Recidivism and Drugs              

Crime has became a scourge that defines this beautiful country of South Africa. In Africa, South Africa is the number one country with the highest number of incarcerated offenders.Offenders who have committed worst crimes of cruelty.

Talking to numerous ex- offenders who did not want to be mentioned on this Blog it has been very clear that almost 75% of people who are incarcerated or who are jail do not want to return to their previous lives. They all plan to go out and become good law abiding citizens. Ex- offenders plan to live a well respected life on the outside with a steady legal income.

Ex- offenders when given parole they want to do go when they go out and start seeking work. Some families welcome their long lost loved ones with open hands and others do not welcome them. As a result of this ex-offenders end up having not many choices to survive but go back to their previous lives. Others are able to resist this temptation of going back to their old criminal ways and seek other ways to survive.

Our communities are the key stake holders in helping ex-offenders with their final stages of rehabilitation and in helping them fit into the societies but the ex-offenders feel that the communities reject them. As a result of rejection they go and do what they know best and that is Drugs and Crime.

Ex-offenders say after being rejected they smoke drugs which make them feel as if they do not need the society in order to live and start to create their own world of illusion and in that world everything is perfect they are the rulers of their world and emotions. Since drugs are expensive and they do not work they start to make drastic and dangerous measures, such as crime.

These actions result in ex-offenders going back to jail and are forced to become jail birds.