The role of ex-offenders in implementing the Community Work Programme as a crime and violence prevention initiative

Abstract

This article deals with the perceived impact of the Community Work Programme (CWP) (a statesponsored
job creation project) in preventing crime and violence in the townships of Ivory Park
and Orange Farm, South Africa. The focus of this article is on the role that ex-offenders who
work in the CWP play in the implementation of crime and violence prevention initiatives in
the two communities. Individual interviews and focus groups were conducted with ex-offenders
involved in the CWP. The thematic content analysis was used to analyse the data. Findings
show that the involvement of ex-offenders in the CWP was found to be a positive factor in
that it protected them from recidivism by providing them with job opportunities and facilitating
their re-integration into their communities. Ex-offenders described their involvement in the CWP
as an opportunity to apologise for the pain they had caused community members when they
committed crimes against them. It is against this background that the CWP is perceived to have
a positive impact through the community work done by ex-offenders who talk to the youth-at-risk
about the negative consequences of crime and violence, as well as of substance abuse.