When 'returning' to the community...

Stand up after falling

Captain Dang Quang Dao - Chief of My Son Commune Police told us on the way to Dang Van Quan's house in Hamlet 4: Unlike the time when he first returned to his hometown, when he had a somewhat inferiority complex that made him always live a closed life, now he is completely different...

Visiting the economic development model of Mr. Dang Van Quan's household, residing in hamlet 4. Photo: D.C.

Indeed, as Mr. Quan shared: “In the first days of returning to my hometown, I felt lost. Luckily, during that time, I received a lot of help and encouragement from my family and the community, which gradually helped me feel comfortable, no longer had any barriers and was “wholehearted” in my work.”

After serving a 27-month prison sentence for “Disturbing public order”, returning to his hometown, in addition to encouragement from his family, Mr. Quan received timely support from the government, local organizations and unions, from which he proactively accessed loan sources to develop the economy. Currently, with an area of ​​more than 45 hectares of acacia, each crop brings his family an income of more than 2 billion VND, allowing him to invest in livestock farming, fruit tree planting, etc. Not to mention, he also bid for a dam near his house to provide fishing services.

In addition, it is impossible not to mention the case of Mr. Dang Van The, residing in Hamlet 5, My Son Commune, who was sentenced to death for transporting illegal substances. However, with his tireless efforts and attempts to reform over a long period of time, Mr. The was pardoned by the competent authorities to the President for a life sentence.

After 18 years and 10 months of serving his sentence, in June 2016, Mr. The was pardoned and released from prison early. Recalling that time, Mr. The said that when he heard the news of his pardon, he was very happy, but as the day of his return approached, he became more and more worried and wondered where to start over to stabilize his life, as well as how to face his brothers, relatives, neighbors, etc.

Mr. Dang Van The. Photo: D.C.

At first, Mr. The was very shy about communicating, but thanks to the encouragement and help of his family, local authorities, and businesses in the area, he soon integrated and returned to life. He currently has a high income from his managerial role at a local transportation company. Notably, being selected to build an advanced model when implementing the model of "Joining hands to reform, orienting careers, and reintegrating into the community" in the locality, in addition to his role as an energy transmitter, Mr. The has proactively advised the Party Committee, authorities, organizations, and unions to organize visits, meetings, grasp thoughts and aspirations, as well as connect to find jobs for people in the same situation.

Replicating the model

Mr. Quan and Mr. The are two of the typical individuals participating in the model "Joining hands to transform and guide careers".reintegration into the community"Deployed by My Son commune. Captain Dang Quang Dao added: Due to the multifaceted impacts of society, the crime situation in My Son commune in recent years has remained complicated. Every year, the number of people who have completed their prison sentences increases. Through monitoring, currently in the commune, there are 27 people who have completed their prison sentences and are eligible for community reintegration in the locality. Most of their families have difficult economic conditions and are at risk of being lured into a life of crime by other bad people if they are not managed, monitored, and educated promptly.

Therefore, in September 2021, Do Luong District Police directed My Son Commune Police to advise the Party Committee and the commune government to build a model of "Joining hands to reform, educate, and reintegrate into the community for people who have completed their prison sentences" in the commune and selected Dang Van The - 1 of 27 people who have completed their prison sentences and are eligible for community reintegration currently in the locality to focus on building a typical example in community reintegration.

Mr. Dang Van The at the conference to review the model "Joining hands to reform, provide career guidance, and reintegrate into the community" organized by My Son commune in June 2022. Photo: CSCC

After launching the model, the Commune Police coordinated with sectors and organizations to organize propaganda, disseminate laws, educate, and help subjects in all aspects. Up to now, 27/27 subjects have had positive changes and clear progress, specifically, actively working, producing, and participating in local movements. Thanks to that, the security and order situation in the area is increasingly stable, the number of incidents has decreased compared to the previous year. In the first 6 months of 2022, there were 2 incidents, 5 subjects, compared to 8 incidents, 14 subjects in 2021.

To achieve the above results, along with propaganda and mobilizing people to raise their awareness of law compliance and encourage them to participate in helping those who have made mistakes in the community, after establishing the Steering Committee, members were assigned specific tasks. In particular, selecting experienced members in the Steering Committee and at the grassroots level to establish a consulting group, with the task of consulting, answering questions, regularly exchanging and understanding the thoughts and aspirations of the subjects. When choosing Mr. Dang Van The to build a typical example, Mr. The's companionship has helped other cases that are still somewhat self-conscious and self-conscious to increasingly integrate strongly, strive to develop the economy, stabilize their lives, as well as actively participate in the movement "All people protect national security" in the area.

Identifying the desire of reintegrated subjects to be facilitated to borrow capital with preferential interest rates for economic development, the locality has worked with the Social Policy Bank in supporting reintegrated subjects on the issue of borrowing capital. At the same time, proactively discussing with local businesses about labor recruitment needs to orient vocational training and create suitable jobs. Thanks to that, up to now, 24/27 subjects have stable jobs.

Fruit garden of Mr. Dang Van Quan's family. Photo: D.C.

Talking to us, Mr. Dang Van Truc - Chairman of the People's Committee of My Son commune said: Based on the achieved results, the locality will further enhance the role and responsibility of the Steering Committee, departments, branches and organizations so that the model continues to be effective. Accordingly, there will be appropriate and timely policies for those who have completed their prison sentences and returned to their localities such as land lease, loans, vocational training, job creation, etc. so that they can soon stabilize their lives, prevent re-offending, and contribute to ensuring security and order in the area.