Denny, 31, who has just over two years left after a five-year prison sentence, said: “I want to make the most of my time, even while in prison, and this training will help me find get a job later. “Of course, I knew how to make coffee before, but here I am learning about different flavors, smells and aromas, as well as about the artistic side of making coffee.”
Denny is one of 200 inmates at the Grade IIA Tangerang Correctional Facility and among more than 35,000 inmates across Indonesia to receive vocational training, from eco-printing on fabrics to farming. While learning how to be a bartender behind bars, he said he hopes to land a job in a cafe after his release.
Salis Farida Fitriani, head of the correctional facility, said the program aims to build a better future, but skills training alone is not enough for inmates to succeed in the outside world.
To deal with a society that often discriminates against them for life, she said, the prison offers training in character development, counseling and religious instruction.
“Our goal is to provide positive activities and training for inmates,” she said. “The program includes personality development as well as vocational training to help them earn a living in the future.”
Haswin, a 32-year-old former drug offender who opened a cafe after leaving Tangerang Class IIA Correctional Institution in Indonesia in January 2022, said starting a business is difficult after serving time in prison.
Breaking the ‘ex-con’ stigma
Haswin, a 32-year-old former drug offender, says starting a business is difficult after serving time in prison. Leaving Tangerang internment camp in January 2022, he now runs his own cafe, mixing modern and traditional coffee styles alongside mocktails and snacks.
“Life is so much better now,” said Haswin, adding that his previous bartending job was a major factor in his involvement in drug-related crimes that led to his death. He was arrested in 2018.
“I am more satisfied with my life and proud of my creativity,” he explains. “I never thought I could find a job outside of the nightlife.”
Now, his job is not only a “means of livelihood”, but also a new opportunity.
He said: “I wanted to break the stigma surrounding ‘former criminals’ by showing that ex-criminals can also be independent and creative.
Studying for a university degree is part of a United Nations-supported pilot program at the Tangerang Class IIA Correctional Facility in Indonesia.
From sports to college programs
Tangerang Class IIA gives prisoners the opportunity to do just that. They can also compete in professional sports at Tangerang, the only prison in Indonesia that offers a full university education. For inmates across Indonesia, a pilot program currently serving 200 inmates is poised to roll out nationwide, depending on funding, Fitriani said.
Asep, a third-year student of Islamic studies at Syekh Yusuf Islamic University, said he, like many in the program, could not afford college in his life before going to prison.
“I was always eager to learn, but my economic circumstances did not allow me to study,” he said.
Following the same curriculum that the university offers to regular students, Asep and his classmates attend classes three times a week for six hours a day. After graduation and before his prison term is released, Asep said he hopes to be able to help fellow inmates by offering religious counseling.
“I learned a lot about the world and life outside,” he said. “It helps me cope better with my long sentence. It will also help others.”
Inmates at the Tangerang Class IIA Correctional Facility in Indonesia can compete in professional sports through a pilot program.
Tailored to the needs of prisoners
Supported by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), training programs designed with help from an assessment toolkit that provide evidence-based approaches tailored to the individual needs of prisoners.
Correction officers use these tools to better assess and understand inmates, including the level of security risk they may pose, their compatibility with the program, and their ability their responsiveness to education.
In UNODC prisoner re-education initiativefocuses on education, vocational training and employment during incarceration, the objective being to contribute to the employment of prisoners upon release, thereby reducing the chance of recidivism.
SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.
With this in mind, the agency has partnered with Indonesia’s General Department of Corrections to create an assessment matrix that helps correctional officers build psychological and security profiles of inmates, and allows staff to staff monitor their progress, said Rabby Pramudatama, program director at. UNODC office in Jakarta.
“We need to make sure, for example, that we have inmates who are not likely to disturb the classroom and will cooperate with their teachers and classmates,” he said.
Second chance
UNODC also collaborates with and supports NGOs such as Second Chance, which help prisoners reintegrate into society after they leave prison.
On a quiet morning, some prisoners were reviewing Quranic verses, while others gathered around to watch a pair of boxers dueling. When it rains, they talk about the sunlight that will come out sooner or later.
As for Denny, he says the sunshine will come on the day when he too can go out and find work.
“My main motivation now is to be a better person than before,” he said, adding that until that day, he will focus on religious activities and Make perfect cappuccinos in bartending classes.
Learn more about how UNODC is helping to rehabilitate prisons around the world This.
