# Inmate 'Strike" Means That You Might Pay For Their Speciality Cable Channels



## Bruce Monkhouse (30 Oct 2008)

Inmates flex muscleTaxpayers on hook for 'striking' cons
By KATHLEEN HARRIS, NATIONAL BUREAU CHIEF

Correctional Service of Canada has been forced to hire temporary workers to do the cleaning, cooking and other chores normally done by inmates who have gone "on strike" at an Ontario prison. 

An employee source told Sun Media the inmates are angrily protesting "double-bunking" at the medium-high security Collins Bay prison in Kingston. 
The work, education and program refusal has led to a near depletion of the inmates' welfare fund and could leave taxpayers footing the bill for prisoners' perks, such as specialty cable television services, said the source. 

CABLE BILL 

CSC spokeswoman Julie Doering said the department has been working with the inmate committee since August to resolve the situation "as quickly as possible." 

"Our aim is to have the inmate population return to regular employment and education activities as soon as possible," she said. 
Inmates earn $5.25-$6.90 a day for taking part in work and other programs, while those who refuse to participate in all programs are awarded a basic $1-a-day allowance. Doering said the inmates' welfare fund has enough left to pay next month's cable bill. 

"We are hopeful that the inmate population will return to work so that they can continue to pay for this service," she said. 
The prison guard source said temps have been working regularly to fill in for the striking inmates, but Doering said contracted staff have only been brought in on an "infrequent basis" to maintain cleanliness standards. 

She said there has been no impact on the security of the institution, which is otherwise operating on a "normal routine." 
But Jason Godin, Ontario's spokesman for the Union of Correctional Officers of Canada, said the idle inmates are causing more stress in prison where incidents of drugs and violence are already "off the radar scale." 

"It does definitely create tensions for us. When these guys are refusing to go to work, that means they're not really engaging in a lot of meaningful stuff. That concerns us, because more time on their hands means more trouble for us," he said. 
Godin said the double-bunking, new no-smoking policy and anti-drug strategy are all believed to be factors behind the strike. 
The longer the strike continues the more inmates feel like they have the "upper hand," yet there's nothing staff can do to compel them to work. 

MORE VIOLENCE 

Guards have already voiced concern about the new "open-concept" retrofits at Collins Bay, and Godin said double-bunking in any prison can lead to more violence. 

CSC policy states "single occupancy is the most desirable and correctionally appropriate method of housing offenders" and it makes every effort to reduce double-bunking where possible. 
"At times, as a result of population management demands, two offenders will be housed in cells intended for one. Where it is necessary to accommodate two inmates in a cell, an assessment is made to ensure the safety of both inmates," the CSC said. 


Aww, bite me.  I sure hope all you in a FOB right now can feel sorry for these poor lads and their horrible sleeping conditions. :
"Man, I wish I could be God for a couple of hours..........."


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## PMedMoe (30 Oct 2008)

Bruce, you beat me to it.  My other thought was to let the cable bill go unpaid and it will get cut off.  Isn't that what happens to people outside of prison?  Don't see why anyone on the inside should get preferential treatment.  
"Specialty" cable services my a$$....


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## OldSolduer (30 Oct 2008)

There should be a few more things cut off IMO.


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## Steel Badger (30 Oct 2008)

Bruce

I am gonna try and get you a pic of the digger here on the local ANA base! 20 dudes doing hard time in a tower no bigger that the old seg yard at Guelph....

No sympathy at all! ( Hmm wonder if the mopes at Hamilton are gonna strike for being 3 to a cell. One on a mattress on the floor by the toilet..)


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## axeman (30 Oct 2008)

time for Sherriff Joe Arpaio to come up here
Wikipedia     for full story see                           http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Arpaio

 Changes to jail operations
Maricopa County's jails house persons serving imprisonments of less than one year, as well as pretrial detainees – accused persons awaiting trial, legally innocent until proven guilty.

Arpaio believes that inmates should be treated as harshly as legally possible to emphasize the punishment aspect of their incarceration. Thus, upon his initial election, Arpaio began instituting the controversial changes for which he would later become noted.

Arpaio began to serve inmates surplus food including outdated and oxidized green bologna[12] and limited meals to twice daily. Meal costs would be reduced to 90 cents per day; as of 2007 Arpaio states that he has managed to reduce costs to 30 cents per day. Certain food items were banned from the county jail, mainly coffee (which also reduced "coffee attacks" on corrections officers), but later salt and pepper were removed from the jail (at a purported taxpayer savings of $20,000/year).

Arpaio banned inmates from possessing "sexually explicit material" including Playboy magazine after female officers complained that inmates openly masturbated while viewing them, or harassed the officers by comparing their anatomy to the nude photos in the publications; the ban was challenged on First Amendment grounds but upheld by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.[13]

Smoking and weightlifting equipment were also banned. Entertainment was limited to G-rated movies; the cable TV system (mandated by court order)[citation needed] was blocked by Arpaio to limit viewing to those stations Arpaio deems to be "educational", mainly Animal Planet, Disney Channel, The Weather Channel, A&E, CNN, and the local government access channel.[citation needed]

Arpaio also instituted a program for inmates to study while in jail and to try to recover from drug abuse. Hard Knocks High lays claim as the only approved high school program in any American jail.[citation needed] Another jail program, called ALPHA, is aimed solely at getting inmates away from drug abuse.

In October 2005, Arpaio started mandatory two-week English classes for non-English-speaking inmates at his jails. Classes last two hours a day. The curriculum comprises the three branches of government, how a bill becomes law, state government, law enforcement and court services, and jailhouse "situational" terminology. At the end of the two-week course, inmates are required to take a test to see how well they have learned about American government, the words to God Bless America, and the communication of health and safety needs. In response to critics, Arpaio responded, "These inmates happen to be incarcerated in the United States of America and in Maricopa County where I run the jails. We speak English here, not foreign languages."

In February 2007, Arpaio instituted an in-house radio station he calls KJOE.[14] Arpaio's radio station broadcasts classical music, opera, Frank Sinatra hits, obscenity-free patriotic music, and educational programming, from the basement of the county jail, and operates five days a week, four hours each day.

In March 2007, the Maricopa County Jail hosted "Inmate Idol"[15], a takeoff on the popular TV show.


[edit] Tent City
Arpaio set up a "Tent City" as an extension of the Maricopa County Jail (33°25′40″N 112°07′26″W﻿ / ﻿33.42778, -112.12389﻿ (Maricopa County Jail)). Many prisons and jails throughout the United States have used, and continue to use, tents to house inmates.[16] Tent City is located in a yard next to a more permanent structure containing toilets, showers, an area for meals, and a day room.[17] It has become notable particularly because of Phoenix's extreme temperatures. Daytime temperatures inside the tents have been reported as high as 150 degrees in the top bunks.[18] During the summer, fans and water are supplied in the tents.[19]

When Arpaio took office, inmates were routinely being released early due to overcrowding. Arpaio believed that "courts, not head count" should determine when an inmate is released, and that no officer should be deterred from making an arrest for fear that the inmate would be released due to jail overcrowding.

However, a new jail would have cost Maricopa County taxpayers around US$70 million. So instead, Arpaio obtained surplus tents from the military, and established Tent City in a yard adjacent to one of the jail facilities. As an announcement to future inmates that they should not expect early release upon overcrowding, but more tents instead, Arpaio added a (pink neon) "Vacancy" sign to the outside of Tent City. The original sign was destroyed in an inmate riot, but was quickly replaced. A second Tent City was opened in 1996 adjacent to another jail facility, and houses female inmates.

According to former Sheriff's Office employees, Arpaio emptied an entire floor of one jail to help fill the tent city when it was opened. [20]

During the summer of 2003, when outside temperatures exceeded 110 °F (43 °C), which is higher than average, Arpaio said to complaining inmates, "It's 120 degrees in Iraq and the soldiers are living in tents and they didn't commit any crimes, so shut your mouths."[21] Inmates were given permission to wear only their pink underwear.

Tent City has been criticized by groups contending these are violations of human and constitutional rights, as well as by Erwin James, a journalist for The Guardian currently on parole from a life sentence in Britain,[22] but has been simultaneously praised by those favoring Arpaio's "get tough on crime" approach[who?].

In response to requests, the Sheriff's office offers group tours of Tent City. In addition, Arpaio has instituted "S.M.A.R.T." Tents (Shocking Mainstream Adolescents into Resisting Temptation), a voluntary program for middle-school students who are bussed to an area adjacent to Tent City and, for the next 24 hours, are shown the reality of jail life.


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## CountDC (30 Oct 2008)

now there is a man I like - put him in charge of all Canadian Prisons.

Prisoners on strike?  Take away all privileges now and institue a work for food rule (screw the bleeding hearts). Garuntee none of them will starve themselves to death.


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## gaspasser (30 Oct 2008)

Prisoners...on strike???  WTF is going on with our country these days??
I am totally f'ing speechless on this one.  Maybe the powers that be should recruit these people and send them off to A'stan...wanna strike now??? be'otch!
 :rage:    :rage:


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## Strike (30 Oct 2008)

dapaterson said:
			
		

> I must admit - I saw the first two words of the title and thought "Gee, what has she done now?"



I thought the same... ;D

Maybe the inmates at Collins Bay should stop their whining.  First years at RMC get fewer "room" rights then these guys.


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## Bruce Monkhouse (30 Oct 2008)

"Strike" has her own 'speciality channel??...................darn, where's that Visa card?


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## PMedMoe (2 Nov 2008)

This article runs along the same lines....

Federal lawyers appeal award given to killer

$6,000 handed to prisoner over facility's tardiness in providing him with extra-wide running shoes

The government is appealing a judgment that requires taxpayers to shell out $6,000 for the "pain and suffering" endured by a multiple murderer when prison authorities failed to promptly provide him with his annual pair of free running shoes.

Department of Justice lawyers filed an appeal notice last week asking a Federal Court judge to overturn a controversial ruling by Prothonotary Kevin Aalto, a judicial officer appointed by the Conservatives last year, The Lawyers Weekly reports.


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## cp140tech (2 Nov 2008)

This stuff is getting ridiculous.  Where will it end?


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## Franko (2 Nov 2008)

Let me get this straight...prisoners are bitchin and whining about their "rights"?

I have a solution. 

Bring them all to the FOBs and put them on OP shift for the remainder of their sentence. Don't give them a weapon mind you.

If they see anything, they sound the alarm. If they don't do that small thing they die along with us if we're over run. Convoys as well...early warning for SVBIEDs.

Wait until they see where they'd sleep....pain and suffering my arse.

Fack me...whining about nothing. Big tough convicts crying over nothing and the PC bureaucrats giving them everything they want.

Someone want to remind me why me and my buddies are over there again?

Garbage.

Regards


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## geo (2 Nov 2008)

Hmmm... maybee it's time for someone to tell em that they are not at "club fed".
They are in jail for doing a crime - they are doing time...

If they want to go on strike.... fine, turn off and drain the water & then... cut off the heat.
Once the inmates see reason, turn on the heat.... repeat as required.


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## Loachman (2 Nov 2008)

PMedMoe said:
			
		

> This article runs along the same lines....
> 
> Federal lawyers appeal award given to killer
> 
> ...



Could we adapt this as a means to solve the crappy boot problem?


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## ENGINEERS WIFE (2 Nov 2008)

:crybaby:  Boo Hoo
Gimme a freakin' break.
Our guys and gals are out living in some FOB, humping their stuff around, dirty, full of sand, sleeping on the ground, eating MRE's and risking life and limb in some faraway land. 
I have NO sympathy for any of there prisoners.
As Peter Griffin (Family Guy) would say "That REALLY grinds my gears!!!!!"  :threat:


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