ZAMBIA CORRECTIONAL SERVICE ACT

to continue the existence of the Zambia Prisons Service and rename it as the Zambia Correctional Service and redefine its functions; provide for the establishment, management and control of prisons and correctional centres; provide for the correction and reformation of inmates; provide for extension services; provide for aftercare orders; establish the National Parole Board and provide for its functions; domesticate the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for Treatment of Prisoners; repeal and replace the Prisons Act, 1965; and provide for matters connected with, or incidental to, the foregoing.

[21st January, 2022]

Act 37 of 2021,

SI 11 of 2022.

PART I
PRELIMINARY PROVISIONS

1. Short title

This Act may be cited as the Zambia Correctional Service Act.

2. Interpretation

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires-

"appellant inmate" means a convicted criminal inmate who is detained in a prison or correctional centre as a result of a conviction which is the subject-matter of an appeal;

"approved school" has the meaning assigned to the word in the Juveniles Act;

"authorised officer" means an officer who is a member of the Defence Force, national security service and an investigative authority authorised for the purposes of this Act;

"child" has the meaning assigned to the word in the Constitution;

"child in conflict with the law" means a child in respect of whom court proceedings are contemplated or instituted under any written law;

"circumstantial child" means a child under the age of four years who is born in a prison or brought in a prison or correctional centre, by virtue of the mother's incarceration;

"civil inmate" means an inmate other than a criminal inmate from non-criminal processes including failure to pay debts;

"Commission" means the Zambia Correctional Service Commission established under the Constitution;

"Commissioner" means a person appointed as Commissioner under section 6;

"Commissioner-General" means a person appointed as Commissioner-General under section 6;

"Commissioner of Social Welfare" means the Commissioner of Social Welfare appointed under the Juveniles Act;

"convicted criminal inmate" means a criminal inmate who is under sentence of a court or court-martial;

"correctional centre" means a correctional centre declared under section 10;

"correctional officer" means a person appointed as a correctional officer under section 7;

"criminal inmate" means a person duly committed into custody under a writ, warrant or order of a court exercising criminal jurisdiction or by order of a court-martial;

"Deputy Commissioner-General" means a person appointed as Deputy Commissioner-General under section 6;

"designated health facility" means a facility designated for the admission, treatment, care, rehabilitation and palliative service to a forensic patient under the Mental Health Act, 2019;

"discharged inmate" means a person who is lawfully released from a prison or correctional centre;

"forensic mental patient" has the meaning assigned to the word in the Mental Health Act, 2019;

"health practitioner" has the meaning assigned to the word in the Health Professions Act, 2009;

"inmate" means a person, whether convicted or not, in custody or under detention in a prison or correctional centre;

"inspector" means a person appointed as an inspector under section 96;

"junior officer" means a correctional officer of a rank of Chief Inspector or inspector;

"legal aid" has the meaning assigned to the word in the Legal Aid Act, 2021;

"legal aid service provider" has the meaning assigned to the word in the Legal Aid Act, 2021;

"major offence" means an offence which is provided as a major offence under section 68;

"mechanical restraint" means restraint by the use of handcuffs, leg irons, straight jacket, or any other form of restraint prescribed by the Minister;

"minor offence" means an offence which is provided as a minor offence under section 66;

"officer-in-charge" means a correctional officer appointed as an officer-in-charge under section 8;

"parole" means the conditional release of a convicted inmate from a prison or correctional centre, to serve the remainder of sentence in the community under supervision;

"Parole Board" means the National Parole Board continued under section 80;

"probation officer" means a probation officer appointed under the Probation of Offenders Act;

"prohibited article" means an article whose introduction or removal into or out of a prison or correctional centre is prohibited under this Act;

"prison" means a prison declared under section 10;

"reformatory school" has the meaning assigned to the words in the Juveniles Act;

"rehabilitation programme" means a programme designed for the treatment and correction of an inmate;

"repealed Act" means the Prisons Act, 1965;

"Service" means the Zambia Correctional Service established under the Constitution;

"subordinate officer" means a correctional officer of the rank of Sub-Inspector and below;

"trade union" has the meaning assigned to the word in the Industrial and Labour Relations Act;

"unconvicted inmate" means a person, who is not a convicted inmate, but committed to custody under a writ, warrant or order of a court or an order of detention issued by a person authorised by any written law or by order of a court-martial;

"visiting justice" includes a human rights officer and magistrate who visit a prison or correctional centre; and

"weapon" includes a firearm, baton, tear smoke or other instrument as prescribed.

3. Purposes of sentence of imprisonment

The purposes of a sentence of imprisonment or similar measures deprivative of a person's liberty are primarily to-

(a) protect against crime and to reduce recidivism; and

(b) ensure, as far as possible, the reintegration of an inmate into society on discharge through provision of programmes in a prison or correctional centre.

4. Guiding principles

(1) The Service shall be guided by the following principles-

(a) respect for inherent dignity and value of human beings;

(b) use of the least restrictive measures consistent with the protection of society, correctional officers and inmates;

(d) ensuring the effective delivery of programmes to inmates including correctional, educational, vocational training and volunteer programmes, progressively;

(e) retention of the rights of citizens, except those that are as a consequence of the lawful sentence and restriction of liberty;

(f) correctional decisions are made in a forthright and fair manner, with access by an inmate to an effective grievance procedure;

(g) correctional policies, programmes and practices respect gender, ethnic, cultural and religious linguistic differences, and are responsive to special needs of women, persons with disabilities, the aged, children and persons requiring mental health care;

(h) obedience to discipline and rules relating to work release, parole, statutory release and aftercare; and

(i) full and effective access to prison or correctional centre facilities on an equitable basis by persons with disabilities.

PART II
ADMINISTRATION OF SERVICES

5. Functions of Service

(1) The Service is, in addition to the functions under the Constitution, responsible for the management and control of prisons and correctional centres.

(2) The Second Schedule applies to the Service.

6. Commissioner-General, Deputy Commissioner-General and Commissioner

(1) The President shall appoint the Commissioner-General and such number of Deputy Commissioner-Generals and Commissioners of the Service.

(2) The Commissioner-General is responsible for the day-to-day administration of the Service.

(3) Where the Commissioner-General is absent from the Republic or is unable to perform the functions of office due to illness or other reason, a Deputy Commissioner-General shall act as Commissioner-General.

7. Appointment of correctional officer

(1) The Commission shall appoint as public officers, correctional officers of the rank of Deputy Commissioners and below as may be necessary for the performance of functions under this Act.

(2) A rank in the Service is as prescribed.

8. Officer-in-charge

(1) The Commission shall, in consultation with the Commissioner-General, appoint an officer-in-charge of a prison or correctional centre.

(2) The functions of an officer-in-charge are to-

(a) supervise and control matters in connection with a prison or correctional centre to which the officer-in-charge is appointed;

(b) keep or cause to be kept records that the Commissioner-General may determine;

(d) ensure that correctional officers and inmates under the control of the officer-in-charge observe the provisions of this Act and any directions and orders made in accordance with this Act;

(e) ensure the safe custody of warrants;

(f) ensure the safe custody of weapons, accoutrements, clothing and other public stores and foodstuffs issued and delivered for use by the prison or correctional centre;

(g) oversee and supervise correctional officers and inmates under the control of the officer-in-charge;

(h) account for public money held for the purposes of that prison or correctional centre;

(i) ensure that circumstantial children receive the necessary vaccines; and

(j) secure and maintain valuables, money, articles of clothing and other property belonging to inmates entrusted to the officer-in-charge, and account for the loss or damage, if any.

9. Correctional centre where officer-in-charge is not appointed

(1) The Commissioner-General may, where an officer-in-charge has not been appointed to a prison or correctional centre, designate a correctional officer to be in-charge of that prison or correctional centre.

(2) A correctional officer shall perform the functions under section 8, subject to the directions imposed by the Commissioner-General.

PART III
DECLARATION AND CONTROL OF PRISONS AND CORRECTIONAL CENTRES

10. Declaration of prison or correctional centre

(1) The Minister may, by notice in the Gazette, declare a building, enclosure or place, or any part of a building enclosure or place, to be a prison or correctional centre.

(2) A prison or correctional centre shall provide facilities for persons with disabilities in accordance with the relevant written laws, and post natal care of female inmates.

11. Temporary prison or correctional centre

Subject to section 10, the Commissioner-General may establish a temporary prison or correctional centre in any building, enclosure or place, or part of a building, enclosure or place where-

(a) the Commissioner-General considers that the number of inmates in any prison or correctional centre is greater than the capacity of the prison or correctional centre and that it is not convenient to transfer the excess number to another prison or correctional centre; or

(b) temporary shelter or safe custody of inmates is required in the event of an outbreak of an epidemic disease within the prison or correctional centre.

12. Deployment of correctional officers to prison or correctional centre

(1) A male correctional officer may be deployed to work in a female prison or correctional centre, or with female inmates, except that the female inmates shall be in the company of a female correctional officer.

(2) A female correctional officer may be deployed to work in male prison or correctional centre, or with male inmates, except that the male inmates shall be in the company of a male correctional officer.

PART IV
CORRECTIONAL HEALTH SERVICE

13. Director of Correctional Health Services

(1) The Commission shall appoint as public officers, the Director responsible for providing and administering health care services to a prison or correctional centre and other officers as the Commission shall consider necessary.

(2) The Director appointed under sub-section (1) is responsible for the-

(a) day-to-day administration of health care services to a prison or correctional centre; and

(b) supervise a health practitioner appointed under section 14.

14. Appointment of health practitioner

(1) The Commission shall, in consultation with the ministry responsible for health, appoint a health practitioner for a prison or correctional centre as is necessary for the provision of health care to the inmates and correctional officers at that prison or correctional centre.

(2) Subject to this Act, a health practitioner appointed under sub-section (1) shall visit a prison or correctional centre daily, where practicable, or when called on by an officer-in-charge.

(3) A health practitioner shall, where it appears that an inmate requires treatment on medical or health grounds, submit a report to the officer-in-charge.

(4) A public officer appointed as a health practitioner by the Commission in a district shall, in the absence of a health practitioner appointed under sub-section (1), provide health care services to inmates and correctional officers at a prison or correctional centre in that district, as prescribed.

15. Medical inspection

(1) A health practitioner shall carry out medical examination of an inmate on admission to, and before discharge from, a prison or correctional centre, and shall perform other duties as prescribed.

(2) An officer-in-charge shall, where an inmate has not been examined by a health practitioner on admission to a prison or correctional centre, be kept apart from other inmates.

16. Observation of inmate charged with capital offence

A health practitioner shall, on each visit to a prison or correctional centre, examine and observe the mental condition of an inmate under a sentence of death or charged with a capital offence, and submit a report to the officer-in-charge as prescribed.

17. Examination of inmate in separate confinement or in health facility

A health practitioner shall ensure that an inmate under a sentence of death, or charged with a capital offence, or in separate confinement, or in a health facility in prison, is medically examined each day on which the health practitioner visits the prison or correctional centre.

18. Powers of the officer-in-charge to order examination of inmate

An officer-in-charge may order an inmate to submit oneself to medical examination and treatment as often as that officer-in-charge considers necessary.

19. Death of inmate

A health practitioner shall keep and maintain a register of the death of an inmate, otherwise than by lawful execution, which shall include-

(a) the day on which the deceased inmate was sentenced;

(b) the day on which the deceased inmate was admitted to a prison or correctional centre;

(c) the day on which the deceased inmate first complained of illness, or was observed to be ill, the labour, if any, on which the inmate was engaged in and the scale of that deceased inmate's diet on that day;

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