Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

Sigh. It cost a great deal of money per head to imprison. The chances of
them being able to truly earn their keep is very unlikely. If you wish to
just generate some form of work for them to do as part of the punishment,
fair enough. Provided you realise this may likely just *add* to the cost
of keeping them in prison. If it didn't, wouldn't it be in force now?

Don't forget that prisoners are expected to take part in either
'Industries' (factory work within the prison) or Education. Lounging in
the cell all day is discouraged. Some prisons have extensive industrial
training departments where prisoners can learn a trade.
They also do a lot of work around the site (painting, gardening, minor
improvement works, window cleaning, general site maintenance). All the
food is prepared and cooked by prisoners. The laundry is operated by
prisoners. Prisoners also staff the library, and the literate ones help
out with the education of their less fortunate bretheren. The TV systems
are usually operated by a prisoners (DVDs to change, info pages to
prepare and upload, etc).

Bill