Prisoners Do Call-Center Work

I am skipping a little ahead of myself by talking about my Prison Nursing stint - passing over my 16 yrs of OB history but this article in our local paper caught my eye, and I just had to comment.

There's a whole lot of wrong about the proposed employment of prisoners to answer phones at call centers in India. The head honcho from Radiant Infosystems- the Indian company initiating this- thinks it's ok but I am not sure I am ready to trust a third world's opinion of who should have access to the public's personal information....especially a society that considers a "dowry murder" to be a "middle class crime" ( new wife killed by her husband or in-laws because her family did not pay enough dowry). A thumbs up for having those "highly-educated and computer-literate petty criminals" above dabble with our info is at the very least, unnerving.

Not only will they work in a brand new call center, initially processing insurance claim forms and bank account applications for Indian clients....but apparently, they will also be sourced out to "handle customer phone calls" for Banks and other customers in the UK and the USA. (you might want to find out which of YOUR companies will be using them)

We are supposed to feel reassured when they state that anyone convicted of fraud or robbery won't be allowed to work the phones. Gee - thank goodness *only* the middle class "murderers and violent criminals" will be talking to us. I am stupefied at this rationalization.... who on earth would ever assume that the sins of these prisoners don't overlap?

And, while we are at it....Since when is it OK to have convicted killers working with potentially sensitive information? When I worked in the prison system, the computers and routine phone access to the outside world were pretty much off limits to I/Ms (inmates). It is mandatory that All STAFF check in any cell phone or other communication devices at the door. Coming to work one walks through a screening device, then sniffed by the occasional drug dog, one's purse or lunch took a separate trip through an airport type luggage scanner AND before one reclaims one's personal stuff, the prison guards will run a wand all over your spread-eagled body. No accessing www on work computers unless you wanted to be hauled in and thoroughly questioned by management.

But, hey - lets just hand over full access to the inmates......because they are so much more reliable and trustworthy than the average RN and prison guard.......who thinks this stuff up?

"Our" prison was a Medium Security facility - mostly pedophiles and sex offenders. (an aside here: by the way, the most polite I/M I ever had was an American....he thought he had died and gone to heaven. Prisons in Canada are to be compared to a country club in than the prisons south of the border. He knew how lucky he was to be in the Canadian system....it was always "thank you ma'am, yes please, anytime ma'am" - of course I am aware that they all try and schmooze the ones that hold the key to the drug room....)

Most of these I/Ms you couldn't even trust to do our janitorial work in the Clinic without stealing stuff.   I can only imagine how much sensitive info could be gleaned, only to be used in an unsavory manner. Granted, there is the argument that these guys will be going out in the real world fairly soon (or not) and would need the on the job training in order to integrate into society. BUT - I doubt that any company outside prison would hire one of these goofs (NOTE: by the way- don't ever call an I/M a goof if you value your life. That is worse than ANY other name you could think up. Count yourself forewarned.) after release once their history is put out there. Too much of a risk. It is very much like telling the prison RNs at the prison I was employed at to work. It just ain't gonna happen.

A Few of the Viewed Behaviors of your Average Inmate that might look bad on their resume:

 DRUG SMUGGLING: suitcasing contraband (suitcasing=hiding in rectum) Families can also participate in the Visitors' Center in everything you can think of - or wouldn't think of - from Baby's Diapers to Vaginas.

STEALING: one of the RNs kept her loose tea in our break area - that organic looking stuff that looks vaguely like MJ-the I/M assigned to clean our clinic probably cut it in with the real stuff for increased product, therefore increased profits. Another item high on the list of "missing items" are dirty used syringes and needles that are fished out of the disposal bucket - and the way the setup is....one would really have to work at it to retrieve them....

MANIPULATION:  they all do it.  Or at least try it. Without exception.

LYING:  this goes without saying.  See "manipulation".

POSSESSION OF WEAPONS: making weapons of run of ordinary stuff - toothbrushes, utensils...things you would never dream you could transform into anything else. If it can be sharpened, cut, attached, woven, filed - it can be used as a weapon - on other I/Ms or staff...

ILLEGALLY DISTILLING ALCOHOL FOR THE PURPOSE OF DISTRIBUTION: brew making - any container will do-plastic bags,old cartons, pop bottles, toilets, sinks etc - who cares what was in it - or just add salt to the alcohol gel hand cleaner.....

POSSESSION OF PARAPHERNALIA: ...if you can't steal a dirty needle, then there are other ways to inject things....such as home made paraphernalia out of pens, wood....these guys can be very creative

UNSANITARY PERSONAL HABITS: Smearing sh*t in your open wounds so that you require ongoing nursing care and therefore - medication for pain....necessitating ENORMOUS amounts of methadone.

DISEASE MONGERING: Sharing tattoo needles after an expensive (not for the I/M of course) successful full course of treatment for Hep C - which by the way, you can get any number of times as a prisoner but as an average free citizen you can only get if your counts are so out of whack you may as well kiss your liver goodbye.

You can see what excellent models of good citizenship these guys are.

Thankfully I quit a month before the Big Riot.

Even more thankful that I quit before the other RNs drove me up the wall (with one exception - and YOU know who you are!! ). Sad situation where one can have more tolerance for a prisoner than a fellow RN.

I am just praying that when my bank or phone company answers my call.....I won't be speaking to a guy with a penchant for guns and knives - especially when he knows my address......