Bars are where we go to socialise and relax with our friends; to catch up, unwind or maybe even to drown our sorrows. So who are you when you’re at your favourite local… are you the creature of habit that always orders the exact same thing? The cliched loner crying into their drink? Or perhaps the cringe-worthy group celebrating a bachelors? In your tipsy state a lot could probably be said about you but how much do you know about the person making and serving your drink? How ‘safe’ would you feel knowing your bartender was a former prisoner of Pollsmoor Prison?

If you’ve been to the new Cape Town bar Cause | Effect, there’s a strong possibility that you’ve been served by Adolphin: bartender, daughter, mother, student and former prisoner of Pollsmoor.

Adolphin is part of the first wave of mixologists to graduate from the Beyond Bars Akademia. The academy, started by Stephanie Simbo Polly and Marine Durand, is a non-profit organisation that trains and places women recently released from prison into hospitality careers. Not only is Beyond Bars positively impacting the lives of these women, where it otherwise would have been difficult, they’re also impacting the overall crime rates in Cape Town by curbing the high rates of reoffending crimes, known as recidivism.

Recidivism refers to the probability that a prisoner released from prison is likely to recommit an offense. Currently, the national recidivism rate stands at 85% – if we could reduce the rate to zero it would mean almost halving our current crime levels. So why aren’t there more resources being funnelled into recidivism reduction initiatives?

Crime & Imprisonment in SA

For one, the public perception of criminals is surrounded by great marginalisation and stigmatisation. Most of society is of the view that ‘they had their chance and screwed it up, why should we be rewarding them…’ but this harsh stance does little to reduce crime.

Public Perception & Stigmatisation

This stigmatisation is something co-founder Stephanie Polly Simbo is all too familiar with. Born in the 10th district of Paris to a Caribbean mother and a CAR father, and as the youngest child of 10, food, eating and entertaining had always been a large part of their lives despite their impoverished circumstances.

Unfortunately, her brother ended up in some unfortunate circumstances, which led to a year’s imprisonment. Despite the limited time spent in prison, he struggled to find a job when he was released, which severely impacted his mental health.

Seeing her brothers pain, and only being 10-years of age, Stephanie’s solution was simple – take her brother with to school where they can learn and laugh together. Unfortunately, at that stage,  all she could do was make a pinky promise to one day open a school dedicated to him. Now Stephanie, and longtime varsity friend, Marine, have done just that by opening Beyond Bars Akademia.

Behind Beyond Bars – How It Works

Beyond Bars Halfway House

One of the primary causes of reoffending is living in a toxic environment, similar conditions as before the crime was committed, as well as lack of opportunity. Therefore Beyond Bars provides students with a halfway house, where they have access to psychologist and a house mom. The halfway house provides a structure where they can focus on building themselves up, and provide healing from the prison experience and the traumas that led them to committing their crime. They stay at the house for 6 months while undergoing their training and work placements but also have the option of staying up to a year if their circumstances change.

Beyond Bars has teamed up with a number of local Bars including Cause | Effect , The Gin Dock and Orphanage to name a few, where students have begun their work placements.

The Beyond Bars Selection Process

One of the challenges that face ex-convicts is support after release. There are programs such as  NICRO and the Department of Correctional Services, who do offer support and guidance in terms of reintegration, but they severely lack the resources to help everyone. In the Western Cape alone, 1000 people are released every month.

As such, the Beyond Bars selection process is tough, but it makes the success rate that much higher. Stephanie and Marine do a presentation at the prison indicating the potential candidate they are looking for. Next, they conduct two sets of interviews –a group one and then an individual one-on-one. Present in these interviews is the Beyond Bars psychologist, prison parole officer, warden and social worker. Before a final selection is made, potential candidates are placed in a one week work placement where their work ethic and temperament is put to the test in real life work scenario. In the end the lives of 10-20 women’s lives has the potential to change.

The Unintended Consequences of Fear & Loathing

Crime is something that affects us all, and it’s something that we all fear happening to us or a loved one. Fear allows us to empathise with the victim but leaves little room for forgiveness and hope towards the perpetrator. We punish criminals but fail to rehabilitate and reintegrate them back into society, often leading to reoffending crimes, creating a perpetual cycle of re-incarceration. This is what Beyond Bars aims to do – break the cycles of criminality.

Crime and recidivism is a complex problem that requires complex solutions from all spheres of society. We cannot alone concentrate on punishing offenders, parallel efforts need to be employed.

Make A Difference – Support Beyond Bars Akademia

The work of Beyond Bars is tremendous, but it’s only a small drop in the ocean, with your help you can be apart of this social venture in the hospitality industry. If you think you can help get more women into the academy contact Beyond Bars.

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