POLLSMOOR DOG PROGRAMME - past, present and future (2007)
By Karen Gray-Kilfoil (Cape)
Karen has a B.A. degree in Social Sciences and Humanities, with special emphasis on social, developmental and educational psychology, including one year of biology. She has an Advanced Certificate in Companion Animal Behaviour and a Certificate in Animal Assisted Activities from the Ethology Academy, Pretoria
"How we treat animals and how we treat each other are two stems that grow from the same root. If there are thorns of neglect, contempt or cruelty on one, we can be sure to find them on the other." Ronald Swartz, Western Cape Education Department, South Africa.
Many people are puzzled as to why anyone would want to help criminals in prison. Prisons are there to punish, to deter others and to protect society, so why should we make prisoners "feel good" at all? I forgot the last reason for prisons - to REHABILITATE. That’s why they’re called "Correctional Facilities". This last point is often forgotten by the general public, who also don’t think about the fact that most prisoners (even murderers and rapists) will be released back into our society at some stage.
JANET SANDELL’S LEGACY
When I met Janet Sandell in 2001 she was a student of the Ethology course, a social anthropologist in her sixties and undergoing treatment for cancer, which resulted in her losing a leg. She and I had a common desire: to work at Pollsmoor Prison with dogs. We did the Animal Assisted Activities course together and started doing school and hospital humane education visits, and a few one-off sessions at Pollsmoor (in the juvenile sections: sentenced, unsentenced, women’s and men’s). Pollsmoor has about 8000 prisoners and about 1000 staff. Rehabilitation is not very successful as about 90% of prisoners are repeat offenders, some having served sentences four or five times, according to Heather Parker Lewis, a social worker who has worked there and done research for many years.
We were inspired by the movie "Beyond These Walls", about Sister Pauline Quinn, a Dominican nun who started a prison dog training programme in the USA in the early 1980s. We also read and watched whatever we could about South African prisons and dog programmes around the world (e.g. Cell Dogs on Animal Planet). There are now many prison animal programmes in such countries as Canada, England, Scotland, Australia, Belgium and Italy. Two other animal programmes are run at Pollsmoor: The Bird Project and the Cat Project. Our programme started off as a "visiting programme" and still is, although Janet’s dream was for it to develop into a "Cell Dogs" type programme, where the dogs live in the cells.
Janet was the communication expert, driving force and personality behind our programme, while I did most of the administration and syllabus work, marked assignments, and so on. In 2004 we were invited by the Rehabilitation Officer in the Women’s Section to begin the year with our first group of juvenile women (under 20 years old) doing a planned course, with written tasks and tests. Our aim was to educate them about dogs (and other animals to a lesser degree), provide them with some basic skills for life after prison (in their homes, communities or even jobs), but most of all to inspire compassion, improve attitudes and develop respect for all life. Each year we began with a new group of inmates and gradually adapted and honed the course.
We wanted the Pollsmoor Dog Programme to be beneficial to inmates (not only our students, but all prisoners at Pollsmoor), warders (whose lives could be made a little easier), facilitators (voluntary dog owners who are necessary for the course) and the community (who would benefit by having less crime, hopefully). If we could change the life of only one prisoner each year, Janet and I agreed, this would be enough.
PRACTICALITIES AT POLLSMOOR
Prisoners are called "Offenders" at Pollsmoor Correctional Facility: The Rehabilitation Officer selects the candidates, based on her own criteria. Some of the challenges in the past have been drugs (particularly smoking marijuana); commitment (a high dropout rate); education levels (often lower than Std 4) and language barriers. Janet was able to speak English, Afrikaans and Xhosa fluently, but the rest of us are not so fortunate. Often the prisoners speak a mixed language of Cape Flats Afrikaans, Xhosa and English, with prison jargon thrown in, so it takes some "tuning in". Recently there is a rule of no smoking allowed in the prison buildings, which makes it easier to control the dagga smoking. If we suspect a student of being on drugs we will warn her that it isn’t allowed on the course. They either drop out or stop the drugs, as far as we can tell. Self-mutilation (or cutting) is a problem that I have noticed recently in some inmates. Although we do interview each inmate before they join the Programme, we never ask what crime they are in for. This is for many reasons. Firstly, they may not be honest. Secondly, they may not want the other prisoners to know, perhaps for safety reasons. Thirdly, we do not want to judge them according to their "mistakes", but give each student the respect she deserves as a human being, without labelling her.
Warders are known as "Members" at Pollsmoor and without them this programme would not have got off the ground. We have had some wonderful cooperation in the past and hope to continue to do so. Programmes such as this can be a "means to increase staff morale by decreasing stress levels, increasing a sense of play and their sense of working as a team, and giving them a renewed sense of interest in their work and in their clients." (Carmack, 1989) However, one needs to get the full cooperation and support from all the staff for the programme to succeed and this has not always been easy, due to fear and/or dislike of dogs, among other things. Space has always been a problem as Pollsmoor is overcrowded and cannot afford to devote a space for a programme that operates for one hour a week.
Security, as one can imagine, is a big issue and one that seems inconsistent at Pollsmoor. Sometimes we are allowed in without any questions and sometimes the security is so strict that we have been turned away. New systems have recently been installed: wheel spikes, electric gates, etc. This means that it can take over half an hour to get into the Women’s Section. Health can also be a risk. For example there was an outbreak of tuberculosis and one of our students was being treated for it. Generally, however, the level of hygiene and health is excellent as far as we can detect. As for our own safety, we have always been treated with the utmost respect and never felt in any danger, even when left alone in cells without warders, although we were sometimes exposed to graphic language, crude behaviour and nudity, as one would expect in a prison. A sense of humour is essential!
Funding: Although we are predominantly self-funded, Hills pet food kindly sponsors the Programme to some extent, providing gifts and prizes for both the inmates and the volunteers. We also receive various food and other sponsorships for the graduation ceremony from various private individuals and companies. We have had personalities like Charmaine Noy contributing to our ceremonies without pay.
Facilitators and dogs: Weare called "Service Providers" at Pollsmoor and we are all volunteers who have committed ourselves to one morning a week at Pollsmoor. This is not for the faint-hearted and takes courage and patience, as well as an ability to be non-judgmental and show compassion for all human beings, no matter what they have done. For some volunteers this has been a life-changing experience. Most of the volunteers have at least one dog that they bring along and these are also very special dogs. They need to be basically trained, but this isn’t the most important aspect. The dogs need to be "bomb proof" - in other words able to cope with the unpredictable noises, smells and human behaviours that occur in a prison environment. We ONLY use positive training methods on our dogs and do not shout at them or even use a check collar. Because we are trying to teach compassion in an environment that is mostly punishment and fear driven, this is most crucial. We have to practice what we preach.
The facilitators sign an agreement to this effect and in order to comply with the prison’s rules.
Heather Parker Lewis says: "Facilitators should be punctual and reliable and never be absent without an excellent reason. Flexibility is essential, patience of the essence and whatever happens in there is your responsibility. But the most important quality needed is patience. Be prepared to wait. Time has no meaning in prison. Just don’t go in there if you have a plumped up ego!".
COURSE CONTENT
The students must complete 10 tasks, one written exam and one practical test in order to receive a certificate of completion.
Practical skills:
There are three aspects to the practical side of the course: handling, training and games. Often these are combined in one or two exercises or games. Handling includes very basic grooming and examining the dogs. Training is reward-based as the students learn to handle trained dogs and teach old dogs new tricks. Clicker training is explained and demonstrated, but we found it too technical to teach under the circumstances. Games with the dogs are always fun: e.g. races, blindfold games or musical sits. These develop the ability to play, trust, cooperate and compete in a friendly way. They often end up in fits of hysterical laughter. The students are also rewarded with small sweets, flowers, stickers or toiletry samples.
Written tasks and worksheets:
These are made up from various sources. As well as making use of our own knowledge, the Humane Education Trust and various animal rescue organizations (e.g. SASHA) also provide us with material to use.
Attitude assessment: As well as assessing each individual’s knowledge and skills, we have also implemented an attitude test this year in order to assess their attitudes towards dogs, animals in general and our course in particular. No marks are awarded for this.
We welcome input from other programmes and professionals. Recently we had a visit from Aymeline de Cartier from Belguim. We have also had some other visitors such as Fred Donaldson (USA) and Linda Stocks-Copley who teach adults how to play.
HOW SUCCESSFUL IS THE POLLSMOOR DOG PROGRAMME?
There have been no empirically based studies of any dog programmes, as far as I can find, but there are many positive anecdotal and qualitative assessments. According to overseas research (Canada 1998) prison animal programmes help inmates to, some in their own words:
· Learn job skills
· Improve knowledge about dogs, animals and people get an opportunity to accomplish goals
· Set and pursue other goals
· Increase self confidence and self esteem
· Be proud of themselves and the dogs
· Understand themselves better
· Cooperate with others
· Feel cared for and caring
· Freely reciprocate love with another living being
· Express feelings more often
· Deal with anger more maturely
· Communicate with inmates better
· Break the race and other barriers
· Make friends
· Be less lonely
· Become more relaxed and less defensive
· Have a positive outlook on life
· Decrease depression
· Interact better with staff
· Be responsible for a living thing, themselves and others
· Be better tempered
· Release emotions constructively
· Learn self discipline
· Be more patient
· Learn respect for the environment
· Treat others, including dogs, the way you want to be treated – increase respect
On the whole we have found all these factors relevant in our dog programme, although this is difficult to assess due to language barriers, education levels, our lack of expertise in this area and lack of time.
We have found the Programme to be beneficial to all those who participate and have not seen any negative effects. The inmates often begin as reserved, angry and sullen and by the end of the course (about 10 months) they are more outgoing, express how they’re feeling and offer hugs on arrival for us and our dogs. They grow to love our dogs and sometimes talk to them like they’re children.
Last year one of our students died in a fire in the prison, which was a huge emotional upheaval for all of us. Later, during Janet’s last days, they all wrote letters to her, which she read just before she died. The next couple of sessions we all cried and held each other whenever Janet’s name was mentioned. Through all the trauma of the year, we all grew emotionally.
Our opinions about our students’ progress are sometimes requested by the Parole Board. All of last year’s students have either been released, some on parole, or are soon due for release.
FUTURE PLANS
According to Winter (1996) closure of programmes such as this are contributed to the following causes:
Emphasis on security
Key staff member leaves
High turnover of staff
Prisoners are transferred to other establishments
One or two individuals run the programme and it flounders when they leave
All of these factors have had an impact on us, sometimes a few at once, so the motivation to continue is often extremely weak. Because of this, we would welcome more support from the public and other enthusiastic and knowledgeable people from the dog world.
If the Programme survives, and I hope it does, then my vision for the future is to broaden it to include:
Grooming course: For this we would need someone who is qualified to teach grooming and has the time and motivation to devote to the project.
Training rescue dogs for re-homing: This would be a visiting programme where a few dogs are brought for basic training each week, for a set number of weeks.
Cell dog programme: This would be a live-in programme requiring single cells and a lot more involvement from the rescue organization, the veterinary community and the public.
Permission to print this literature and photographs of offenders was kindly given by Pollsmoor Correctional Facility authorities. Names have been withheld to protect the guilty.
References:
* The Prison Speaks – Men’s Voices / South African Jails by Heather Parker Lewis 2003
* Literature Review – Pet Facilitated Therapy in Correctional Institutions – Office of the Deputy Commissioner for Women Correctional Service of Canada 1998
www.csc-scc.gc.ca/text/prgrm/fsw/pet/pet_e.shtml
* Humanizing Prisons with Animals: A Closer Look at "Cell Dogs" and Horse Programs in Correctional Institutions by Christiane Deaton 2005
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa4111/is_200503/ai_n13634711
Many people are puzzled as to why anyone would want to help criminals in prison. Prisons are there to punish, to deter others and to protect society, so why should we make prisoners "feel good" at all? I forgot the last reason for prisons - to REHABILITATE. That’s why they’re called "Correctional Facilities". This last point is often forgotten by the general public, who also don’t think about the fact that most prisoners (even murderers and rapists) will be released back into our society at some stage.
JANET SANDELL’S LEGACY
When I met Janet Sandell in 2001 she was a student of the Ethology course, a social anthropologist in her sixties and undergoing treatment for cancer, which resulted in her losing a leg. She and I had a common desire: to work at Pollsmoor Prison with dogs. We did the Animal Assisted Activities course together and started doing school and hospital humane education visits, and a few one-off sessions at Pollsmoor (in the juvenile sections: sentenced, unsentenced, women’s and men’s). Pollsmoor has about 8000 prisoners and about 1000 staff. Rehabilitation is not very successful as about 90% of prisoners are repeat offenders, some having served sentences four or five times, according to Heather Parker Lewis, a social worker who has worked there and done research for many years.
We were inspired by the movie "Beyond These Walls", about Sister Pauline Quinn, a Dominican nun who started a prison dog training programme in the USA in the early 1980s. We also read and watched whatever we could about South African prisons and dog programmes around the world (e.g. Cell Dogs on Animal Planet). There are now many prison animal programmes in such countries as Canada, England, Scotland, Australia, Belgium and Italy. Two other animal programmes are run at Pollsmoor: The Bird Project and the Cat Project. Our programme started off as a "visiting programme" and still is, although Janet’s dream was for it to develop into a "Cell Dogs" type programme, where the dogs live in the cells.
Janet was the communication expert, driving force and personality behind our programme, while I did most of the administration and syllabus work, marked assignments, and so on. In 2004 we were invited by the Rehabilitation Officer in the Women’s Section to begin the year with our first group of juvenile women (under 20 years old) doing a planned course, with written tasks and tests. Our aim was to educate them about dogs (and other animals to a lesser degree), provide them with some basic skills for life after prison (in their homes, communities or even jobs), but most of all to inspire compassion, improve attitudes and develop respect for all life. Each year we began with a new group of inmates and gradually adapted and honed the course.
We wanted the Pollsmoor Dog Programme to be beneficial to inmates (not only our students, but all prisoners at Pollsmoor), warders (whose lives could be made a little easier), facilitators (voluntary dog owners who are necessary for the course) and the community (who would benefit by having less crime, hopefully). If we could change the life of only one prisoner each year, Janet and I agreed, this would be enough.
PRACTICALITIES AT POLLSMOOR
Prisoners are called "Offenders" at Pollsmoor Correctional Facility: The Rehabilitation Officer selects the candidates, based on her own criteria. Some of the challenges in the past have been drugs (particularly smoking marijuana); commitment (a high dropout rate); education levels (often lower than Std 4) and language barriers. Janet was able to speak English, Afrikaans and Xhosa fluently, but the rest of us are not so fortunate. Often the prisoners speak a mixed language of Cape Flats Afrikaans, Xhosa and English, with prison jargon thrown in, so it takes some "tuning in". Recently there is a rule of no smoking allowed in the prison buildings, which makes it easier to control the dagga smoking. If we suspect a student of being on drugs we will warn her that it isn’t allowed on the course. They either drop out or stop the drugs, as far as we can tell. Self-mutilation (or cutting) is a problem that I have noticed recently in some inmates. Although we do interview each inmate before they join the Programme, we never ask what crime they are in for. This is for many reasons. Firstly, they may not be honest. Secondly, they may not want the other prisoners to know, perhaps for safety reasons. Thirdly, we do not want to judge them according to their "mistakes", but give each student the respect she deserves as a human being, without labelling her.
Warders are known as "Members" at Pollsmoor and without them this programme would not have got off the ground. We have had some wonderful cooperation in the past and hope to continue to do so. Programmes such as this can be a "means to increase staff morale by decreasing stress levels, increasing a sense of play and their sense of working as a team, and giving them a renewed sense of interest in their work and in their clients." (Carmack, 1989) However, one needs to get the full cooperation and support from all the staff for the programme to succeed and this has not always been easy, due to fear and/or dislike of dogs, among other things. Space has always been a problem as Pollsmoor is overcrowded and cannot afford to devote a space for a programme that operates for one hour a week.
Security, as one can imagine, is a big issue and one that seems inconsistent at Pollsmoor. Sometimes we are allowed in without any questions and sometimes the security is so strict that we have been turned away. New systems have recently been installed: wheel spikes, electric gates, etc. This means that it can take over half an hour to get into the Women’s Section. Health can also be a risk. For example there was an outbreak of tuberculosis and one of our students was being treated for it. Generally, however, the level of hygiene and health is excellent as far as we can detect. As for our own safety, we have always been treated with the utmost respect and never felt in any danger, even when left alone in cells without warders, although we were sometimes exposed to graphic language, crude behaviour and nudity, as one would expect in a prison. A sense of humour is essential!
Funding: Although we are predominantly self-funded, Hills pet food kindly sponsors the Programme to some extent, providing gifts and prizes for both the inmates and the volunteers. We also receive various food and other sponsorships for the graduation ceremony from various private individuals and companies. We have had personalities like Charmaine Noy contributing to our ceremonies without pay.
Facilitators and dogs: Weare called "Service Providers" at Pollsmoor and we are all volunteers who have committed ourselves to one morning a week at Pollsmoor. This is not for the faint-hearted and takes courage and patience, as well as an ability to be non-judgmental and show compassion for all human beings, no matter what they have done. For some volunteers this has been a life-changing experience. Most of the volunteers have at least one dog that they bring along and these are also very special dogs. They need to be basically trained, but this isn’t the most important aspect. The dogs need to be "bomb proof" - in other words able to cope with the unpredictable noises, smells and human behaviours that occur in a prison environment. We ONLY use positive training methods on our dogs and do not shout at them or even use a check collar. Because we are trying to teach compassion in an environment that is mostly punishment and fear driven, this is most crucial. We have to practice what we preach.
The facilitators sign an agreement to this effect and in order to comply with the prison’s rules.
Heather Parker Lewis says: "Facilitators should be punctual and reliable and never be absent without an excellent reason. Flexibility is essential, patience of the essence and whatever happens in there is your responsibility. But the most important quality needed is patience. Be prepared to wait. Time has no meaning in prison. Just don’t go in there if you have a plumped up ego!".
COURSE CONTENT
The students must complete 10 tasks, one written exam and one practical test in order to receive a certificate of completion.
Practical skills:
There are three aspects to the practical side of the course: handling, training and games. Often these are combined in one or two exercises or games. Handling includes very basic grooming and examining the dogs. Training is reward-based as the students learn to handle trained dogs and teach old dogs new tricks. Clicker training is explained and demonstrated, but we found it too technical to teach under the circumstances. Games with the dogs are always fun: e.g. races, blindfold games or musical sits. These develop the ability to play, trust, cooperate and compete in a friendly way. They often end up in fits of hysterical laughter. The students are also rewarded with small sweets, flowers, stickers or toiletry samples.
Written tasks and worksheets:
These are made up from various sources. As well as making use of our own knowledge, the Humane Education Trust and various animal rescue organizations (e.g. SASHA) also provide us with material to use.
Attitude assessment: As well as assessing each individual’s knowledge and skills, we have also implemented an attitude test this year in order to assess their attitudes towards dogs, animals in general and our course in particular. No marks are awarded for this.
We welcome input from other programmes and professionals. Recently we had a visit from Aymeline de Cartier from Belguim. We have also had some other visitors such as Fred Donaldson (USA) and Linda Stocks-Copley who teach adults how to play.
HOW SUCCESSFUL IS THE POLLSMOOR DOG PROGRAMME?
There have been no empirically based studies of any dog programmes, as far as I can find, but there are many positive anecdotal and qualitative assessments. According to overseas research (Canada 1998) prison animal programmes help inmates to, some in their own words:
· Learn job skills
· Improve knowledge about dogs, animals and people get an opportunity to accomplish goals
· Set and pursue other goals
· Increase self confidence and self esteem
· Be proud of themselves and the dogs
· Understand themselves better
· Cooperate with others
· Feel cared for and caring
· Freely reciprocate love with another living being
· Express feelings more often
· Deal with anger more maturely
· Communicate with inmates better
· Break the race and other barriers
· Make friends
· Be less lonely
· Become more relaxed and less defensive
· Have a positive outlook on life
· Decrease depression
· Interact better with staff
· Be responsible for a living thing, themselves and others
· Be better tempered
· Release emotions constructively
· Learn self discipline
· Be more patient
· Learn respect for the environment
· Treat others, including dogs, the way you want to be treated – increase respect
On the whole we have found all these factors relevant in our dog programme, although this is difficult to assess due to language barriers, education levels, our lack of expertise in this area and lack of time.
We have found the Programme to be beneficial to all those who participate and have not seen any negative effects. The inmates often begin as reserved, angry and sullen and by the end of the course (about 10 months) they are more outgoing, express how they’re feeling and offer hugs on arrival for us and our dogs. They grow to love our dogs and sometimes talk to them like they’re children.
Last year one of our students died in a fire in the prison, which was a huge emotional upheaval for all of us. Later, during Janet’s last days, they all wrote letters to her, which she read just before she died. The next couple of sessions we all cried and held each other whenever Janet’s name was mentioned. Through all the trauma of the year, we all grew emotionally.
Our opinions about our students’ progress are sometimes requested by the Parole Board. All of last year’s students have either been released, some on parole, or are soon due for release.
FUTURE PLANS
According to Winter (1996) closure of programmes such as this are contributed to the following causes:
Emphasis on security
Key staff member leaves
High turnover of staff
Prisoners are transferred to other establishments
One or two individuals run the programme and it flounders when they leave
All of these factors have had an impact on us, sometimes a few at once, so the motivation to continue is often extremely weak. Because of this, we would welcome more support from the public and other enthusiastic and knowledgeable people from the dog world.
If the Programme survives, and I hope it does, then my vision for the future is to broaden it to include:
Grooming course: For this we would need someone who is qualified to teach grooming and has the time and motivation to devote to the project.
Training rescue dogs for re-homing: This would be a visiting programme where a few dogs are brought for basic training each week, for a set number of weeks.
Cell dog programme: This would be a live-in programme requiring single cells and a lot more involvement from the rescue organization, the veterinary community and the public.
Permission to print this literature and photographs of offenders was kindly given by Pollsmoor Correctional Facility authorities. Names have been withheld to protect the guilty.
References:
* The Prison Speaks – Men’s Voices / South African Jails by Heather Parker Lewis 2003
* Literature Review – Pet Facilitated Therapy in Correctional Institutions – Office of the Deputy Commissioner for Women Correctional Service of Canada 1998
www.csc-scc.gc.ca/text/prgrm/fsw/pet/pet_e.shtml
* Humanizing Prisons with Animals: A Closer Look at "Cell Dogs" and Horse Programs in Correctional Institutions by Christiane Deaton 2005
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa4111/is_200503/ai_n13634711
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