http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/pr ... 19146.html

Time to break out (no pun intended) the sort of footballs you get in seaside shops

Give them one ball and if they burst it against the razor wire then they do without for the rest of the financial year.

Remember when prisons were prisons instead of holiday resorts?

What would you rather? Keeping themselves fit or you having to deal with them as obese citizens once they are released?

Always thought the American system of turning it into an industry in some states should be considered.

Yes but then the US system is so incredibly corrupt. They undercut real workers in jobs elsewhere. How would you feel if your job was now being done by a prisoner at €1 a day. They also get paid by the state to keep them locked up and there is a real problem of people doing far longer inside for crimes committed in jail.

It wouldn't apply with my job I can assure you

In terms of undercutting jobs, that already happens on a vast scale, whether unpaid interns, students, immigrants... At least this would help fund the prison system while possibly proving a deterrent/introducing a work ethic. Just depends on how it's handled, this is all devil's advocate

TBF, given the recidivist rates it would at least make them easier to catch...

Jon

Only if the plods were not fatter.