The LDS delegation during their visit to Commissioner Lt. Col Ifereimi Vasu today.

A delegation of Latter Day Saints church leaders today called on the Commissioner of Corrections Lieutenant Colonel Ifereimi Vasu and offered support for the Fiji Corrections Service.

Auckland-based LDS Pacific Welfare manager Steven Stebbings, LDS Pacific Employment manager Jay Seymour and Fiji-based LDS Welfare manager Jackson Yee were briefed by the FCS Director Corporate Services, Peniasi Kunatuba on the work of the Corrections department.

“In our efforts to ensure that inmates are fully rehabilitated upon their release, we are in need of specialized treatment to address the offending behavior for which they came in for.

“It is important we ensure that the right type of treatment is given. There is expertise that is available out there but we don’t have the resources and we also need special training for our people,” Mr Kunatuba said.

The delegation was told that the Yellow Ribbon concept which was adopted from Singapore in 2007 has been well received in Fiji.

“Twelve out of the 14 provinces in the country have visited their sons and daughters who have been incarcerated at our correction centres,” Mr Kunatuba explained.

That he said, is an indication of the level of support of the Yellow Ribbon programme from the community.

The Corrections Act 2006 formalises the shift from containment, which has long been a traditional practice, to one of corrections, which the FCS is focusing on now.

“There is a huge transformation going on within the department, we have a number of inmates on job placement out in the community.

“We are also venturing now into commercialisation with our existing prison industries, that is the piggery, poultry, joinery, tailoring, root crops and vegetables,” he said.

The delegation informed Lt. Col Vasu that they would certainly look at opportunities for assistance in the future.

“The greatest stumbling block is the mindset that ex-offenders have about themselves when they are released. But they are actually good people and it is great to see that the FCS is addressing this,” Mr Seymour said.

“It is exciting to hear about the enterprise approach and it is something that inmates can look forward to continuing when they are released,” he added.

Mr Stebbing said the delegation was grateful to hear first-hand about the transformation in the work of the FCS. 

www.corrections.org.fj