Judith Collins - Tumblr Posts
No more smoking for prisoners!
Judith Collins is either a complete badass or is on a suicide mission. It's hard to tell at this point.
Collins announced yesterday that smoking is to be banned in prisons from 1 July 2011. This will be known as the day when prisoners all over the country start experiencing nicotine withdrawal symptoms. Damn, I would not want to be anywhere near a prison that week.
Prisoners and smoking - it's a natural combination. I know this is true, because I see it on films and TV. And they never lie to us! Collins seems to have other ideas.
Why is it that every other workplace can be smokefree except for Corrections? I find that unfair
Say what? Man, the prison guards probably have a very different definition of 'unfair'.
I'm a fan of banning smoking from the workplace. Banning smoking from, say, the offices of an accountancy firm is kinda sucky, but you'll live. Office workers will bitch to hell and back if you ban smoking. In extreme cases, there may even be an email petition but they will eventually step into line or find another job. Banning smoking from a prison is hella sucky and you are almost guaranteed a riot. Shit will get real.
In all seriousness, I understand banning smoking from inside prison cells. That's all cool. But why aren't there smoking areas for those who do smoke? There are smoking areas in other workplaces (usually in the parking lot out the back or something of that description). I'm sure that it would be easier to manage if there were options available to those who wanted to carry on inhaling the sweet, smoky taste of nicotine. Of course, I could be wrong about all of this. I'm not a politician/almighty decision maker and I don't need to reassert how much of a hardass I am.
Like the McChrystal fracas, this isn't about health. It's about politics. Any idiot can see that. Yes, it's important that we respect the health and rights of non-smoking prisoners and employees. I totally agree with this. I just think that this could've been done in a smarter way. A way that ensures the prison guards don't end up shitting themselves on 1 July next year.