What do you think?.....

So I am driving into town today and as I turn onto the highway there are "Caution signs" indicating there is work going on ahead. I just so happened to have to stop at the light and I took a look at what they were doing. Where I live there is a lot of Broom...although a lovely plant when in bloom the Broom is a royal pain...it takes over everything. Currently there is big campaign on to try and control the growth of the Broom. There actually is a group called the Broom Busters who you can contact and they will let you use their equipment if you want to go out and help cut back the Broom.

This group of people however were not the Broom Busters. No sirree, it was very evident who they were, all dressed in their bright orange coveralls with big black letters on the back which says "Corrections". Yes they were actual convicts from the local prison doing work detail of clearing the Broom. I thought right on, it's about time we see these folks doing something constructive and productive. It was a glorious day perfect for being outside. So rather then being behind the prison walls possibly scheming or getting into trouble they were out there being supervised and clearing the broom. To me it seemed like a win win situation. The prisoners get to be outside doing something constructive and the public wins as the Broom gets cleared.

Now with that being said, I can't help but wonder why so many of these programs have been done away with. I can remember where I grew up there was a prison not far from us. It was situated on wonderful parcel of land with a lake and acreage. In the early days as part of work detail and work experience they use to have the prisoners go into the fields and grow crops. They got paid minimal for doing these tasks but again to me it seemed like a win win. They again get outdoor, did something productive, got some exercise and grew crops, the food was used by the prison and anything left was sold to the local market with the monies going into inmate programs. They did away with that program, some prisoners and prison rights activist felt it was infringing on the inmates rights. Hmmmmmmmmm.......didn't they forfeit their rights when they committed their crime? Just seems so odd to me.

There are a lot of programs on the TV lately portraying the prison life. Lots of prisoners are on 23 hour lock down. I'm not sure how that helps reform a prisoner or even if the prison system believes it has a responsibility to help reform the prisoners, but it is something they do. I have heard the over crowding of the prisons makes things very unsafe for a variety of reasons, but that's a whole other topic. Again I can't help but wonder how does locking someone down for 23 hours promote anything positive. It leaves the inmates lots of idle time....and you know what they say "idle hands". If these folks are to eventually be reintegrated into society why aren't they provided an opportunity to learn a trade, do something productive rather that sitting in their cells 23 hours a day thinking about their next con, or who knows what.

I am sure there are lots of theories and rationale as to why the 23 hour lock downs are better than the prisoners doing a little community work/service. I also recognize the prison system is a very complex environment. There are some hard core prisoners in the system, but what about those petty crime inmates. Those prisoners that just made some bad life choices and given the right tools could easily reintegrate into society. Prison gaurds are trained professional and put their lives on the line everyday, but why can't they supervise some of these inmates in performing community duties? Maybe working with them to teach the inmates some life skills. Maybe I have simplified things here, but I still think there must be a better way.

What do you think? Do you think there should be inmate reform programs or better yet community service programs similar to what I observed today.