Abstract
The fundamental objective of this article is to urge a change in the conventional paradigms used to define the practice of social work in the field of criminal justice, and to set in motion a conversion to a unified paradigm of criminal justice social work. A unified paradigm is used here to refer to the multidimensional and multidisciplinary practice of social work in working with both those who offend and those who are victims of crime, in order to restore harm done and prevent further offending. This text is essentially nomenclatorial in nature, meaning, it deals with the naming and defining the specialisation of criminal justice social work as distinctly different from social work in general.
Highlights
The last few years have seen a maelstrom of change and transformation of policy and programmes at all levels within the South African criminal justice sector
The lack of a clear definition of criminal justice social work may be exacerbated by the short time given to social workers to prepare for, comprehend and deal with crime and delinquency
Present statutory provisions for probation services in South Africa are contained in the Probation Services Act (No 116 of 1994), the Probation Services Amendment Act of 2002, the Child Care Act (No 74 of 1983), Criminal Procedure Act (No 51 of 1997) and the Child Justice Act (No 75 of 2008)
Summary
The fundamental objective of this article is to urge a change in the conventional paradigms used to define the practice of social work in the field of criminal justice, and to set in motion a conversion to a unified paradigm of criminal justice social work. A unified paradigm is used here to refer to the multidimensional and multidisciplinary practice of social work in working with both those who offend and those who are victims of crime, in order to restore harm done and prevent further offending This text is essentially nomenclatorial in nature, meaning, it deals with the naming and defining the specialisation of criminal justice social work as distinctly different from social work in general. The last few years have seen a maelstrom of change and transformation of policy and programmes at all levels within the South African criminal justice sector These include, among others, working with offenders and victims of crime through the use of restorative justice programmes, Victim-Offender-Mediation protocols, and a stronger focus on diversion of child and youth offenders out of criminal justice. Despite the role that social workers play in these interventions, a widely accepted definition of social work in the field of criminal justice does not exist. Researchers and academics have not engaged sufficiently with the development and application of nomenclature for this field, leading to an underlying crisis of identity that needs resolution.[3]
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