DATA ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION
4.4 Analysis of survey results
117 questionnaires were handed out and completed by the male youth offenders.
The first request of the questionnaire was to provide one‟s age and educational level achieved and of these 68 (58%) completed these details. The age requirement had already been restricted by the Correctional Services, as the age group of the youth offenders allowed in the Centre is restricted to the age group 18 to 21.
The analysis of the ages of offenders completing the survey is as follows:
OFFENDERS’ AGES
Age Number Percentage
18 15 22
19 13 19
20 17 25
21 23 34
Total 68 100
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The educational level of the offenders completing the survey is analysed as follows:
EDUCATIONAL LEVEL
Grade Number Percentage
Up to grade 5 4 5.9
6 3 4.4
7 11 16.2
8 17 25.0
9 19 28.0
10 9 13.2
11 3 4.4
12 2 2.9
Total 68 100
No person had any tertiary qualifications and 79.5% had an education level lower than Grade 10 (Standard 8). 66% of the sample was grouped in the category of Grades 7, 8 and 9 (Standard 5 to 7).
Question 1 dealt with the class or types of drugs that were being used and the frequency of use. The answers are depicted in the form of a pie chart, providing a graphic description of the frequency with which each drug or class of drug is used. The following pie chart shows which drugs are used the most frequently or are the drugs of choice among the male youth offenders of the Pollsmoor Youth Centre.
76 Type of drug and frequency of use
Heroin 3%
Inhalents 0%
Sedatives/
Hypnotics 0%
Hallucinog en LSD
5%
Tik
38% Cocaine
5%
Mandrax 9%
Cannabis 13%
Alcohol 10%
Tobacco 15%
Other drugs
2%
Included in the list of drugs used is tobacco and alcohol. Both of these have a high level of frequent use which may be due to the acceptance of their use by society and the fact that many would not consider these to be „drugs‟ like heroin or LSD.
Tobacco is also sold in the prison shop and is approved of by prison authorities, while the use of other drugs can lead to further criminal charges if one is caught in possession of them. Alcohol and tobacco are not legislated against and are widely used socially. Therefore one would expect them both to have a large number of users as well as a high frequency of use. They also appear as the second and fourth drugs of choice as reflected in the above chart.
Tobacco Use
Daily 68%
Monthly 3%
Never 15%
Weekly 6%
Once or Twice
8%
77 Alcohol Use
Once or Twice
19%
Monthly Weekly 13%
38%
Daily 27%
Never 3%
Although alcohol is considered the drug of choice worldwide, the use of alcohol is forbidden among the members of the Moslem faith. Although the questionnaire does not refer to religious affiliation, it could have an affect on the use of alcohol among the population tested. The Moslem faith has a strong following among the so-called „Coloured‟, rather than the Black and White ethnic groups. The ethnic split among the Pollsmoor Correctional Youth Centre population would be weighted in favour of Coloureds, followed by Blacks and lastly Whites, amounting to an estimated 6% of the prison population. This would lead to an expected reduced level of popularity for alcohol.
Each of the remaining drugs or classes of drugs will be dealt with separately.
Cannabis Use
Never 13%
Once or Twice
13%
Monthly 19%
Weekly 25%
Daily 30%
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This is the third most popular drug of choice and also has the second lowest level of „never used„, reversely indicating that it is the second most popular drug of experimentation, preceded only by alcohol and then by tobacco.
Although not a legalised drug it is freely available in the prison which further promotes its daily use. It has the third highest level of daily use after tobacco and tik.
In discussions with drug–users, the author found that cannabis is not considered a hard or dangerous drug. It has medicinal uses and is prescribed by doctors and this adds a level of perceived legitimacy to the drug, no matter how misinterpreted this may be. It also has a similar appearance to tobacco and therefore, as can be seen from the statistics of ease of acquisition, it is used by many in the prison and is not restricted to the youth by any means.
Mandrax Use
Monthly 3%
Weekly 3%
Daily
30% Never
34%
Once or Tw ice
30%
Mandrax is the fifth most popular drug of choice with 30% of the population using this on a daily basis. It also ranks as 7th out of 11 when one considers people (who never tried the drug), indicating that there is a greater portion of the population who have experimented with the drug than with the other drugs in the survey. The fact that it is used by 30% of the people on a daily basis indicates the ease with which it is acquired in prison.
Mandrax is regularly used together with Cannabis and therefore it is conceivable that the two drugs would have close levels of daily use which is evident in the
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results of the survey with Cannabis and Mandrax being the third and fifth most popular drugs respectively.
Cocaine Use
Never 39%
Monthly 3%
Weekly 8%
Daily 28%
Once or Twice
22%
Cocaine is the sixth most popular drug of choice and is the sixth most experimented with and the fifth most used on a daily basis.
Tik Use
Monthly 0%
Never 25%
Once or Twice
7%
Weekly 7%
Daily 61%
Tik which is methamphetamine is known worldwide as “crystal meths”, and is the most popular drug of choice among the youth offenders. 38% of the population have chosen this as a favourite whilst the second favourite drug of choice is tobacco, which was chosen by 15% of the population. There is a difference of 23% between the first and second favourites which is a large gap relative to the gap between second and third which is only 2% (13% to 15%). 61% of the population use this drug on a daily basis which indicates the ease with which it
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can be acquired in prison. It is also considered to be a cheap drug, easily manufactured and obtained. It was ranked 8th out of 11 in the category „never used‟. It would appear to be unusual that a drug, which is the favourite drug of use to a relatively large degree, has no persons in the population surveyed who uses the drug on a monthly basis.
Inhalant Use
Never 70%
Weekly 0%
Monthly 0%
Daily 0%
Once or Twice
30%
There is no daily, weekly or monthly use of this category of drug abuse. It further has a high level of “never used” at 70% of the population and the remainder, at 30%, have used them “once or twice”. It ranks last as a favourite, for daily use and experimentation.
Sedative/ Hypnotic Use
Once or Twice
34%
Monthly 5%
Weekly 5%
Daily 9%
Never 47%
This also has a low level of use and experimentation. It ranks last along with inhalants on the list of favourite drug of use and low levels of daily, weekly and
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monthly use. The use of this drug may be distorted by medicinal use even though the survey has attempted to exclude medical use. This may be due to the educational level of the population.
Hallucinogen (LSD, Ecstasy) Use
Never 58%
Once or Twice
26%
Weekly 5%
Monthly 7%
Daily 4%
This ranks 6th among the favourite drug of choice, with a low level of experimentation, ranking as the 4th least experimented with drug group. It has a low level of daily use which is related to the difficulty of acquisition.
Heroin Use
Never 67%
Once or Twice
15%
Monthly 10%
Weekly 3%
Daily 5%
This drug has a very low level of use and experimentation. It is the 2nd least experimented with drug as well as 8th on the level of favourites. It is considered a very difficult drug to obtain in prison and its use may be complicated through the need for the use of a needle and syringe. It is considered a more lethal/addictive drug than many of the others which may also reduce its attraction.
82 Other drug Use
Other Drugs Never 66%
Other Drugs Monthly
9%
Other Drugs Once or
Twice 19%
Other Drugs Weekly
3%
Other Drugs Daily 3%
There is little interest in other drugs (drugs or groups of drugs not mentioned in the survey), with 66% in the category of „never used‟.. There is no mention of what drugs may be included in this category.
Tobacco, due to its ease of acquisition, its low cost and the fact that it is sold at the shops in the prison, is the most used drug. Tobacco is not considered to be a drug by the youth offenders as well as many other tobacco users. Therefore when considering drugs as defined by the youth offenders, Tik would be the favourite drug, being 23% more popular than the next favourite which is tobacco. These are followed by Cannabis, alcohol and Mandrax respectively.
Alcohol, followed by tobacco, cannabis and tik, has the highest occurrence of experimentation. Cannabis is widely used and considered to be a mild drug. There is a belief among the prison warders that cannabis leads to a lower level of aggression among the offenders and is therefore not actively policed. Where it is policed and where cannabis is found in an offender‟s possession, there will be very little action taken against him/her. Possibly the room in which (s)he sleeps will lose the privilege of the television for a couple of days. Drugs least experimented with are Inhalants and Hallucinogens which both have a high level of “never used”.
Question 2 considered the ease with which each drug could be obtained in the correctional centre. The analysis of the replies is summarised as follows:
83 Difficulty of Acquisition Cigarettes/Tobacco Very Easy
Alcohol Very difficult
Cannabis (Dagga) Easy
Mandrax Difficult
Tik
(methamphetamine)
Easy
Cocaine Difficult
Ecstasy Difficult
Heroin Difficult
Sedatives/Hypnotics Very easy
Inhalants Do not know
Hallucinogens (LSD)
Difficult
The ease with which tobacco can be obtained has been explained.
The single „Do not know‟ relates to Inhalants which could be due to lack of interest in this drug and therefore none of the population surveyed has tried to acquire them while in prison.
The popular drugs such as Tik and Cannabis are easily obtainable and therefore have a high daily use by those using the drug.
Questions 3 and 4, concerned the desire to use substances in the past three months and this relates to the drug of choice. 38% of the population had not used the drug in the last three months while 21% had used the substance daily. One would expect that there would be a lower level of use than stated in Question 1 owing to the offenders being incarcerated and not being able to obtain the drugs as readily as they could outside prison. This is supported by the replies to Question 4, which ask whether one has had a strong desire to use the drug. The number of people who answered „Never‟ was 18%, compared with the 38% mentioned above. The replies to Question 4 are relatively evenly spread across the answer spectrum.
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Question 5 was also related to the last three months and requested whether substance abuse had resulted in social or financial problems. 35% stated “never”
with 18% saying that it had. There is no detail provided as to the type of social problem that was experienced.
Question 6 covered the area of non-performance in the last three months due to substance abuse. As with Question 5, no detail was requested about the level of non-performance. For 29% there had never been non-performance while 12% said that it had occurred daily in the last three months and 25% said that there had been weekly occurrences. One is uncertain as to how much of the 3 - month period was spent in prison and how much had occurred prior to incarceration. The result is that 71% had experienced non-performance due to substance abuse in the last 3 months.
Question 7 considered the concern of friends or relatives for the youth‟s problem.
This question covers two areas. The first being the concern of family or support of friends and the second being the level of the youth‟s problem that has resulted in other people voicing concern about their drug behaviour.
60% said that no concern had been expressed while 40% had had friends or family express concern. This could be interpreted to mean that in 60% of the cases the use of drugs is not considered to be a problem and is socially accepted, and in 40% of the cases it is not accepted. Or the converse is that the drug use is so minimal in 60% of the cases that it is not considered a problem.
Question 8 considered the number of people who have considered or tried to cut down or to stop using drugs. 45% have tried to cut down or stop and 55% have not attempted this.
Question 9 asked if they have tried drugs which are required to be administered by injection. 49% had not, 31% had not tried this in the last three months and 20%
had tried it in the last three months. 51% had tried this type of drug abuse at some time in their lives. Given the list of drugs considered in this survey it is most likely that this would refer to the use of heroin which 68 % of the people said that
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they never tried, although some of the other drugs could be used by means of injection.
Question 10 asked whether the offenders had had any substance abuse programme explained or offered to them since incarceration. A large 64% had not been offered any form of programme.
Question 11 followed on from Question 10 on how many people would have liked to be included in a substance abuse programme. 74% would have liked to be included in such a programme.
Question 12 dealt with the ease with which the various drugs could be obtained in prison. This has been dealt with before.
Question 13 wanted to ascertain how many people had started using drugs prior to being incarcerated and how many had started after they were incarcerated. 96%
had started before they were incarcerated.
The replies included the following:
I started with dagga at school because all my friends did.
I smoked outside but only started with dagga in prison. It keeps you cool.
Everyone where I live does drugs. Lots do Tik.
It‟s hard not to do drugs in our neighbourhood. We all do.
Most of my friends do dagga. I started at school.
Question 14 asked what led to the use of drugs. The answers to this were varied but the predominant reason was that it was due to peer pressure. The factor of peer pressure is a dominant cause of drug use and possible addiction. Many of the youth have been raised in areas where the use of drugs and being involved in the drug trade are considered part of the normal way of life. Being a criminal with a prison record is also normal and in some cases is a necessity for acceptance as being a „man‟ and part of a gang. This also leads to participation in crime in order to generate funds to buy drugs or to live the flamboyant life-style associated with a few of the drug merchants.
86 Other reasons cited were:
Other family members used drugs.
Drug use is a normal part of social life.
Drugs helped one forget personal problems.
Poverty
I had too much money to spend.
I was lonely.
For excitement.
My older brother and his friends smoked dagga and drank alcohol.
Lots of my friends do tik
My friends showed me how to do tik
My girlfriend and I smoke dagga together and also do tik
My father and mother drink and my father smokes dagga
Discussions with the youth indicated that the availability of drugs in their communities and the use by their peers and family drew them into the world of substance abuse. Many of the drug dealers are seen to be wealthy and show off their cars, clothes and jewellery and in the suburbs where there is high unemployment being involved in drugs is seen as a way out of poverty.
Question 15 asked how many people wanted to take part in a rehabilitation programme. 62% wished to attend such a programme while 38% indicated that they would not like to attend such a programme possibly due to the fact that they did not consider their drug use a problem, because the use of drugs such as tobacco and cannabis are not considered problem drugs or as being socially unacceptable.
Dagga is not a bad drug lots of people use it. It is only drugs like heroin and tik that make problems.
I relax when a smoke dagga
I don‟t have a problem I can stop whenever I want to.
I don‟t want drugs to control me I cant stop on my own
What happens when I leave prison, where do I carry on getting help if I still need it?
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Question 16 enquired how many people would continue to use drugs after release.
21% said that they would, 27% did not know and 52% said that they would not continue with drug use.
Some of the responses noted were:
10% considered drug abuse to be good for them as it uplifted them.
Drug abuse caused all their problems
They did not know how to stop and they were also not aware of drug counselling facilities which could help them.
They would continue to use tobacco and cannabis which confirmed the belief that these two are socially acceptable and not considered harmful drugs.
Dagga was used for perceived medicinal purposes.
They did not want to come back to prison and drug abuse was the reason they were in prison.
Drugs destroy the family.
Drugs use up all your money.
Dagga makes me feel good. It‟s better than alcohol because it doesn‟t make you drunk and violent.
When I do “Tik” I can have sex for much longer. My girlfriend and I both use it for sex.
Question 17 enquired what the youth offenders thought should be implemented by the authorities to stop drug abuse in prison. The suggestions included:
The prison authorities should employ new methods in order to search for and find drugs in the prison. These should include „sniffer‟ dogs, drug detection methods that would identify who used drugs and better searches of cells and individuals.
There should be more lectures and discussions and group sessions on substance abuse and the effects of substance abuse. People think they know about drugs but know nothing.
Substance abuse support groups should be established.
We need to have more things to do. It‟s boring just being in a cell and watching TV or sitting in the sun.
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There should be separate housing units for those offenders trying to stop from substance abuse where there are no offenders who smoke or do drugs.
They should keep us busy so that we don‟t have time to “tik” and do drugs.
They don‟t mind if you smoke dagga, just do it at night. This is wrong.
Some “beamptes” (officials) can smell if you‟re smoking weed but just ignore it and don‟t do anything. Some even help the gangs bring drugs in.
They should teach us more about the effects of drugs especially Tik.
Question 18 asked if they wanted to carry on with the intervention programme when they left prison and did they think it would help prevent them from relapsing. 62 of those you abused drugs said that they would like the programmes to continue after they left prison because it would help stop them from going bank to drugs. 38 said they would not continue but this relates to the 38 who did not want to attend intervention programmes. Many said that it would be harder to not take drugs when they are out of prison because they are so easy to get.
Comments received were as follows;
It will be harder to do it on my own.
If I stop taking drugs in prison then I don‟t want to start again when I leave because it messes up your life.
I will need help because my friends will want me to use drugs with them. This will make it hard.
It‟s hard when so many people you know do drugs. You need help.
Question 19 wanted permission to give their intervention details to the outside programme that they would be attending. Of the survey population 59 said yes and 63 said the authorities could not give away the information. There was a concern about the confidentiality of the information in their files as can be seen from some of the comments that were submitted;
I wont attend and they cannot give anyone my information.
Yes if it will help me stay off drugs but don‟t give my information to anyone else.
It must stay private and only be seen by the drug counsellors