Do Not Get Me Started: the convict call centre

I have always believed that no matter what the crime, if a prisoner wishes to change then it is for the benefit of both themselves and society to allow him opportunities to do so, but is call centre work the best that this coalition government can offer?

Recently I read an article while browsing the internet one bored evening at work, that caught my eye concerning a new employment strategy the government are thinking of implementing; and it involves setting up call centres within prisons. Admittedly it took me by surprise and instantly I thought it would be the biggest waste of time and money. After all, call centre work, from personally experience, is the most soul sucking job I have ever had the desperation to go for; sitting all shift on a telephone calling people who even I avoid and fob off with lame excuses whenever I hear the familiar accent of ‘hello’ that you can only achieve in a call centre. So getting a call centre in a prison? Is that really going to do much for the prisoners? Admittedly I don’t think that they should get amazing jobs, opportunities to get the amazing jobs yes.

But does the government really think that a bunch of convicts sitting at the end of a telephone listening to the 80-something-year-old woman moan about her car insurance when you have rung up about her banking inquiries is likely to improve the situations for these people?

I know that I wanted to leave the call centre as soon as I could find another job… so maybe that is the angle that the government are taking; get them to be so desperate that they will do anything to get a better job. Maybe it is the ultimate punishment for convicts, to have to sit in a call centre and listen to people moan on at them or be rude at the end of the phone constantly; better than solitary confinement I think. But there are a few flaws with this approach I feel.

One, there is already a distinct lull in the employment market for youths between the ages of 16- 25 who are struggling to get the necessary experience to even get a retail job, so why should available jobs be set up for prisoners when hard working citizens are struggling in the real world as it is? Is the employment market, one of the main issues that David Cameron insisted he would be addressing during his time as Prime Minister, going to really be helped by prison call centres? Well in a way I think that he is right, and is almost killing two birds with one stone.

If you give a prisoner a job, no matter how bad it might be, it will spur them on to get something better and also give them experience which is greatly needed for any type of employment in this strict job market. It will also give the prisoners a purpose within their cells; so why not make them do the job that everyone seems to actively avoid. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy to be working in a call centre as a full time occupation!

Secondly this again comes down to cost, how much is the new venture going to cost the tax payer to set up? I don’t think that it will be cheap. Obviously the prisoners are paid a wage, and due to the amount of human rights issues that are being raised lately I think that national minimum wage would be in effect. Is it really going to benefit the wider society if prisons are installed with call centres for jobs? I mean prisoners already have access to some facilities that even students aren’t privileged to; such as good apprenticeship schemes with local and national firms, with a job at the end of it guaranteed, and even a good library and gym for free use. Why are people that are convicted of crimes, no matter how small or insignificant, allowed better facilities and opportunities then some children are getting? Is David Cameron really trying to re-shape Britain through iron bars? It is certainly a different approach…

I am not overly political when it comes to stances, I don’t have a particular party that I currently support; and considering my vote went to the Liberal Democrats last election, I am certainly not one to comment strongly on political agenda and what is deemed ‘right’. So from this purely personal point of view, all I see is the beginning of an opportunity for companies such as Virgin and Sky to make even more money from the exploitation of society’s ever- evolving money driven community; and taking on the role of prison owner in order to create these facilities. And if I am honest, thinking about it, that might not be the worst thing for Britain.

Convict call centres could be the answer to bridging the gap between unruly and costly government prisons, and privately owned compulsory work stations. It might not be the right image that we want to send to other countries about how we treat our prisoners, but at the end of the day, I think that might work in small quantities. There is no real lose situation with it really, is there? Prisoners deserve a second chance in most cases, and personally within this climate it might be the easiest option for both government and individual to accommodate that through these convict call centres. For David Cameron, it might be a step in the right direction, but I am still undecided whether this direction is as positive for the public.