In Canada, six federal prisons are ignoring the safety concerns of security guards and setting up tax-subsidized tattoo parlors for convicts:

Inmates will be trained to operate the tattoo services, which are designed to stem the spread of infectious diseases such as hepatitis C.

Correctional Service Canada officials say prisoners have long used odd objects to give each other tattoos, including pieces of old VCR motors and the casings from pens. They say there’s no way to guarantee the cleanliness of such items.

The Union of Canadian Correctional Officers is opposing the move, warning in May 2004 that the proposed plan “poses unacceptable risks to security for [our] members, inmates and the community at large.”

The union also said inmates use tattoos to display their membership in prison gangs, a tactic that could work against their re-integration into the community after they are released.

Not to worry, though. If these Canadian convicts move to the San Francisco area, they can get American taxpayers to pay for tattoo removal services! The program is called CleanSlate:

Kelly Namowicz has a plan for the rest of her life.

“I want to go the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco,” she says. “I want to be a professional chef.”

But until now, there were 14 things standing in her way: tattoos that once almost covered her hands and arms, forcing her to wear long sleeves to job interviews to avoid being stigmatized.

“People judge you,” Namowicz says. “People don’t want to admit it, but it happens.”

Now, the tattoos are almost gone, thanks to a city program called Clean Slate. It pays for laser treatments that erase the tattoos, and help wipe away the past…

Word of advice: Next time, try the temporary ones.