Canada's corrections department will not be letting guards at its highest security prisons wear stab-proof vests because, spokesman Tim Krause says, "If you have that kind of presence symbolized by [a stab-proof vest], you're sending a signal to the prisoner that you consider him to be a dangerous person."
In other words, simply by donning protective gear, you might hurt the feelings of a potentially dangerous criminal locked up in a maximum security facility, and therefore guards are not allowed to do so, reports the Calgary Sun.
Oh, and also, according to Krause, "It interferes with what we call 'dynamic security.' We want staff to talk to prisoners, to see how they're doing."
In other words, by trying to protect yourself, you might not be able to ascertain how the inmates really "feel."
Kevin Grabowsky, of the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers, put it most succinctly: The idea a prisoner might be "offended" is a "complete crock."
One guard at the Edmonton Institution has decided to wear his vest anyway, inexplicably valuing his own life over the feelings of convicted felons, to the complete shock and chagrin of Corrections Canada.
The unnamed guard has been threatened with disciplinary action, but he told the Sun: "Yes, I'm violating the rules. But management is stepping on my right to defend myself."
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