Some street children are deliberately committing crimes so they can return to the prison system for shelter and food, says Fiji Corrections Service Senior Communications Officer Jone Sigavou.

Sigavou says officers have seen the same young offenders cycling in and out of the system for years, many of whom come from broken homes where family, community, and church support structures have collapsed.

He says for some of these youths, life on the streets offers little security, and prison becomes a place of certainty.

“Some of them deliberately commit a crime so they can come and have a warm bed and free meals. When we release them, some families won’t take them back, so they return to the only place they feel they belong, the streets.”

He adds that the cycle of reoffending becomes routine, eventually creating “career criminals” who struggle to break away from street life.

Sigavou further adds that reintegration remains one of the service’s biggest challenges, as many offenders return to old habits because they cannot find stable support or income after release.

“We can go as far as to upskill them, but the onus is on them. We’ve successfully placed some back with their families, but many fall back into the cycle simply because nothing sustains them.”

The FCS works with faith-based organisations, NGOs, and government ministries to support reintegration, but Sigavou stresses that the issue requires a whole-of-nation approach.

He also raised concern over rising drug use and an increasing number of inmates testing positive for HIV, warning that these risks make it even more important to prevent vulnerable youths from returning to street life.

Sigavou says without stronger collaboration and long-term support systems, young offenders will continue to drift between the streets and prison, reoffending as a means of survival.

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