Pretoria - The Correctional Services Department will next week host heads of Correctional Services or Prisons from various southern African countries for a Southern African Consultative Conference on Corrections.
The three-day conference, which starts on 23 March, will be held in Sandton.
According to the department, one of the key objectives of the conference is to strengthen partnerships of correctional and prisons services in the region, to support each other to transform these centres into rehabilitation driven institutions, with good governance and improved service delivery.
The conference will also provide a platform for South Africa to interact with its counterparts from the region, to share insights and exchange best practices in tackling some of the common challenges.
The conference will seek to address problems in the following areas: overcrowding, the parole system, rehabilitation, the role of society in the rehabilitation of offenders, alternatives to incarceration, conditions of detention and provision of health.
Other issues such as professionalisation of correctional services and prioritising the well-being of the officials will also be up for discussion.
