Tattoo Program Ends at Canadian Prisons

OTTAWA, Canada — A program that sanctioned tattoo parlors in Canadian prisons was canceled while the department of corrections determines if it had any effect on curbing the spread of infectious diseases in prisons.

The one-year pilot project allowed six tattoo parlors to operate in prisons in Canada under a $700,000 grant supplied by the Federal Initiative to Address AIDS/HIV in Canada.

The program was created to see if providing a safe place for inmates would reduce the spread of diseases behind bars and in the public after inmates are released.

Officials in Canadian prisons claim that tattoos that are done in unsafe environments are one of the biggest causes of infection. Inmates have a 10 percent greater chance of contracting HIV and a 30 percent greater chance of contracting Hepatitis C when in prison as opposed to on the streets.

Canadian inmates often mix cigarette ashes and toothpaste to create tattoo ink that is applied with sewing needles, paper clips and twist ties instead of a conventional tattoo gun.

Critics of the program claim that inmates were able steal ink and needles for illegal tattoos. Correction officers are doubtful that the parlors will be reinstated.