Positive Behaviour Management Manual Launched for Juvenile Correctional Facilities

The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) has launched a Positive Behaviour Management Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) Manual, as a crucial step towards converting juvenile correctional facilities into places of transformation.

With a focus on rehabilitation rather than punishment, the SOP outlines consistent, evidence-based strategies for promoting positive behaviours and addressing challenging ones, ensuring a safe and supportive environment for everyone.

It outlines procedures to respond to specific disruptive behaviours and situations, proactive strategies to prevent challenging behaviours from occurring in the first place, measures to resolve conflicts peacefully, and how to effectively use positive reinforcement techniques.

Speaking at the launch of the manual on Thursday (March 13), at the Rio Cobre Juvenile Correctional Centre in Spanish Town, St. Catherine, Minister of State in the National Security Ministry, Hon. Juliet Cuthbert-Flynn, said the document “gives us a clear, structured approach to discipline”.

“It is a modern approach and one that does not rely on archaic, punitive measures, but, instead, promotes positive reinforcement and guidance. This is about shaping behaviour, not simply controlling behaviour,” she said.

The State Minister thanked the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for its partnership and support in the development of the manual, which she noted, aligns directly with Goal 3 of the National Correctional Servies Policy (NCSP) Green Paper, which aims to strengthen rehabilitation services offered to offender clients.

Contending that punishment alone does not reduce reoffending, she said that the focus must be on rehabilitation, and with the standard of operation manual, the Administration is taking another firm step towards “meaningful, lasting change”.

“Our priority has always been to create a system that is fair, rehabilitative and results-driven. That is why we are reviewing key legislation, including the Child Diversion Act, to establish an improved system for our children. This will ensure that juvenile offenders have structured opportunities for reintegration, rather than being left to navigate the system indefinitely,” Mrs. Cuthbert-Flynn said.

“ This manual sets the tone for the future of our entire correctional system, including adult facilities. If we can reshape how we approach rehabilitation for young offenders, it will influence broader correctional policies and practices. The shift from punishment to positive behaviour reinforcement is not just a mere, small adjustment; it represents a fundamental rethinking of how we view justice and rehabilitation in Jamaica,” she noted further.