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Inmates at GMU?

Virginiaplanter

Regular Member
Joined
Jun 5, 2007
Messages
402
Location
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GMU has active inmates working on campus.


Inmate Hires Draw Union Protest:


"But when some Sodexo workers voted to go on strike, prison workers from the Fairfax County Jail were being brought in, possibly to take over their duties.

The prisoners are part of the Fairfax County Sheriff's Department work-release program, contracted by Sodexo directly through the sheriff's department.

According to GMU spokesman Dan Walsch, the university has been aware of the fact Sodexo has been using prisoners in this capacity for more than a year.

"This is not unique to George Mason," he said. "Other universities across the country participate in similar programs. These guys are nonviolent offenders who may have had a DWI, or not paid their child support, and we have not had any problems."

http://www.fairfaxtimes.com/cms/story.php?id=2199
 

jmelvin

Founder's Club Member
Joined
Jun 12, 2008
Messages
2,195
Location
Lynchburg, Virginia, USA
Hell we (collectively) deal with people who may have done time for rape or plead down murder charges to manslaughter just so a prosecutor gets to chalk up a prosecution every day. Rather than these folks seeing the point of 3 little injection needles we likely interact with them daily. These people working for Sodexo are likely just the ones dumb enough to get caught doing piddly stuff.
 

skidmark

Campaign Veteran
Joined
Jan 15, 2007
Messages
10,444
Location
Valhalla
If GMU has inmates working there, the University and the County Sheriff need to take steps to enforce laws and regulations about inmates being in the presence of firearms. Note that I am not saying that they need to prevent law-abiding citizens from carrying firearms where otherwise lawful because of the presence of the inmates.

It is the Sheriff's responsibility to supervise the inmates' movement such that they are not allowed to go in areas where they may encounter law-abiding citizens who are lawfully carrying firearms on the GMU campus. The Sheriff should not be attempting to restrict the movement and access to the campus of law-abiding citizens.

Does that need to be stated any clearer?

Does anybody want to bet that the Sheriff has already considered these issues and taken the appropriate steps to properly supervise his Work Release inmates? I've got some spare change I'll put up against that bet.

Not that I would want to screw up the Work Release deal (inmates need every advantage they can get to pay off court costs, fines, child suupport arrearages, etc., as well as get some real-world work experience) but this is the sort of lackadaisical operation that puts law-abiding citizens in jeopardy. I've been out of the system for several years now, but it used to be that WR inmates needed to have someone physically check on them at least once between being dropped off and being picked up. If that's still going on I'll bet that the Deputy doing the check is not even thinking that a law-abiding citizen with a sidearm could be on the campus and in proximity to a WR inmmate.

stay safe.
 

jmelvin

Founder's Club Member
Joined
Jun 12, 2008
Messages
2,195
Location
Lynchburg, Virginia, USA
I'd imagine that it's actually the opposite. Sodexho likely contracts the Sheriff's department to provide work release inmates to do the work that Sodexho needs to have done. This kind of thing is exactly what I believe inmates should be doing if they are incarcerated.
 

skidmark

Campaign Veteran
Joined
Jan 15, 2007
Messages
10,444
Location
Valhalla
Work Release is basically an attempt to reintegrate prisoners into the job market - or gve them their first taste of real-world work experience. They get paid real-world rates - cannot give them less than the starting rate of free workers so no minimum-wage exploitation when everybody else starts at a higher rate. (There are certain industries where an exception is permitted, but working commercial food service is not one of them.)

WR inmates pay a daily room&board fee, a percentage of their net towards (in this order IIRC) court costs, unpaid fines, child support arrearages, current child support, and anything remaining is split between a non-interest-bearing account towards a nest egg for release and their "canteen" account. WR inmates do not get to have cash in hand, cannot (if things are still the same) eat company food (they get a sack lunch on the way out the door ion the morning), and if they wear a uniform at work must change back into the street clothes they wore leaving the jail at the end of the day. I'm thinking that all of the jails have gone smoke-free but may be wrong on that. If so, there are no smoke breaks during work, but they do get other "rest periods" like all other workers.

Unlike a jail where the law says you cannot bring in firearms, the Work Release environment needs to control the inmates and their possible access to firearms and other contraband. In other words, just because there are WR inmates on site does not mean the Sheriff can try to post the place.

Since GMU has used the Va Administrative Code to place dining facilities off-limits, we are faced with situations where these WR inmates might come into contact with law-abiding citizens carrying firearms on other areas of the campus - such as passing by the area where they enter/exit the cafeteria, take their breaks outside, etc.

stay safe.
 
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