People who once made mistakes come together to protect the neighborhood

(Baonghean) - For the first time, a model of ensuring security and order established and managed by the government instead of the police force has shown positive results. More importantly, this model is a gathering of people who once made mistakes.

Block 17, Ha Huy Tap Ward (Vinh City) used to be known as a relatively complicated area with social evils such as drugs, property theft and intentional injury. This is the location of Nghe An University of Economics and many agencies and businesses, so the number of people coming and going every year is large, leading to complicated security and order.

In 2010, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Hong Ngai - an officer working at the Road and Railway Traffic Police Department of the Provincial Police received a decision to retire and live in the locality. When hearing the people's complaints and local officials talking about the difficulties in restoring order and security in the area, Mr. Ngai - with his existing relationships in the police force, directly met and discussed with Colonel Tran Ngoc Tu, at that time Deputy Chief of Vinh City Police (now Chief of Vinh City Police) to propose the establishment of a self-management team on security and order.

Self-management group for people who have made mistakes in the community of Ha Huy Tap ward (Vinh city). Photo: Ha Thu

The above idea received support from the leaders of Vinh City Police and Nghe An Province Police. However, due to some objective reasons, it was not until 2014 that Mr. Ngai's idea was implemented.

Mr. Ngai said: “Through understanding the reality, I personally realized that among the more than 10 cases that have completed their sentences and are living in the area, most of them are facing difficulties in the process of reintegrating into the community, because of difficulty in accessing loans and being discriminated against and shunned. Therefore, there needs to be an organization to provide spiritual support, not only to help them reform and reintegrate into the community sustainably, but also to be the core force to ensure security and order in the area.”

With that in mind, Mr. Ngãi boldly proposed the establishment of a model called “Self-management group for people who have made mistakes in the past”. In August 2016, this model was officially launched, with 8 members who had made mistakes in the past, 2 of whom were serving sentences in prison but were still “admitted”, including 7 men and 1 woman.

For the first time, this model is not under the police force but managed by the block leader, meeting once every 3 months. At the meetings, in addition to the members, their relatives are also invited to attend to hear reports on each member's rehabilitation efforts, thereby helping them have more motivation to continue striving.

Up to now, after nearly 1 year of establishment, the Self-Management Group has helped borrow capital and created stable jobs for 6 members who have completed their sentences, and the remaining two members are about to finish their prison terms. The members of the group have a plan to welcome, train and help them find stable jobs.

A typical example is Nguyen Dinh Hoa (50 years old), a former “drug addict” who had to serve a prison sentence for drug-related crimes. After returning to his hometown, under the guidance of Nguyen Hong Ngai and other members of the group, Hoa received attention from the local government and mass organizations, who created favorable conditions for him to borrow capital to do business and production. Up to now, not only is he financially stable, Hoa has also become a militiaman of the ward.

Mr. Nguyen Hong Ngai. Photo: Ha Thu

Or the case of Mr. Phan Xuan Phu (45 years old), who also fell into drug addiction and ended up in prison. Currently, Mr. Phu and his wife have become the owners of a famous hair salon in the area, creating stable jobs for many workers.

According to the representative of Vinh City Police, the "Self-management group for people who have made mistakes" in Ha Huy Tap ward is a typical model of ensuring security and order, contributing to the work of the ward police force and other mass organizations to firmly ensure security and order in the locality.

Through this organization, the authorities have also promptly detected and handled many cases related to the local security situation. This is also a typical model that can be replicated to become a new factor in the mass movement to protect national security in the current period.

Ha Thu