Public Safety committee  I would answer that as president of the Frontenac Cattlemen and I would say yes.

Public Safety committee  Yes, I'm definitely convinced. We're told that these inmates aren't tracked, but we see them in the communities, and they are successful. They do get jobs. I'd say a higher percentage of inmates who go through these farm programs stay out of trouble. I would say that's a given.

Public Safety committee  I've been employed as a agribusiness instructor for 18 years.

Public Safety committee  While I was employed at the dairy operation at Frontenac, we'd put well over 100 inmates through that program in a year, and in the abattoir, probably 40 or 45 per year.

Public Safety committee  At Pittsburgh, we have a feedlot sitting empty now. It will not be filled up. Greenhouses were cleaned out of poinsettias the day before Christmas; they have not been restocked. The only part of the agribusiness that's currently operating is the abattoir at Pittsburgh Instituti

Public Safety committee  I can tell you that of at least three inmates I recently trained and released, one is currently delivering milk to stores and a local restaurant not too far from the prison. I see him there weekly. He's driving a truck; he's bringing milk to those businesses. He's reliable enough

Public Safety committee  In my particular shop, we have a punch clock, so the hours are definitely documented. They average seven and a half to eight hours a day. Two days a week they're allowed to work late because the staff work late. If they do stay after a certain hour, we notify security that we're

Public Safety committee  Well, I'm at Pittsburgh currently, and I would say there are in excess of 40, but the program has already been scaled down. They did employ about 60 inmates there, but we're at 40 currently.

Public Safety committee  That's for the abattoir only, and that contractor has been operating the abattoir there for 14 years now.

Public Safety committee  That's something we're not sure of. His contract expires in October.

Public Safety committee  If it carries on.... That's the myth--

Public Safety committee  A lot of these inmates learn to operate equipment while they're on the farms. They've never driven anything in their life. They can operate front-end loaders, tractors, and trucks at Frontenac Institution, heavy trucks. I know that several have gone out and got jobs on highway cr

Public Safety committee  I'd like to thank the committee for allowing us to speak here today. I'm a sixth-generation farmer, president of the Frontenac Cattlemen's Association, a director of the National Farmers Union, and an agribusiness supervisor for these prison farms. I've worked on both sites i