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Prisoners and saving wildlife

Discussion in 'Wildlife & Nature Conservation' started by vogelcommando, 13 Feb 2016.

  1. vogelcommando

    vogelcommando Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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  2. TheMightyOrca

    TheMightyOrca Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    Wow, that's really cool! In addition to being helpful for conservation, I bet it's rewarding for the prisoners too. A lot of prisons have cat and dog programs that seem to be pretty successful, pretty cool to see the idea branch out some.
     
  3. overread

    overread Well-Known Member

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    I know that in the UK RSPB has prisoners doing voluntary work both individually and in groups. Mostly this is focused on the rehabilitation side of things, prisoners nearer the end of their time and due for release getting back into the working environment and getting used to a life outside of prison. In addition it helps them gain some new skills, new experiences and puts something onto their CV beyond doing time.


    Certainly I think such initiatives are a good thing. If we expect those we send to prison to return to society at some point then to give those people skills, experience, confidence and something they can put onto a CV beyond their criminal past and doing time then all the better otherwise we are just going to recycle people through the system.

    For those who might never be released I think it gives a focus to their life and allows them to contribute back into society not just be a drain on society.


    Prison farms and the like have been around for ages and seem to go through cycles of use and disuse. I think in general such things tend to come with affluence, when the system is doing well there's more room to experiment and invest. When the system is doing poorly there's less money around and initiatives like this are ones that can be for the chop all the quicker when it comes to public spending money. Thus if wildlife charities can find prisons to be a resource to invest into its all the better.



    It also wouldn't surprise me if, with the potentially reduced distractions and increased time for focus, that prisoners are capable of achieving a single task to a very high level of skill. With appropriate training they've potentially got more time than most to devote to such endeavours and thus achieve what we might otherwise attribute to extreme levels of devotion outside of such a controlled and limited environment as prison is.
     
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  4. TheMightyOrca

    TheMightyOrca Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    I've read articles and watched documentaries on prisons. It fascinates me how creative and skilled they can get. Not surprising considering how much time they have. Like using random junk to make a tattoo gun, or these guys in solitary who set up a complex system to send notes to each other in a futile attempt to stave off madness. Ever hear of Robert Shroud, aka the Birdman of Alcatraz?
     
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