Tattoo parlour for prison

http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/EdmontonSun/News/2005/04/24/1010848-sun.html

WINNIPEG -- Manitoba's Rockwood Institution is one of six prisons across the country that will open a tattoo parlour as part of a $700,000 federal pilot project, officials have confirmed. The tattoo parlour, to be run by inmates, is expected to open soon, Corrections Canada spokeswoman Cathy Stocki said.
The program is funded by Health Canada and is aimed at slowing the spread of hepatitis C and HIV in prisons.
Not everyone is a fan of the program.
"This is just absolute lunacy," said Joe Wamback, founder and chairman of the Canadian Crime Victim Foundation.
"Seven hundred thousand dollars of taxpayers' money to provide tattoos for convicted rapists, con artists and killers, when we still refuse to provide psychological counselling to the victims?"
Rockwood is a minimum-security prison with close to 100 inmates at Stony Mountain, just north of Winnipeg.
Inmates will have to pay $5 for each tattoo session, and certain images, such as gang insignias, will not be permitted.

Bath Institution is doing this as well.
Kassiesgma

Hmmm,
I wonder what the marginal comparison is between

1) the costs of the tattoo setups and
2) the costs of treating an inmate with Hep C or HIV

I do believe it should cost the inmates more than $5 per session, though...
to recomp some of the costs for the taxpayers - I mean, they are paying more than that for the illegal ones, I'd imagine. Let the artists charge the most they can, and make them buy their own equipment!!

Other hobbies allowed in prison require the inmates to purchase their own equipment (musicians, artists, etc...) Even in the institutional wood and glass shops (here is BC) the inmates still have to buy their own supplies, etc...

I think they should maybe have met halfway - new rules allowing inmate tattoo artists to purchase and then use tattoo equipment, in a regulated manner, would've made a huge difference in the spread of disease and the prevalence of illegal tatooing... But have they gone over board by spending $700,000 to provide the studio for them...?

There's not enough info here to really tell, though....
Does anyone know, are both prisons' gonna pay for the whole shop?

and Does this mean tattooing in general is no longer illegal by CSC regulations?
It used to be an identification issue, didn't it... ?

I think tattoo studios in prison is a positive step that CSC has taken, I think that it should be initiated in all federal prisons.
If CSC were to allow artists to charge whatever they like then there may be the possibility that inmates would again start using the homemade tattoo guns operated by some one who may or may not give a shit about clean sterile equipment. By charging $5 per session, CSC is making it easily afforded by inmates who want a tattoo. Thereby decreasing the risks associated with tattoos and dirty equipment. Studies that I have read while I was incarcerated stated that a very high perportion of inmates are infected with hep c. I think that would mainly be due to IV drug use. Never the less, because of the high rate of hep c infected individuals, unless safer practises are utilized that rate will only continue to increase.

Obviously the health care cost's associated with treating an infected individuals would far outweigh $700 000 for the tattoo parlours. Can we put a price on health.

Well I was in I was actively trying to get support for a needle exchange program, for the very same reasons that they are implementing tattoo studios. I am not an iv drug user, but I have seen the same needle being shared by a great number of people. CSC has to implement a needle exchange program, to save lives, and money which I think is their biggest concern.

Any thoughts?

There isn't a federal mandated needle exchange?
I kinda assumed they would be doing that - isn't that just common sense?

Wow.
That would be more productivbe that tattoo studios.

Hmmm. thanks

No there is no Needle exchange program, CSC had a big enough problem allowing Bleach (they were afraid that bleach would be used as a weapon against guards). Which to my knowledge has not happened as of yet. While I was inside I read a great study on needle exchange programs, you can down load it here http://www.aidslaw.ca/Maincontent/issues/prisons/NEP_150604.PDF

I just recently got some mail from the Deputy Prime Minister about a letter I wrote asking the Government to implement a needle exchange program, they basically said that the healthcare of all Canadians is paramount. Yet they gave me nothing to indicate that a needle exchange program would be forthcoming.

Opps that was the short version for more info click here http://www.aidslaw.ca/Maincontent/issues/prisons/pnep/toc.htm

The full version can be downloadd here http://www.aidslaw.ca/Maincontent/issues/prisons/pnep/PNEP-report.pdf

sorry for three posts to get to the point