Musings —05.26.2011 07:44 PM
—Team wk.com project
I’ve got an idea. I want you to get a camera and shoot some video of your friends and family – particularly women – and ask them the following question:
“What do you think of Tim Hudak’s plan to put convicts in your neighbourhood to do work?”
Then send their answers here – to comments or wkinsella@hotmail.com. I’ll put together the best answers for all of us to see.
I don’t think Timmy will like the results.
See, when he announced this, it was exactly what my mind went to. I don’t want some rapist raking leaves around kids at the local public park. There is a very viable piece of policy here, which is a provincial rehashing of the Federal Prison Farm program that was cancelled under the Harper GovernmentTM. That program was beneficial because it kept prisoners away from large populations (though I’m not sure rural citizens were particularly happy about it) and also gave the prisoners responsibility and purpose in their work. However, without further elaboration, all I can assume from Hudak is that he wants a Prisoners in Parks Program (It could be his own 3P!).
McGuinty’s been putting sex offenders into my neighbourhood for his whole term, without even having the courtesy to tell me he’s doing it.
Your point?
“What we have here is a failure to communicate”.
Thanks, Cool Hand Tim.
Lil Timmy says “hard work never hurt anyone!” Great quote from a guy who’s a professioinal politician and who’s never had a REAL job in his life.
Nothing quite like the sight of a chain gang, eh Little Timmy Harris?
Don’t worry about rapists raking leaves in your neighborhood. They will be chained. Chaingangs will also have a good deterent effect on potential criminals. Its a vote winner.
Ugh- why do righties always think that chain gangs and capital punishment and longer sentences have a deterrent effect on criminals? Criminals are criminals precisely because they don’t give a rat’s ass about the consequences of their actions. Thus if they don’t give a damn about the consequences of their actions, what good will upping the consequences do?
Huh?
Well?
Come on, answer me! Don’t just stand there with your mouth agape.
Oh, and please stop drooling.
Brilliant, so lets not have ANY laws, prisons, justice system, police force or consequences because, well according to your logic “what’s the point”?
I hardly think that the only reason that “criminals are criminals” is because they don’t give a rats ass about the consequences.
Any non-drooler could think of a whole bunch of reasonable and logical reasons why “criminals are criminals”. Your logic precludes making ANY attempt to prevent crime or to rehabilitate criminals.
Nice extrapolation. What are you my wife?
I asked my wife and she agrees with your wife.
That was my first thought last night – I don’t want criminals walking around my neighbourhood near my kids. And wait until the first one escapes. Did anyone actually think this plan through? Who is running this campaign? This could be a slam dunk win for the Conservatives but not with this guy, or his team. One dumb move after another.
I know a bit about this issue. In the 1980’s the organization I lead, got the first contract from the Provinical Director, to work with pahse one offenders, disposed of by the courts, with Community Service Orders. I put together a program tha was staff directed and volunteer driven and we put over 50,000 hours of service back to the community using these offenders. The problem was the Province continuously under funded the program. You need considerable resources for supervision and I can pretty well damn tell you the Province will under fund this again-they always do-regardless of the Party. So it might sound great to the public, but when put in operation it is a nightmare withour considerable funds to back the program and the Unions will not support it because the notion tends to threaten replacing Union work with criminals.
So in prinicple I do like the idea, but in reality it won’t work. It is a rather intoxicating idea though to the general populace.
In addtion, I had been trying for years to get the Ontario Courts and the Police ( as a alternative to court, using Restorative Justice as a model ) to refer young offenders back to the community to remove graffitti vandalism and that do failed. Unless the order comes from the Chief Of Police or the Attorney General, no one actually gives a shit.
So drawing on 31 years of experience-it won`t work without considerable funding and I will bet it is cheaper to leave the criminals in prison. I must have attended 100`s of meetings with Police and the Crown and each time I would get their nod of approval about community work and each time they did almost nothing.
So I am a big fan of community work, but I know it won`t work. I call it a “Shit Filled Twinkie“ Announcement ( can I copyright that term-Warren is my lawyer……..)
Oh one more thing. Several years ago I was driving through Florida and we noticed criminals, in orange suits cleaning up the highway. They were attended by a corrections officer who had an attack dog and a shot gun. I loved it, but my kids were really really scared.
Thank you for trying Piper, you are right it takes more than money – political will is also required.
Caledonia and the police sitting back while Black Blocs destroy property, while non-violent protestors get their arms broken, comes to mind.
I usually don’t agree with you, politically, but I think you have brought up some really important points here. Adequate funding for these programs are crucial to success. Unfortunately in times of retraint these are the very programs that are the first on the chopping block. This sort of penny wise, pound foolish approach plays well in certian political circles but often comes around and bites taxpayers in the ass.
It pays to remember that most offenders in the provincial system are going to be back in our communities in under two years. Having them re-offend costs everyone more money.
“Lil Timmy says “hard work never hurt anyone!” Great quote from a guy who’s a professioinal politician and who’s never had a REAL job in his life.”
He used to be manager of a Walmart. True story.
Actually, he didn’t even make it to manager.
His Wiki entry makes it look like he’s been suckling at the government teat his whole life. His parents too! Curious, for a rightie no?
Oh…and closing Prison Farms was a really dumb idea and I don`t know one person who thinks it was a good idea. Mr. McGuinty should re-open them forthwith, if Screwdak hasn`t made an issue of this, he soon will. It was a bad bad move. In the public`s view prison farms and community service tends to be a warm and fuzzy retributive idea, I think this is one of those wedges that is going to stick big time.
Anyway what do I know…..just saying
It’s out of McGuinty’s hands, I think: those were all Federal prisons whose farm programs got shut down, I believe… DESPITE the objections of the farming unions, who WANTED more trained workers and WANTED the land to remain in production.
But, no, to the vindictive CPC, it seemed like they were enjoying themselves too much, actually being productive… it’s back to the cells to become hardened, bitter, lifetime criminals, for them (a self-fulfilling prophesy; way to go, dumb on crime’rs).
http://www2.macleans.ca/2009/04/10/canada-to-shut-down-all-prison-farms/
http://www.nfuontario.ca/316/federal-decision-close-prison-farms-canada
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/story/2010/08/09/ot-prison-farms.html
This is true that the prison farm system was federal, but it could be brought back for provincial offenders. Look, in the end, I get the feeling people don’t like criminals, but they’re also not so vindictive that they think chain gangs are the answer. Most want criminals to serve their time, maybe pick up a few skills, get out of jail and get a job. Other than that, they don’t really want to think about corrections policy. Harpers appeal for tougher sentences made people feel safer. Hudak misjudged by making it seem like a political maneuver rather than him caring about Ontario families safety. it was a #fail.
well, it’d be a different “it,” though, no?
the fed. program was being carried out on federal land;
whereas if the province were to do some, it wouldn’t be bringing them back, it’d be starting them up from scratch, and would require them to acquire the land, first,
and thus they might have to go through a big NIMBY process to ensure the local population wouldn’t be endangered or object too much. (something that had already been vetted in the 6 fed. prison farms).
Not that that would be a bad thing to do… but that’s NOT what Hudak is suggesting; his is Dickensian, ill thought out move to try to reduce the need for the properly paid provincial and municipal workers who are NOT threats to the public welfare.
I actually think it’s a good idea for low risk offenders.
Wouldn’t it be more productive to send them back to school or have some real retraining?
Agreed, I certainly hope that new, modern prisons being proposed will include some training and educational facilities. I suspect that a good many of these folks dropped out of school early and need “parents” that will require that they complete their education.
The Pretender – Back on the Chain Gang.