Parolees clean entrances to the Brakpan Cemetery
The Department of Correctional Services hopes these continued clean-up operations will inspire residents to create their own projects.
Thirty parolees and probationers helped clean the entrances to the Brakpan Cemetery last Wednesday as part of an initiative by the Department of Correctional Services (DCS).
Alice Dhlamini, with DCS, has frequent operations using petty criminals and non-violent offenders on probation or parole to contribute to the community.
The Brakpan Herald reported in April about parolees and probationers cleaning the sidewalks of the two main roads in Brakpan, Prince George Avenue and Voortrekker Road. (New community service collab brings hope).
The former criminals also visit schools to help with maintenance projects or sometimes install sports and recreation gear for the children and do crime prevention talks.
Most recently, they tackled the sidewalk and entrances of the Brakpan Cemetery on Prince George Avenue. They picked up rubbish, cut the grass, cleared weeds on the pavement, cut down invasive shrubs, and raked and swept it all together.
They loaded the plants, dirt, rubbish and weeds into bags and then put them onto an Ekurhuleni skip garbage truck for proper disposal.
CPF chairperson Tinus Jordaan brought water for the parolees, and the workers at the cemetery organised food for the volunteers.
Some EFF members and the West African Freedom Fighters stopped by to help, as did members of the South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) and the South African National Civic Organisation (Sanco).
The parolees and probationers were not shy to work hard.
“That is what I love about my people. When we get to work, we work,” said Dhlamini.
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The CoE employs a few ex-convicts to help them return to society, but there are too many. Dhlamini hopes the continued community service will prove to business owners in town that the volunteers are eager to work and rejoin society.
“If a business wants to hire them, I can vouch for them, and then if they mess up, we can take care of it, but if they don’t get embraced by society and absorbed into the economy, they will just return to crime,” she explained.
All the parolees and probationers who are a part of this programme were petty criminals. No violent criminals like rapists, murderers or violent robbers take part.
According to Dhlamini, most stole or committed crimes to survive. If they could be re-absorbed into society and allowed to become economically secure, they would not only refrain from crime but positively contribute toward society. Many are qualified tradesmen who just want an opportunity to work.
