HR’s strange side: Taking the wellness idea a bit too far
June 4, 2009 by Jim GiulianoPosted in: Behavior, Health care, In this week's e-newsletter
Agreed: Bicycling on the open roads is good exercise. OK, then, how about prison inmates on bikes on open roads? Hey, what could possibly go wrong?
Someone in France thinks this is a good idea and good way for prisoners to stretch their legs a little. That’s why this month about 200 inmates from a prison in Nantes, a city in the western part of the country, will get to hop onto government-supplied bicycles for the first ever Big House Tour de France. (They’re not calling it that, but we kind of like the sound of it.)
The prisoners will be followed around by 124 bicycle-riding guards. Let’s see now: 200 prisoners and 124 guards. By our math, that leaves 76 unaccompanied felons pedaling toward freedom on the French countryside.
Anyway, the group ride will cover about 1,400 miles through 17 cities, and will end in Paris, just like the non-penal version of the Tour de France. One assumes there will be a head count of those crossing the finish line.
One participating 48-year-old prisoner said of the ride: “It’s a kind of escape for us, a chance to break away from the daily reality of prison.”
Apparently no one informed him that “escape” and “break” are not the words race officials were waiting to hear.
Tags: exercise, Tour de France
June 8th, 2009 at 12:35 pm
First off, hats off to the author of this article, love your humor!
What part of ‘prison’ don’t they understand? Why are they rewarding criminals of all people? How many underpriviledged children deserve to get the government supplied bikes instead! Seriously, where will the insanity stop? What’s next, gun shooting events for the prisoners that we can all attend at their next prison fair?
What a waste of government funds! Totally absurd is all I can say!
June 8th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
You cannot make this stuff up……………………….
June 9th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
No matter whether a high security or low security prison…prisoners are confined to quarters as a punishment for their crimes against society…right? If the government is concerned about the health/welfare of their prisoners give them a stationary bike to ride. I would think the expense for that many bikes and the wages for that many guards for that much time could be better spent. I think they are just asking for a break (of sorts).
June 15th, 2009 at 11:58 am
Too funny! I want an update at the end of the race!!
June 15th, 2009 at 12:05 pm
Unbelievable!!! I think all of these “officials” should be taken in for a drug test. They should be relieved of duty just for making the proposal.
June 15th, 2009 at 1:27 pm
Seriously, did anyone ever consider stationary bikes instead?!
June 15th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
Well, as funny as this story is, it really isn’t an HR story. I mean, the Prison’s HR Dept would direct the prison’s employee events – guards and such. Not the prisoners themselves.
Definitely no one I know in HR would be crazy enough to organize an event like this one!!
June 15th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
Should we be surprised? It is France afterall… where Socialism is alive and well!
June 15th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
You know if I didn’t really believe that “truth is stranger than fiction” I wouldn’t believe this article,
but seeing how everything is going backwards these days – it wouldn’t surprise me at all that this
kind of c–p ! is going on ! I read once in the “Good Book” that it will be bad for those that call good – bad and bad – good. I don’t know – but here lately – I feel like I need to read that “Good Book” again because there is stuff – that – it’s – just not making any sense any more and people just seem like they are oblivious of what’s going on.
June 15th, 2009 at 3:50 pm
I’m assuming these are minimum security prisoners. Our FPC (Federal Prison Camps) have no fences here in the USA. If you’re dumb enough to leave one and get caught you get tossed in a medium security, which is a BIG difference so 99.5% don’t even think about it. I’m told most of those who sneak out are those with additions they are trying to get a fix for (beer and pizza anyone?). You can’t get into one of these facilities if your crime was violent in anyway even if nobody got hurt but you used a weapon, I hope that’s the case in France. I see the US doing something as goofy down the road no problem.