I Am An Ex-Convict, Accept Me: The Role Of The Society In Reintegration Of Ex-Convicts

“In 2012, 19,800 prisoners were admitted into lawful custody. This represents an

Increase rate of 6.5%. 7,022 of the prisoners admitted were convicts while 12,778 were remand prisoners.

The recidivism rate for the reviewing year was 4.5%.”- Ghana Prisons Service 2013 Annual Report.

I have had several interactions with some ex-offenders on social media, and these are people who are currently contributing to the GDP of the country but want the media to help sensitize the society on the need to accept ex-offenders reintegrate back in to the society.

The Ghana Prisons Service, before releasing an inmate psyches he or she up to brace up for the new world awaiting him ,The rest of the re-integration and reconciliation of a an ex-offender back into the society is a responsibility of the Prisons Service, Family, Church/Mosque and Community.

Family.
The family of a discharged ex-offender is always the first to receive him or her into the society. .An ex-offender will feel empty without a family showing readiness to accept them back into the family they belong.

Some families go the extend of refusing to accept relatives who have been discharged from prison, with the notion that, it’s a dent on their family image. An ex-offender’s first point of call when in prison or discharged is the immediate or extended family.

An ex-offender I spoke to, described to me how his father threatened to disown after his release from prison; it took the intervention of some prison officers who went to talk to the father on the need of accepting his son before anyone else will do so.

He now works with a very popular communications firm in Accra with his Advance certificate in ICT, he gained from prison.

The Church/Mosque.
Reintegration and reconciliation of an ex-offender cannot be successful without the church and Mosque being ruled out. It is the duty of the clergy to educate members on why its necessary to accept genuinely reformed and rehabilitated ex-offenders vack into the church. The church pr mosque should be the last place an ex-offender should be turned away.

If God accepts sinners and transform them, then the church and mosque must do same for ex-offenders.

Employers
Most inmates who are willing to learn a trade in of the prison facilities are taken through various employable skills development programmes, which equip them for jobs outside the prison walls.

Employers are entreated to consider employing some ex-offenders of good standing, by doing a thorough background checks with the prison facility he served his sentence, to make sure he has really been reformed.

‘Kofi’, a young man in his late 30s who served 2years in jail, had it very tough getting a job, after his potential employers got to know about him being an ex-offender. His plea to them to be considered fell on deaf ears when he told them he was only convicted for a civil case not a criminal one.

Another one too, I had a Messenger chat with wanted to know how he will be received by employers always answered yes to whether he is an ex-offender, and as I write, he has no job after being discharged over 3 years ago.

Stigmatization breeds recidivists.
The percentage in recidivism will continue to increase if the major stakeholders who are to receive and reconcile ex-offenders back into the community, show signs of stigmatization against ex-offenders.

Most of the re-offenders I talk to prefer the prison facility, where they feel a sense of belonging than to be stigmatized against by family and friends. The prison isn’t a comfortable place to be but have we asked ourselves why re-offenders prefer there than to have their freedom at home?

The writer is a Second Class Officer with the Manhyia Local Prison and can be contacted on [email protected]/0249542342.