Posted on 02/04/2003 6:10:38 AM PST by MadIvan
A German website is giving the country's prisons star ratings just like a hotel guide.
Inmates, staff and visitors rate the prisons based on a system of up to five stars.
Almost all 220 German prisons are listed. One of the most popular is Hamburg prison, nicknamed Santa Fu.
One inmate wrote: "Very good food, very nice cells, nice officers, a decent daily rhythm. I keep coming back."
A member of staff there added: "The only thing missing is 24-hour room service. Sometimes I think I should change sides."
But there is also heavy criticism, like the comments on Erfurt prison by an ex-inmate who identifies himself as Peter: "It was the worst rat-hole I've ever seen. Shower twice a week, no private clothing."
Elke Anders who reviewed Hanover prison, wrote: "Even as a visitor you feel like a criminal. The only thing missing are the handcuffs."
Winfried Puchinger, who runs the site, says he wants to offer something to people inside and outside the prison.
He told Bild newspaper: "There is a widespread ignorance amongst the public. We want to offer comprehensive information. But most of all, the site is intended to be useful for prisoners."
Regards, Ivan
As one New Jersey prison employee put it, "A happy prisoner is a trouble free prisoner." Am I the only one who finds something fundamentally wrong with the idea of a "happy prisoner"?
I don't find anything wrong with the idea of a happy prisoner if for instance they are POWs or something and didn't do anything wrong. For bad criminals no confinement shouldn't be happy.
OK, I'll admit it. I'm completely missing the connection.
Why is this the "real question"?
Because for some wierd reason we have more people in prison than just about any other developed country. What the prisons are like is a small piece of the puzzle but only a small piece. I would bet that we have two or three times as many people in prison, per capita, as Germany and most other nations.
Sorry, I still don't see you making any connection between the relative rates of incarceration of our two countries and a rating system for German prisons.
We probably do have a higher per-capita rate (I don't know for certain). Even if we do, what does that have to do with whether or not there's a rating system for German prisons?
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