of state transitional support contributed to some challenges encountered by released juvenile offenders in Accra. Finally, the study identified both formal and informal social support from family and friends, non-governmental support, source of income, and independent living as coping strategies employed by released juvenile offenders in Accra. In view of these findings, the study recommended that reintegration provisions made in the ‖Justice for All Children‖ policy should be implemented to help reduce challenges encountered by released juvenile offenders in Accra. Also, the study recommended that artisans association should be involved in the reintegration process of the released juvenile offenders to help reduce the risk of reoffending. Non- governmental organisation and agiencies should continue working and helping with the reintegration of released juvenile offenders in Ghana.

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

     Background

A juvenile offender is defined by UNICEF (2007) as any person below the age of 18 who comes into contact with the justice system as a result of being suspected or accused of committing a crime. In 2010, an estimated 1.1 million juveniles were detained by law enforcement officials worldwide (UNDOC, 2010), indicating that juvenile delinquency is a social problem in many societies.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC), both child rights instruments, have sections that serve as a foundation and guide for many national legislative, institutional and policy initiatives (Ayete-Nyampong, 2012). These initiatives enable nations to promote the universal human rights of children including juvenile offenders. The UNCRC and the ACRWC aim at promoting the protection of children and their rights which include juveniles. Act 40 and 17 of the UNCRC and ACRWC respectively deal particularly with issues pertaining to juveniles.

Ghana has a juvenile justice system that is regulated by the Juvenile Justice Act (JJA) 2003, which guides the administration of justice for children who come into conflict with the law. The JJA draws some of the tenets it operates with from the Children‘s Act (Act 560, 1998). The JJA was enacted to protect the rights of juvenile offenders and make provisions as to how they are treated while they go through the juvenile justice system. It was instituted to ensure an appropriate response for juvenile offenders regarding reformation, rehabilitation, and reintegration.

Between 2011 and 2013, among crimes recorded in Ghana by juvenile offenders, stealing and defilement were the most This was influenced by factors such as poverty, parental neglect, peer pressure, drug and alcohol use (Government of Ghana and UNICEF, 2014; Government of Ghana, UNICEF, 2011).

Borstal institutes started out as industrial schools, in 1947 under the British Colonial Administration to help juveniles found going wayward (Ame, 2017). Before the Borstal institutes started in Ghana, the Children Care and Reformation Act of 1928 of the United Kingdom gave juvenile courts the authority to confine orphans, juvenile delinquents, neglected or ill-treated children under age 15 to the reformatory (Craven, 1935). After Ghana‘s independence, a Criminal Procedure Code (Act 30, 1960) with a section on juvenile committed offenders to the Borstal institutes for reformation and rehabilitation. However, with the inception of the JJA in 2003, the Borstal institutes transitioned into what is currently known as correctional centres. This was because the focus of the institutes changed from punishment to correction. The correctional centres are intended to help juvenile offenders acquire vocational skills as well as religious and moral training to help them become productive citizens after serving their sentence period (Ame, 2017; Ame, 2018).

Niriella (2011) asserts that the environment in the correctional institution is different from that of the home environment; hence the need to take practical steps to ensure that, released juvenile offenders become productive members of society. She further opined that, in some jurisdictions such as the U.S.A., reintegration is a key component of the rehabilitation process of any juvenile offender. This helps in ensuring that the released juvenile offender does not re-offend and also reduces the challenges they are likely to face. When juvenile offenders are released, there is a need for a systematic program that will ensure that they fit well within their various societies.

Reintegration, therefore, is expected to be a part of the rehabilitation process seeking to ensure that released juvenile offenders settle well within society. Released juvenile offenders without a proper or adequate reintegration programming are likely to be more vulnerable to reoffending and other challenges. This is because if the factors that led to their offense still exist within the environment to which they are returning, they are likely to encounter same challenges (Niriella, 2008).

Reintegration in simple terms therefore refers to the transition from the correctional centre to the community (Moore, 2011). Griffiths, Dandurand and Murdoch (2011) define reintegration as the support and services that are given to released juvenile offenders over a period of time to ensure that they do not re-offend. Reintegration processes, therefore, can take different forms in various countries and jurisdictions. Hence, there are no universally accepted set of standard processes for reintegrating released juvenile offenders into their home environments. This study however adopts Griffiths, Dandurand and Murdoch‘s (2011) definition of reintegration as its operational definition.

Dawes (2008) posited that ―reintegration‖ is a broad term that partly focuses on the offenders‘ ability to function in a society. Their ability to function in a society includes their interaction with family members as well as the entire communities. Their functionality includes their ability to join mainstream education, vocational training as well as being gainfully employed if they have reached the employable age. Reintegration takes a look at the transitional processes from the detention or correctional centres into the community (Niriella, 2008).

     Problem Statement

Between the years 2005 and 2010, 1409 juvenile offenders in Ghana were committed to probation and reformation (Government of Ghana, 2015). A number of these juvenile offenders were committed to correctional centres for rehabilitation. They were released after they had served their period of the sentence where rehabilitation took place, which usually ranged between one month and three years as required by the J.J.A. However, much attention has not been given to what happens to released juvenile offenders in Ghana with regards to areas such as education, employment, accommodation, social relationships and others.

Ghanaian literature has focused specifically on juvenile delinquency, deviant behaviour, causes of delinquency among juveniles, life at the correctional centres including reformation and rehabilitation as well as governance at the correctional centres (Ashiabor, 2014; Ayete- Nyampong, 2013; Ayete-Nyampong, 2014) and rights of children in conflict with the law (Ame, 2011). Consequently, there is a considerable gap existing in literature in the area of juvenile offenders‘ experiences after release.

Evidence from countries such as Australia, U. S. A., and South Africa suggests that released juvenile offenders can become vulnerable due to likely obstacles such as stigmatization, unstable family relationships, unemployment, inferiority complex and lack of after-care services (Chikadzi, 2017; Dawes, 2011; NCSL, 2015). This vulnerability has the potential of leading to re-incarceration. Altschuler and Armstrong (2004) posited that there are seven factors that can hinder a successful reintegration of a released juvenile offender into a community. They include family and living arrangements, peer group influences, mental behavioural and physical health, substance abuse or misuse, vocational training and employment, leisure and recreational interests as well as education and schooling.

It is, therefore, necessary to explore the lived experiences of released juvenile offenders in Accra to find out challenges they encounter after their release and the coping strategies they adopt in dealing with the challenges.