Rhodesia Prison Service
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Federal Prison Service
- Southern Rhodesia Prison Service
 The insignia of the Rhodesia Prison Service, featuring the Zimbabwe Bird. | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1965 |
| Preceding agencies |
|
| Dissolved | 1980 |
| Superseding agency | |
| Headquarters | Salisbury |
| Motto | Tenax et Justus Latin: "Just and Tenacious" |
The Rhodesia Prison Service (RPS) was a law enforcement agency of Rhodesia. A subdivision of the Rhodesian Security Forces, it was responsible for the administration of the Rhodesian prison system. Established in 1954 as the Southern Rhodesia Prison Department and incorporated into the federal prison service of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, it continued as the prison service of independent Rhodesia during the UDI period. Upon Zimbabwe's independence in 1980, it was dissolved and superseded by the Zimbabwe Prison Services.
The RPS was led by the director of prisons, who was assisted by a deputy director and an assistant director. The first director of prisons was David Cameron in 1954, and the final officeholder was Frank Leslie Patch, serving from 1968 to 1980.
Prior to 1954, prisons in Southern Rhodesia were administered by the Southern Rhodesia Prison Department (SRPD).[1] On 30 November 1954, the Federal Assembly of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland passed the Prisons Department Act (49/1954), which incorporated the SRPD into the Federal Prison Service (FPS), effective 1 December 1954.[2] This arrangement continued until December 1963, when the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland dissolved and autonomy was returned to the individual colonies of Southern Rhodesia, Northern Rhodesia, and Nyasaland, the latter two of which gained independence in 1964 as Zambia and Malawi, respectively. From 1963, the service continued as the Southern Rhodesia Prison Service (SRPS).[1] In 1965, shortly before Rhodesia's unilateral declaration of independence from the United Kingdom, the SRPS began using the name Rhodesia Prison Service.[1]
In 1980, upon Zimbabwe's independence, the RPS was dissolved and superseded by the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service.