Just read this article on the Reuters website and it sounds like a very risky idea:

'AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The Dutch Justice Ministry is planning to set up call centres in prisons, it said on Friday.
"In the Dutch prison system it is normal for prisoners to work part of the day," a government spokesman said, adding the ministry was in talks with a commercial call centre company.

The WGCC Dutch call centre association has reacted angrily however, warning the plan is unworkable and insults the professionalism of call centre agents.

"We advise our members and companies not to offer any services via prisoners," WGCC spokesman Herman Nieuwenhuis told De Telegraaf newspaper.

Using prisoners to sell theft or contents insurance would be a particularly bad idea, he added.'

Surely this is going to cause problems with their equivalent of the data protection act, not to mentio public perception of the company or service that uses that call centre.

I suppose you've got to take everything on it's merits, so it depends what the immates are doing, and probably more importantly, what they've done.

I can't imagine many organisations would be too happy with financial products being sold by prisoners - but then finance is usually a higher margin sale which can warrant paying more per agent.

But I can't see a problem with somone jailed for non payment of council tax working on a rail enquiries line.

I wouldn't think that high-security prisoners would be considered for this kind of work. I'm sure that inmates would be monitored much more heavily than standard agents would.

Isn't there a chance that such a scheme could help people get back on their feet by providing them with experience that's likely to land them a job once they've served their time?

Just my point of view.

Sadly I doubt very much if this is a practical joke.

This is/would be, a huge kick in the teeth to anyone trying to improve the public perception of call centres.

Jason

I agree with Darryl, it gives these people a chance to gain new skills whilst inside and give something back to society instead of us just supporting them with no reciprocation.

OK they are there to be punished but lets get something back from 'em whilst they are in. Or would you rather fund their PhD's instead?

How many ex-prisoners currently have careers in call centres?

If prison inmates were used for real enteprises such as these there's a chance that the prison would pay for itself - perhaps even have surplus cash to pay into victims compensation funds.

I have tried to find this article and can't so it may be a practical joke on us.

However even if it isn't, I cant believe you think its a good idea. Your opinion of call centre staff is that low that you feel it could easily be fulfilled by prison staff.

People in prisons are there to pay for their crimes. Working in a call centre is not (doesnt have to be)a punishment.

(conspiracy)
This is how it all starts, the government start a rumor then gage response as to the practicality of said subject, before you know another 10,000 people are out of a job and the government have turned prisons into a profit making organisation and privatised it.

Interesting debate starting here.

I see where you're coming from Jason, but truthfully some call centre jobs are dead boring and don't need a lot of talent.

Some call centre jobs are as highly skilled as they come.

Most fit somewhere inbetween.

This links into the ongoing argument about offshoring - I believe that offshoring more boring and mundane work is a good thing. Anyone who's built a career will know that the key to moving up is delegate the rubbish to someone else (!)

Another interesting debate is whether people are sent to prison as punishment, or to be punished!

Z

>>>>People in prisons are there to pay for their crimes. >>>>

They are paying for their crimes by losing their freedom.


>>>>Working in a call centre is not (doesnt have to be)a punishment.>>>>

Darryl isnt supporting any notion that it is.

>>>>>Your opinion of call centre staff is that low that you feel it could easily be fulfilled by prison staff. >>>>>

Darryl hasnt mentioned anything about the skills of prisoners. Most populations whether prisioners or not contain skilled and unskilled.

We must get beyond this attitude that people in prison should just supported by those outside and left to languish and be unproductive. Prisoners stop being prisoners once they leave, they dont overnight become productive members of society - this needs work and it needs solving.
Prisoners may (or may not) be the lowest of the low but no one is inferring that call centre staff are or them doing call centre work promotes this...unless one approaches the idea with preconceptions.
I for one would revel in seeing the Guinness gang or Mr. Archer answering a brochure request line.

Mr. Archer answering a brochure request line.

You'd need to make sure that they told the truth about what was in the brochures, of course.

My points are,

A, Prisoner who haven't paid there council tax go back to work.
B, Prisoners who are guilty of burglary, murder and rape will never make good call centre agents, so there no point in trying to prove they will.
C, HM Prisons would have such low operating costs they could be a huge threat to other outsourcers in the UK.
D, The profits would never be used to pay comp to victims, they would go in the governments coffers.

This is a very bad idea.

I understand your points Jason,

My point is

1. Not all prisoners are the same
2. Not all call centre work is of high calibre

I personally would not like to have convicted criminals having access to any of my information. When they were released from prison what would stop them from using that information to find you?

This is especially applicable to Debt ollection in which the Call centre reps have access to things like Electoral Roles.

Also, I would not like to lose my job to a criminal who has been removed from society for a reason. It is hard enough to get a job without having to compete with criminals.

I think that they should have to endure hard labour.

The article can be found on the reuters site www.reuters.co.uk by entering call centre into the search and it is the only story that comes up. The story is dated 21st Oct. I can't find a proper URL but it is at http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticleSearch.aspx?storyID=201843+21-Oct-2005+RTRS&srch=call+centre

My Dutch is very rusty, however I believe this is the article on the WGCC's website: http://www.telecommerce.nl/sf/sf.cgi?5542

It looks like it is outbound work being mooted; "used to sell consumer products by telephone" and makes the point that "householders would fear with every call from a call centre that they were speaking to a paedophile, murderer or burglar"

Z

I think its pretty much accepted that prisons can make criminals "better". i.e. you get a load of people, who have already shown the potential to be morally bankrupt, with nothing to do but discuss why they are in prison.

Part of that is no doubt how they got caught, how they would improve their technique in entering homes and leaving no evidence etc.

I for one would prefer that they were kept occupied for more of the day, at least in a call centre it would keep them occupied with little or no expense and maybe even income.

Point taken about any potential profit going into government coffers, but irrespective of whether you believe the gov't spend our money wisely, it's surely be advantageous to have that money rather than have to fund keeping prisoners occupied in other ways?

I think one potential avenue would be re-nationalising the directory enquiries function and using them to do that, very few issues with data protection and surely one of the most mind numbing of all call centre jobs?

Getting them all to do the speaking clock?

Has anyone employed any ex-offenders? Does anyone have any experience of their skills and capabilities or are we all projecting our preconceptions?

how would we know, necessarily?

I ask something along the lines of:

This is a position of trust and the incumbent will have access to financial data and personal details, so we have to ask do you have any unspent criminal convictions.

(unspent is when found guilty and convicted; crime of dishonesty if still in rehabilitation period don’t have to employ: 30 months prison; period is 10 years, absolute discharge, period is 6 months, if conviction is spent, don’t have to disclose)

Zoe, do you really use the word "incumbent"? I thought it was one of those words that you see written but never hear...

;-)

John

I would probably say position holder in normal speech, however having started the sentence with the word position, was looking to avoid its repetition in the written form!

Z