Good Idea, Bad Idea: Inmate Lawn Service

[RecoveringKinkoid]

I'm thinking if your freedom to wear your hair however you want is all that important to you, it might behoove you to stay out of the Big House. I'm just sayin'.

[DesignFox]

I'm thinking if your freedom to wear your hair however you want is all that important to you, it might behoove you to stay out of the Big House. I'm just sayin'.

Gotta agree here.

I think an inmate work program is an excellent idea. If they are sitting in the big house, they may as well have the opportunity to do something useful. Also, I think it's great to give them an option of working outdoors. I'm sure if I were confined to a cage, any chance to get outside, even if it was to do some boring yard work, would seem like a shot at heaven. But then, I HATE being cooped up inside.

I don't agree that inmates should be tortured, or forced into slave labor camps, but putting them to hard (not abusive) work, setting out a routine with discipline, requiring a uniform and sense of order...all those things seem positive. If inmates are kept busy, they'll have less time to get in trouble. If they are learning trades, then those who will be getting out have a new skill set they can use when they are released. Those that are just a waste and can't be rehabilitated, are now being given a purpose- which can't be bad for them, and is certainly better for the rest of us.

I think things like that are a great idea.

[AFPheonix]

I'm thinking if your freedom to wear your hair however you want is all that important to you, it might behoove you to stay out of the Big House. I'm just sayin'.

Some people are there who shouldn't be.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Yes, yes, I know that, and I knew people would not be able to type that out and post it fast enough.

But we are not talking here about the exception. We are talking about the vast majority of inmates that are there for a very good reason. I certainly do not maintain that our judicial system is perfect. Far from it. People are there that should not be. But they are not the majority. And as such, the rules should not be based on them. They should be based on the main population of people who clearly need rules and regulations laid out for them and enforced.

And anyhoo, how did we get from yard work to hair?

[daleduke17]

And anyhoo, how did we get from yard work to hair?

Because I posted that if I was in charge of a jail I would mandate certain criteria for inmates including hair style and hair length.

[AFPheonix]

Yes, yes, I know that, and I knew people would not be able to type that out and post it fast enough.

But we are not talking here about the exception. We are talking about the vast majority of inmates that are there for a very good reason. I certainly do not maintain that our judicial system is perfect. Far from it. People are there that should not be. But they are not the majority. And as such, the rules should not be based on them. They should be based on the main population of people who clearly need rules and regulations laid out for them and enforced.

And anyhoo, how did we get from yard work to hair?

I think being in prison is dehumanizing enough. Besides, what the hell is a gang haircut anyways?
I think it's a pointless and stupid measure.

[daleduke17]

I think being in prison is dehumanizing enough. Besides, what the hell is a gang haircut anyways?
I think it's a pointless and stupid measure.

Nowadays a lot of criminals find it as a badge of honor to be in jail/prison. The more times, the better. So, it is getting away from being dehumanizing.

There are gangs (I can't remember names) that will shave certain marks into their hair that normal people won't understand, but fellow gang members will recognize. I think the MS13 (a particularly nasty gang) will have one mark shaved into the right eyebrow and three in the left to signify "13" for example.

Like someone else said, if you want freedom to choose your hairstyle, stay out of jail.

[Boozy]

Gang activity in prison is out of control, and I don't think changes in hairstyle would do much to get a handle on the problem.

It seems like one of those pointless symbolic things that has the public saying, "Yeah! We sure showed them!" when in reality, they have achieved absolutely nothing of value. The concept of forced buzz cuts would play well to the masses, but likely wouldn't be worth the cost of the clippers.

[anriana]

Nowadays a lot of criminals find it as a badge of honor to be in jail/prison. The more times, the better. So, it is getting away from being dehumanizing.

There are gangs (I can't remember names) that will shave certain marks into their hair that normal people won't understand, but fellow gang members will recognize. I think the MS13 (a particularly nasty gang) will have one mark shaved into the right eyebrow and three in the left to signify "13" for example.

Like someone else said, if you want freedom to choose your hairstyle, stay out of jail.

So don't allow people to shave symbols into their hair? Why would you have to force people to have buzz cuts to avoid this?

You still haven't answered whether or not you would force female inmates with short hair to grow theirs out or anything related to hair types that don't work with shoulder-length hair.

[AFPheonix]

Nowadays a lot of criminals find it as a badge of honor to be in jail/prison. The more times, the better. So, it is getting away from being dehumanizing.

It still is dehumanizing if this is all they are able to take pride in during their lifetimes.

[daleduke17]

So don't allow people to shave symbols into their hair? Why would you have to force people to have buzz cuts to avoid this?

When they originally come in, it gets buzzed. If the military can get away with having buzz cuts, then a jail can as well.

You still haven't answered whether or not you would force female inmates with short hair to grow theirs out or anything related to hair types that don't work with shoulder-length hair.

Would females have to grow it out? No. The length would be a maximum length. If they have some obnoxious style with it short, then they'd have to have the style removed.

[tropicsgoddess]

I'm all for the inmate lawn service for the minimum security inmates that have no burglary charges. They get to do something productive while serving their time and that will also help them garner skills they can use to make their own business in the landscaping industry (if they choose to) and/or seek work in that field since it's more of a rehabilitative thing and the purpose of prison was to rehabilitate inmates into going back on the straight and narrow path as good citizens instead of punishing them and making them recidivists.

[Greenday]

Heck, if anything, it just means more time out of their cell, so if they aren't being forced to do it, then why not? Nothing wrong with it as long as they are supervised.

As for haircuts, there's enough gang-related violence on the outside. No reason to add more while on the inside. They need to be de-educated about gangs. You aren't cool because you are in a gang. You are scum.

[Boozy]

They need to be de-educated about gangs. You aren't cool because you are in a gang. You are scum.

Inmates don't join prison gangs because they think it's cool. These aren't suburbanite kids pretending to be bad-ass.

Inmates join gangs because they need to survive. The gang offers them protection. Convicts who have never joined a gang on the outside suddenly find themselves begging the Aryan Brotherhood or Mexican Mafia to take them in. People who are scared will find safety wherever they can. And these gangs are big business; there's a lot of money involved for the leaders.

Haircuts and education won't do much about this issue.

[Greenday]

A lot of gangs from the outside just continue on the inside. Whatever gang you belonged to, there's a group waiting in jail for you and that's who you stick with.