Would you get your haircut by an ex convict?

[Chloe9]

Would you get your haircut by an ex convict? You don't get to know what they were convicted of, only that they spent time in prison and are fully trained and have been rehabilitated into society.

If they were trained properly then yes, can't see any reason why not.

Yes

If it's their job, probably yes.

I mean sure, they could slit my throat, but so could a hairdresser with no prior record.

I know for a fact that I’ve never had my hair cut by a rapist as I’ve only ever had my hair cut by a woman.

Ermmmm

What the ermmmm for? Rape is with a penis so yes, only men.

This isn't 'new' news, some women's prisons have run salons in the prison for years. They offer full training/qualifications, and the offer to write up a viable business model and apply for a repayable start up grant of up to 5k. It's no different to the education classes/courses, NVQs in catering, woodworking skills, art classes. The whole point is to rehabilate people into returning to the community with the ability to be able to contribute and financially support themselves. Anyone who has commited crimes against minors have to abide by restrictions so they can't come into close contact with under 18s, so they wouldn't be working in either a salon or in a mobile capacity anyway.

It wouldn't bother me. I assume there is at least as much selection process that they can speak civil to people and have been trained to cut hair. If I knew what the crime was, I wouldn't choose to have it cut by someone who was in for a violent crime, but I would have thought the biggest risk to a business would be more likely to come from someone who had been in for fraud or something like that.

Haircut by a convict? Yeah, ok.

Haircut at Timpsons? Erm...no thanks.

I’d actively support this business and I wouldn’t care about the offence.
Everyone, and I mean everyone, deserves the ability to turn their life around, simply from the self interested point of view that proper work, housing and social connections are proven to drastically cut reoffending rates.
I would take my children there as well as yes, I’m standing right there next to them so there’s no issue of abuse or grooming going on. My kids are educated in an age appropriate manner about grooming and the like, I’m confident they are as safe as they can be in that respect.

Actually MrsTerryPratchett i’m Fairly certain they changed the definition of rape a while ago - now it’s penetration by an object, whether penis, dildo or whatever. So men can be raped and women can be rapists.

Timpsons is an amazing employer and the owner has done a huge amount to support people to turn their lives around. He and his wife have fostered lots (60+) iirc children so he is fully aware of the impact of poor life experiences at an early age.

I would be fine with having my hair cut by an ex prisoner. Not because I'm "cool" but because I'm very aware of the difference in re-offending rates between people who leave prison with somewhere to live and a job and those who don't, and would like to support initiatives and enterprises which in turn support those who need it.

Actually MrsTerryPratchett i’m Fairly certain they changed the definition of rape a while ago - now it’s penetration by an object, whether penis, dildo or whatever. So men can be raped and women can be rapists.

No they didn’t - women can (very rarely) be guilty of rape by being convicted of an aiding and abetting type offence. They can’t actually take anyone under English law.

Yes of course. I believe in rehabilitation, 2nd chances.

It wouldn't bother me, in a salon. Lots of decorators and builders learned their trade 'inside'.

I think even with violent crime there are exceptions. I was watching 'the dog house', the lady getting a dog had been in prison for a violent crime. She was no longer allowed to work as a nurse or continue to live in New Zealand because of that.

Her crime was murder, her mother had terminal cancer and asked for help to die so she helped.

There cutting your hair not robbing you

In a salon, absolutely, as long as they had been trained, etc.

James Timpson says in this article that they don’t employ sex offenders:

www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/10266250/Timpson-has-key-to-giving-ex-convicts-second-chance.html

@FrenchFancie you are mistaken about what rape is, and I feel it’s an important thing to correct.

In the UK, the elements of rape in law are:
(A) intentionally penetrates the vagina, anus or mouth of another person (B) with his penis;
(B) does not consent to the penetration, and
(A) does not reasonably believe that (B) consents

www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/rape-and-sexual-offences-chapter-2-sexual-offences-act-2003-principal-offences-and

The 2003 sexual offences act actually states “with his penis” - rape is a crime that can only be perpetrated by a man.

There are a very few convictions of women for rape by ‘joint enterprise’ - their actions fundamentally facilitated the rape (such as holding the victim down for a man to rape) so they were convicted of the crime jointly, but a penis still had to be involved for it to be rape.

In this brave new world there are also transwomen convicted of rape who may now be counted in various statistics as women. They have still used their penises to rape.

Other countries may have different legal definitions, but in the UK, rape involves a penis.

Anyway, back to convicts cutting hair...... a PP wrote about released violent/sexual offenders likely to have conditions on their licence which would not permit this kind or work - that is pretty reassuring, because that is my reluctance to have a male ex-prisoner doing my hair. But I guess that fudges the conditions of the OP question that we don’t know the nature of the crime! If I knew it wasn’t violent or sexual in nature then I wouldn’t have the same level of concern - someone convicted of fraud or burglary could crack on.

I would have no problems with this, rehabilitation is extremely important.

@kyvia you are also incorrect on the definition of rape.

The act you cite is not UK wide - it's not relevant in Scotland. In Scotland the relevant act is the 2009 Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act. Rape is defined as :

If a person (“A”), with A's penis—
(a)without another person (“B”) consenting, and
(b)without any reasonable belief that B consents,penetrates to any extent, either intending to do so or reckless as to whether there is penetration, the vagina, anus or mouth of B then A commits an offence, to be known as the offence of rape.
(2)For the purposes of this section, penetration is a continuing act from entry until withdrawal of the penis; but this subsection is subject to subsection (3).
(3)In a case where penetration is initially consented to but at some point of time the consent is withdrawn, subsection (2) is to be construed as if the reference in it to a continuing act from entry were a reference to a continuing act from that point of time.
(4)In this Act—
“penis” includes a surgically constructed penis if it forms part of A, having been created in the course of surgical treatment, and
“vagina” includes—
(a)the vulva, and
(b)a surgically constructed vagina (together with any surgically constructed vulva), if it forms part of B, having been created in the course of such treatment.

This has the effect that in Scots law Rape can be committed by Transmen (natal women) who have had penis construction surgery and can be perpetuated upon transwomen (natal men) who have had the relevant surgery.

I know that I have come in to contact with many ex criminals as I used to help run a food bank and their probation officers would bring them in. As much as I treated him with as well as any other client I had contact with a known paedophile within another community food project I was involved with. It was extremely stressful.

But I would personally not want my haircut by anyone with any history of violence and or sex offences. It’s just up too close and personal. I’m all for rehabilitation but would I choose to be physically touched by someone who derived pleasure from terrorising others, not a chance.

Yes. I don't know whether my hairdresser has a criminal record nor the barber who sorts my son's hair.

I'm happy to support enterprises like this. Given a choice do we want people active and working in a society they are engaged in or excluded and marginalised so they have no stake in society.

Timpsons have some very clear ethical practices that are long-established so I'm sure they're not naive to any issues.

Yes of course I would, why not? It's good that ex cons find work, I'd certainly support that. For goodness sake, are you worried about the person wielding scissors? Most people in prison are not there for violent crimes and let's face it, a hairdresser/barber is someone you can trust with scissors (unless they are Sweeney Todd).

Yes.

Of course I would. They've served their time and it's not any of my business.