Good Idea, Bad Idea: Inmate Lawn Service

[tropicsgoddess]

Inmates in chain gangs seemed like a thing of the past until Sheriff Joe Arpaia resurrected that with his tent city inmates. Picking up litter from the highway and doing odd jobs in the prison are the many things you see and/or hear about inmates doing while serving their time. Now, Pasco County is contemplating on having inmates do landscape work on foreclosed homes. Do you think this could be a good idea or bad idea?


St.Petersburg Times News Article

US News & World Report

Sun-Sentinel Flori-DUH Column

[daleduke17]

Great idea. Jail should not be a relaxing time to sit back and relax. Get rid of the cable television, commisaries and "goodies".

from first article
"We have concerns about putting inmates in the neighborhoods," said spokesman Doug Tobin, who noted some offenders may be in jail on burglary charges.

There's countermeasures that can be taken to minimize that chance.

[Flyndaran]

What is with so many wanting to cause prisoners constant pain? They aren't there to be society's whipping boys and pornographic objects of our sadism.
Dehumanizing people does not make them law abiding. Taking away all of a man's joy in daily life does not make him less violent.
Training children with the stick alone doesn't work, so why should it suddenly work for adults?

[daleduke17]

So, Flyn, what do you think should happen with inmates then?

[Flyndaran]

So, Flyn, what do you think should happen with inmates then?

First move all the mentally ill someplace where they can get some d*mn help.
Real punishments and investigations into guard misconduct.
Benefits based on good behavior.
Therapy for those that might need it. Most commit crimes, because that's all they ever knew. New skills and self-esteem help might actually turn someone around. What a concept!
Let all the non-violent drug users go with mandated treatment IF they have addictions, otherwise let them control their own bodies. That should almost double the prison budget.

Not serious: Any politician that demands that we get tough on crime should spend a week in medium security jail to see just how "pleasant" prisons are.

Just off the top of my head of course..

[daleduke17]

Flyn, so, you don't believe that inmates should have to work while they are serving their time? Why is that?

There already is a benefit for good behavior in most cases. It's called day for day. Each day an inmate behaves, a day is taken off of their sentence (unless they are part of the mandatory 85% serving).

[powerboy]

Great idea. Jail should not be a relaxing time to sit back and relax. Get rid of the cable television, commisaries and "goodies".

Exactly like what I was going to say.

[Giggle Goose]

There are some people that would rather be in jail than be homeless. So maybe a lot less people would f*** up if they actually had to *gasp* WORK when going to prison.

It's YARD WORK, people, not shoveling manure on a farm or working in an ammunitions factory.

[AFPheonix]

While I do agree with Flyndaran to a degree about how people feel and act towards the incarcerated, I don't find this to necessarily be a bad punishment. It gets them out and in the sunshine doing something productive.
And let's face it, most of these guys are probably non-violent drug offenders or the occasional white collar crime guy.
Besides, it is good job training for some who may go out and start their own business whenever they get out.

[daleduke17]

If I was a Sheriff, here's how I would structure the day for inmates (general population, not the just arrested, solitary or work release):

5a - Lights on, calhestinics
6a - breakfast
7a - shower/hygeine
8a - chores (cleaning the jail building, property lawn care, etc)
10a - public service jobs (aforementioned lawn care, roadside trash pickup, etc)
1p - lunch
2p - class time (AA, parenting skills, money management, etc depending on the reason the inmate is incarcerated or skills like small motor repair, woodworking, etc) On weekends, this would be turned into visitation time.
6p - supper
7p - study/gym/"personal" etc time
9p - lights out

If the inmate is good, they can earn more job responsibilities (go from mopping inside to mowing outdoors) or perks (extra visitation time for example) in addition to day-for-day good behavior (if they qualify). If they want to stay up on current events, that is what the study time is. If the inmate misbehaves, they lose their perks.

All inmates would have to have their heads shaved/buzzed (if male) or cut bob style (if female). No artificial hair coloring, no jewlery, no head coverings no facial hair. No personal effects in cells.

Personal items provided would be: enough clothes (socks, underwear, shirts, pants) for 7 days (laundry would be every Saturday), basic hygiene items (soap, toothpaste, toothbrush, comb/brush, feminine products, toilet paper), bath towel (in the shower rooms). All safety equipment for jobs would be provided as well.

The county would provide all tools needed for jobs as well.

For the classes, most items would be paid for by the inmate (payable at time of release).

Hopefully that would end people from turning back up repeatedly in the county lockups.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

If I understand correctly, nobody is forced to do this sort of work. The prisoners volunteer for it. It gets them out into the sun and out of what must be a mind-numbing boring daily grind.

I'm all for prisoners getting out to do some work like useful human beings. Provided they aren't dangerous escape risks. I mean, they should give something back and be useful, productive people, same as anyone else.

[anriana]

I think it's a good idea as an option. I doubt they'd provide proper sunscreen though.

All inmates would have to have their heads shaved/buzzed (if male) or cut bob style (if female).

1) Why?
2) You're white and male with short hair, correct? Not all hair naturally styles into a bob when cut. Would you make nappy-haired women shave their heads if their hair didn't lay flat enough for you? And I'd far prefer to have a shaved head than to have my hair brushing the back of my neck and getting in my face while being too short to put in a ponytail.

[daleduke17]

1) Why?

To make sure there is no "gang style" haircuts in my jail.

2) You're white and male with short hair, correct?

Yep. Why does this matter?

Not all hair naturally styles into a bob when cut. Would you make nappy-haired women shave their heads if their hair didn't lay flat enough for you? And I'd far prefer to have a shaved head than to have my hair brushing the back of my neck and getting in my face while being too short to put in a ponytail.

I don't know if "bob" is the right word I was looking for. Just short hair (about shoulder length) and can be pulled back into a ponytail or kept neat.

[anriana]

To make sure there are no "gang style" haircuts in my jail.

But why would you need gendered hair cuts to determine that?
Would you make female inmates with short hair grow it out?
Are there long-haired gangs?

Yep. Why does this matter?

Because "white" hair types are quite different from other ethnicities' hair types. Not all hair grows straight and "black" hair certainly doesn't lay down flat and orderly when cut to shoulder length without a large amount of styling that required far more than a comb. Some "white" hair types aren't flat and non-wild when cut shoulder length - I know plenty of people who keep their hair longer to get some of the curl out and keep it tame. This matters because a white male with short hair probably isn't going to have ever thought about these issues, but if you were to mandate shoulder length hair for every female inmate and no grooming supplies but a comb you'd have lots of unkempt fros and frizz.

I don't know if "bob" is the right word I was looking for. Just short hair (about shoulder length) and can be pulled back into a ponytail or kept neat.

How would one keep it neat without pulling it into a ponytail? (you didn't list ponytails on your inmate supplies list) It would be too short to braid.

[ThePhoneGoddess]

Not to mention that some groups (like Native Americans, for one) have religious reasons for wearing their hair long. Courts have held up this right in many cases dealing with school dress codes, prison regulations requiring hair cuts, etc.

Also, what if you have a lesbian in jail who keeps her head shaved? Are you going to force her to grow it out when she doesn't want to?

If you're going to force men to cut their hair, are you going to force them to shave as well? And if you do force them to shave, will you force women to shave their legs and armpits too?