Participants at the Conflict & Dialogue workshop at the PTC College in Nasese.

It is a challenge for corrections officers to be able to understand the type of offence committed by a person when he or she has been convicted, a workshop on Conflict Analysis and Dialogue heard this morning.

The comment was made by Divisional Sergeant Major, Central/Eastern A/COA Ledua Guyaco.

“It is a great challenge for us to try and understand the reasons they come into our institutions. Our institutions are there to contain and now rehabilitation programmes have been implemented for the inmates,” A/COA Guyaco said.

He highlighted an incident where an inmate was wrongfully charged when he actually admitted in court to something totally different.

This wrongful conviction he said, could have been avoided if the police prosecutors had taken time to listen and understand him.

These were just some of the many personal experiences shared among the participants to enable them to effectively apply dialogue tools when faced with conflict situations at work.

COB Tome Goneqea of the Nasinu Corrections Centre also shared his experience when mobile phones are normally found on serving inmates.

Participants were told to ponder on what method or approach would be the most effective way to intervene in a conflict scenario as such.

COC Luke Nawai from the Ba Corrections Centre said conflicts normally arose when corrections officers failed to understand the needs of inmates.

Sometimes, he said conflicts would also arise between inmates themselves because of the lack of understanding on what each of them needed.

Some of the objectives of the week-long course include understanding the importance of effective styles in peace-building conflict analysis, learning theories, dynamics and dimensions and dialogue as a means to deeper ones’ understanding to conflicts.

The course, which is being attended by police, military and corrections personnel, is being facilitated by the Pacific Centre for Peace-building (PCP).

PCP director Koila Costello-Olsson said this is the second year they are running such a seminar for members of the disciplined forces.

Corrections officers at the training are A/CCO Rafaele Tagivetaua, A/PCO Kelera Johns, A/COA Ledua Guyaco, A/COA Kalivati Rakayalo, COB Esther Veiwili, COB Tome Goneqea, COC Jokapeti Dalia, COC Luke Nawai and COC Samisoni Lebaivalu. 


www.corrections.org.fj