Indian Convicts Redefine ‘Business’ Behind Bars

The Holy Bible says, “Hear, O man; what does the Lord require of you but to love mercy, do justice, and walk humbly with your God?” Criminals are often judged as the unwanted part of the society. May be they have committed crimes for which they were convicted once, but government takes many corrective measures to inspire them to go out and live a respectful life after their conviction. Here we sum up few business initiatives taken by those who were punished and sent to jail once, but now are turning themselves to successful entrepreneurs.

1. Inmates Turned Fashion Designers- Tihar jail

A collection of clothes designed by women inmates of the Tihar Jail were displayed at a fashion show as part of Women’s Day celebrations. The Tihar Jail has for the past five to six months been running a fashion designing course with about 550 women inmates currently enrolled in the course. “The message that we want to give through this event is that we can manufacture quality products in the jail which can compete with any branded items in the market,” said Sunil Kumar, Chief PRO, Tihar Jail. The jail has a factory which has 1100 people employees and the turnover was 15 crore last year and this year it has been around 30 crore.

2. Bakers Behind the Bar- Kerala Jails

After netting a handsome revenue of 6.75 crore in nine months through food-making venture, prisons in Kerala are planning to diversify into more products like cakes, pepped and footwear with an aim of fruitfully engaging prisoners and selling these items to the common man at affordable prices. According to a top Prison Department official, the prison food business posted an impressive turnover of 6.75 crore in the first nine months of this year and is expected to touch about 10 crore by the end of March, 2013.

When Kerala Prison Department ventured into the food business, the sole model before it was the food-making unit of Tihar Jail in Delhi, which sold about of 1.5 crore chapatis and 20 lakh packets of chicken curry last year. While hotels charge 75-90 for a plate of chicken curry and 7-8 for one chapati, the jail chicken-chapati combine costs just 30. The prisoners also benefit from the initiative with cooks and helpers earning 117 as their daily wages so that they can send an average of 3500 to their families a month.

3. Convicts Take a Shine to Leather – Indore Jail

The Indore jail prisoners have a new passion. And the passion also involves fashion. With 40-50 kg of leather made accessible to them every month, the inmates are busy whipping out leather goods to be sold locally. The jail has also been planning to market the handbags and wallets Bhopal, and a national squash later. The training is imparted by the Tata International Ltd, ), engaged in the business of leather goods.

“At present, the leather products (bag, handbags and wallets) are sold locally by small retailers. This is because the quality is not up to the level of a TIL product. To help them achieve the required quality, a technical person will be sent to the jail to train one of the inmates, who will be the master trainer. He, in turn, will teach the others,” said a company spokesperson, stated Business Line.

Cakes costing below 100 and low-price rubber sandals are the next in line and the food business initiative would be extended to two more prisons soon.

4. Handicrafts in Cuff – Jagdalpur Jail

The prisoners at Jagdalpur Jail have set a very inspiring example for many who have been convicted. Inmates at Jagdalpur Central Jail make a wide range of eminent mats and bed sheets, which are in high demand in global markets. There are also around 351 convicts who make art work, handicraft and other designer materials worth 1 crore every year.  “Now, they are always busy in different kinds of activities. These prisoners were being trained in handicrafts and other works so that they could start their own business after being released from the jail”, an official said, stated dailypioneer.com.

The jail has also arranged short term courses that help the prisoners to utilize their free time as well as use their labor in a positive way. The also make other products apart from bed sheets and mats like, beds, sofas, dining-tables, chairs, office tables, steel furniture, cupboards, terracotta items, swings, foot mats, table mats, pen holders and items with cloth, like towels.

5. Penitentiary “Dabbas”  – Tihar Jail

The women prisoners in Tihar Jail are ready to launch their own Tiffin services, and Tihar will be the first prison to start such a business. The idea was that the inmates would prepare the meal and supply lunch to corporate houses and government offices athwart the city.

 Director General (Prisons) Vimla Mehra told Newline, “We are planning to start with the women’s jail first and expand the project to the other jails according to the demand. The number of tiffins, inmates to be engaged in the project, the cuisine and menu depends on the demand. Tihar will try its best to satisfy the customers and give them excellent quality and tasty food” Once instigated the service will be an add on to Tihar’s bakery and snacks business that sells ISO-certified biscuits, nut crackers, salty mixtures and other snack items.

All women’s prison in Goa soon

Goa will soon have a prison exclusively for women convicts and undertrials, Deputy Chief Minister Francis D’Souza said Thursday.

Speaking to reporters in Porvorim, D’Souza said the move was in sync with prison reforms and added that efforts would be made to ensure that young criminals and undertrials would be kept away from hardened criminals in Goa’s prisons.

“The Aguada central jail will soon be dedicated to women only. The move is based on recommendations made vis-a-vis judicial reforms. All women undertrials and prisoners from other prisons in Goa would be shifted there,” D’Souza said.

The Aguada jail, located 20 km from here, is one of the oldest prisons in the country and is housed in a 17th century fort which overlooks the Arabian Sea and the most popular beach stretch in the state, Calangute-Baga stretch.

The jail once used to house freedom fighters, who were arrested over the years before 1961 protesting against the colonial Portuguese regime.

D’Souza also said a move to segregate young criminals and undertrials aged between 18 and 21 from hardened criminals had been started by the government and a dedicated jail had been identified for it.

“The Mapusa sub jail will only have these young boys, who often get mixed with hardened criminals and ruin their lives further. This segregation will only enhance the efforts of correcting them,” he said.

There are nearly 500 undertrials and prisoners in Goa’s three major prisons.

IANS

World’s Most Luxurious Prison

Inside the World’s Most Humane Prison

Anders Behring Breivik, the man accused of the July 22 killing spree and bomb attack, could be sent to Halden, a Norwegian high-security prison that aims to rehabilitate criminals with comfortable and thoroughly modern facilities.

Work of Art
To ease the psychological burdens of imprisonment, planners spent roughly $1 million on paintings, photography and light installations. According to a prison informational pamphlet, this mural by Norwegian graffiti artist Dolk “brings a touch of humor to a rather controlled space.” Officials hope the art — along with creative outlets like drawing classes and wood workshops — will give inmates “a sense of being taken seriously.”

The Outside In
The maximum sentence in Norway, even for murder, is 21 years. Since most inmates will eventually return to society, prisons mimic the outside world as much as possible to prepare them for freedom. At Halden, rooms include en-suite bathrooms with ceramic tiles, mini-fridges and flat-screen TVs. Officials say sleeker televisions afford inmates less space to hide drugs and other contraband.

Home Away from Home
Every 10 to 12 cells share a kitchen and living room, where prisoners prepare their evening meals and relax after a day of work. None of the windows at Halden have bars.

Free Time
Security guards organize activities from 8:00 in the morning until 8:00 in the evening. It’s a chance for inmates to pick up a new hobby, but it’s also a part of the prison’s dynamic security strategy: occupied prisoners are less likely to lash out at guards and one another. Inmates can shoot hoops on this basketball court, which absorbs falls on impact, and make use of a rock-climbing wall, jogging trails and a soccer field.

Recording Artists
There’s also a recording studio with a professional mixing board. In-house music teachers — who refer to the inmates as “pupils,” never “prisoners” — work with their charges on piano, guitar, bongos and more. Three members of Halden’s security-guard chorus recently competed on Norway’s version of American Idol. They hope to produce the prison’s first musical — starring inmates — later this year.

Prison Yard
Halden’s architects preserved trees across the 75-acre site to obscure the 20-ft.-high security wall that surrounds the perimeter, in order to minimize the institutional feel and, in the words of one architect, to “let the inmates see all of the seasons.” Benches and stone chessboards dot this jogging trail.

Splash of Color
The prison’s exterior features earthy brown hues that help it blend in with the surrounding woodlands. Inside, however, the walls explode with color. Halden hired an interior decorator who used 18 different colors to create a sense of variety and stimulate various moods. A calming shade of green creates a soothing atmosphere in the cells, while a vivid orange brings energy to the library and other working areas. A two-bedroom guesthouse, where inmates can host their families overnight, includes a conjugal room painted a fiery red.

More than Turnkeys
Norway’s prison guards undergo two years of training at an officers’ academy and enjoy an elevated status compared with their peers in the U.S. and Britain. Their official job description says they must motivate the inmate “so that his sentence is as meaningful, enlightening and rehabilitating as possible,” so they frequently eat meals and play sports with prisoners. At Halden, half of all guards are female, which its governor believes reduces tension and encourages good behavior.

Open Wide
Norwegian inmates lose their right to freedom but not to state services like health care. Dentists, doctors, nurses and even librarians work in the local municipality, preventing a subpar prison standard from developing. On-site, Halden boasts a small hospital and this state-of-the-art dentist’s office.

Village People
To help inmates develop routines and to reduce the monotony of confinement, designers spread Halden’s living quarters, work areas and activity centers across the prison grounds. In this “kitchen laboratory,” inmates learn the basics of nutrition and cooking. On a recent afternoon, homemade orange sorbet and slices of tropical fruit lined the table. Prisoners can take courses that will prepare them for careers as caterers, chefs and waiters.

Related articles

• Breivik’s Reward, If Convicted of Crimes of Massacre at Oslo [Dean's Corner] (scienceblogs.com)
• The Plush World of Norway’s Halden Prison (newser.com)