How much punishment is enough: the criminal record as a death sentence

Abstract

Social reintegration studies posit that there is relentless and subtle governance in society that aims to exclude people with a criminal record from participating in the labour market. Generally speaking, the majority of these studies focus exclusively on ex-offenders who return home after successfully participating in higher education, while ignoring the effects of a criminal record, especially given the increasingly emerging cohort of people living with the stigma of, and discrimination against, a criminal record. Notwithstanding the myriad of challenges and complexities that ex offenders encounter when applying for admission to professional licensing bodies and/or employment, this study, situated in a qualitative paradigm, incorporated the Social Identity Theory (SIT) to explore and illuminate the lived experiences of six ex life-imprisonment offenders (ex-lifers) as they navigated South Africa‟s labour market in search of employment. To address the study‟s main research question, their views, perceptions and experiences regarding South Africa‟s labour market were considered with those of a human resource manager, the DCS‟s skills development director and various gatekeepers to the Law, Education, Social Work and Psychology professions as the study‟s primary sources of data. This framework served to guide the study‟s design achieved through social constructionism while adopting a phenomenological stance, intertwined with a qualitative policy document analysis methodology. Based on the study‟s findings, applications and admission to practise, including access to labour markets, are context-bound and subscribe to the “fit and proper” clause that functions as a “sieve” for assessing and identifying “defects” in character, thereby regulating the conditions that justify the admission and rejection of people with a criminal record. On a more positive note, the “dynamics of criminal records”, namely, the “nature and severity of the offence” committed, the “age and time of conviction”, and the “association between the job and/or training applied for” vary, as are the circumstances leading to each criminal record. Therefore, despite being portrayed as a “double-edged sword” with adverse implications for “concealment and non-disclosure”, by itself, a criminal record is not commensurate to automatic disqualification, since each criminal record is unique, and constructed entirely based on “individual merit”.

Sosiale herintegrasiestudies stel voor dat daar meedoënlose en subtiele bestuur in die samelewing is wat daarop gemik is om mense met 'n kriminele rekord uit te sluit van deelname aan die arbeidsmark. Oor die algemeen fokus die meerderheid van hierdie studies uitsluitlik op oud-oortreders wat huis toe terugkeer nadat hulle suksesvol aan hoër onderwys deelgeneem het, terwyl die gevolge van 'n kriminele rekord geïgnoreer word, veral gegewe die toenemend opkomende groep mense wat met die stigma van, en diskriminasie teen, „n kriminele rekord leef. Nieteenstaande die magdom uitdagings en kompleksiteite wat oud-oortreders teëkom wanneer hulle aansoek doen om toelating tot professionele registrasieliggame en/of indiensneming, het hierdie studie, geleë in 'n kwalitatiewe paradigma, die Sosiale Identiteitsteorie (SIT) geïnkorporeer om die geleefde ervarings van ses oud-lewenslange oortreders, terwyl hulle Suid-Afrika se arbeidsmark navigeer op soek na werk, te ondersoek. Om die studie se hoofnavorsingsvraag aan te spreek, is hul sienings, persepsies en ervarings rakende Suid-Afrika se arbeidsmark oorweeg asook dié van 'n menslikehulpbronbestuurder, die Departement van Korrektiewe Dienste se vaardigheidsontwikkelingsdirekteur en verskeie hekwagters tot die Regte-, Onderwys-, Maatskaplike werk- en Sielkunde-professies as die studie se primêre bronne van data. Hierdie raamwerk het gedien om die studie se ontwerp, wat deur middel van sosiale konstruksionisme bereik is, te rig, terwyl dit 'n fenomenologiese standpunt ingeneem het, verweef met 'n kwalitatiewe beleidsdokument ontledingsmetodologie. Gebaseer op die studie se bevindinge, is aansoeke en toelating tot praktisering, insluitend toegang tot arbeidsmarkte, konteksgebonde en onderskryf dit die "pas en behoorlik" klousule wat funksioneer as 'n "sif" vir die assessering en identifisering van "gebreke" in karakter, en daardeur regulering van die voorwaardes wat die toelating en verwerping van mense met 'n kriminele rekord regverdig. Op 'n meer positiewe noot, die "dinamika van kriminele rekords", naamlik die "aard en erns van die oortreding" wat gepleeg is, die "ouderdom en tyd van skuldigbevinding", en die "assosiasie tussen die werk en/of opleiding waarvoor aansoek gedoen word" verskil, asook die omstandighede wat tot elke kriminele rekord lei. Daarom, ten spyte daarvan dat dit as 'n "tweesnydende swaard" uitgebeeld word met nadelige implikasies vir "verberging en nie-openbaarmaking", op sigself, is 'n kriminele rekord nie in ooreenstemming met outomatiese diskwalifikasie nie, aangesien elke kriminele rekord uniek is, en geheel en al gebaseer op “individuele meriete”.

Ucwaningo lokubuyiselwa komphakathi emphakathini lubeka ukuthi kunokubusa okungapheli nokucashile emphakathini okuhlose ukukhipha abantu abanerekhodi lobugebengu ekubambeni iqhaza emakethe yezabasebenzi. Ngokuvamile, iningi lalezi zifundo ligxile kakhulu kulabo ababeyizephula-mthetho ababuyela emakhaya ngemva kokubamba iqhaza ngempumelelo emfundweni ephakeme, kuyilapho beshaya indiva imiphumela yerekhodi lobugebengu, ikakhulukazi uma kubhekwa ukukhula kwezinga labantu abaphila nokucwaswa, kwerekhodi lobugebengu. Naphezu kwezinkulungwane zezinselelo nobunzima labo ababeyizephula-mthetho abahlangabezana nazo lapho befaka izicelo zokwamukelwa ezinkampanini ezinikezela ngamalayisensi kanye nokuqashwa. Lolucwaningo olutholakala endaweni yezinga eliphakeme luhlanganise i-Social Identity Theory (SIT) ukuze luhlole futhi lukhanyise kabanzi ulwazi ngempilo yabayisithupha ababeboshelwe ubugebengu njengoba bezulazula emakethe yezabasebenzi eNingizimu Afrika befuna umsebenzi. Ukubhekana nombuzo obalulekile wocwaningo, imibono yabo, imibono kanye nolwazi lwabo mayelana nemakethe yezemisebenzi yaseNingizimu Afrika kucatshangelwe kanye naleyo yomphathi wezabasebenzi, umqondisi wokuthuthukiswa kwamakhono we-DCS kanye nabalinda amasango behlukene bomsebenzi wezoMthetho, wezeMfundo, ezeNhlalakahle nezeNgqondo njengezisebenzi imithombo eyinhloko yocwaningo olunzulu. Lolu hlaka lusebenze ukuqondisa umklamo wocwaningo ozuzwe ngokwakhiwa komphakathi ngenkathi kwamukelwa isimo se-phenomenological, esihlanganiswe nendlela yokuhlaziya idokhumenti yenqubomgomo ezingeni eliphambile. Isisekelo salokho okutholakele ngocwaningo, izicelo kanye nokwenza ngokusezingeni elamukelelayo ukufinyelela ezimakethe zabasebenzi, kuhambisana nengqikithi futhi kuhambisana nesigatshana “sokufaneleka nesifanele” esisebenza “njengesisefo” sokuhlola nokuhlonza “amaphutha” ngohlamvu, ngalokho. ukulawula izimo ezivumela ukwamukelwa kanye nokwaliwa kwabantu abanerekhodi lobugebengu. Okuhle nakakhulu ke, “ukushintshashintsha kwamarekhodi obugebengu”, okungukuthi, “imvelo nobukhulu becala” elenziwe, “iminyaka kanye nesikhathi sokugwetshwa”, kanye “nokuhlangana phakathi komsebenzi noma ukuqeqeshwa okufakele izicelo” ziyahluka, njengoba zinjalo izimo eziholela kurekhodi ngalinye lobugebengu. Ngakho-ke, naphezu kokuvezwa “njengenkemba ebukhali nhlangothi zombili” enemithelela emibi “yokufihla nokungadalulwa”, ngokwalo, irekhodi lobugebengu alihambisani nokuhoxiswa okuzenzakalelayo, njengoba irekhodi ngalinye lobugebengu lihlukile, futhi lakhiwe ngesisekelo esipheliwiseyo. "ukufaneleka komuntu ngamunye".