Prisons

How much do you really know about prisons? Let's be honest, most people don't tend to give prisons much thought. Though we are interested the workings of the justice system up until the point of sentencing, many people are happiest taking an "out of sight-out of mind" stance, after criminals have been convicted. But as responsible members of a progressive society, shouldn't we take it upon ourselves to learn more about how our punitive system works? Although it's easy to ignore what happens behind the walls of our prisons, our society's attitude towards crime and punishment has a direct influence on the quality of our lives, both financially and ethically. So what really goes on into our prisons? And does it reflect our ethical ideals?

Prisons have been around almost as long as man in one way or another, and they have a very dark and colorful history. Studying prison history in most countries is a fascinating way of charting the progress of the society's changing values and morals. Why not take some time to research the history of penitentiaries in your country and reflect on the impact your countries ideology surrounding penal affairs has on the current political climate?

You can also learn a lot about the correctional system by looking into the different jobs performed by the thousands of people employed by the system worldwide. Correctional facilities don't just require guards and wardens. Have you ever considered teaching in a penitentiary? Correctional facilities employ all sorts of people you wouldn't initially expect, from teachers, to doctors and nurses, to librarians, to cooks, to poets, to theatre practitioners, to custodial staff, to architects, to construction companies.

And from the point of view of an inmate, we can discover yet another view on the purpose our penitentiaries serve. For the inmate, correctional centres are self-contained communities with their own specific sets of laws and procedures - a way of life that we collectively condone, but most of us on the outside could never imagine.