This doesn't have much to do with shopping unless it is the hope that an inmate in a California prison may some day have the opportunity to go out on the street and shop to his or her heart's content.  I have had the privilege and good fortune to be involved with an organization that enables men and women who have made mistakes and ended up incarcerated to have that opportunity.  It is called Criminon. 

Criminon (which means “no crime”) is an international non-profit public benefit corporation dedicated to addressing the causes of criminality and through effective drug detoxification, education and common sense programs restore the criminal’s self-respect thus making them responsible for their actions so that they may become ethical and productive citizens. 

Criminon utilizes the research discoveries made by American author and humanitarian, L. Ron Hubbard, who personally worked as a Special Officer for the Los Angeles Police Department in the late 1940’s. Mr. Hubbard discovered that every criminal career began with a loss of self-respect. When man could not longer trust himself, only then did he become a real threat to society.   (www.criminon.org.)

Based on this concept the purpose of Criminon is to restore self respect to criminals.  This is done through an extension course based on The Way To Happiness, a secular moral code based wholly on common sense.  It was written by L.Ron Hubbard as an individual work to aid mankind and is not part of any religious doctrine.  You can find out more about the book at www.twth.org. 

Criminon sends a copy of the book along with course materials to inmates who request the course free of charge.  They do the lessons in their spare time and send them to a volunteer supervisor (I am one of many around the world) who then grades them and sends them back to him with the grade and usually a letter encouraging the inmate to continue.  Often it is necessary to request corrections and clarifications as the whole idea is for the inmate to thoroughly duplicate the data in the course.  I have been involved in supervising these students for the last nine years and have seen many of them change letter to letter, and lesson to lesson.  The Way To Happiness course truly does enable them to make changes in their values, attitudes and outlook on life.  They become less angry and are more willing to communicate with others including their supervisor.  I have had many students over the years, some of them lifers and some hoping to be paroled.  Last week I got a lesson with a new address on it from one of my guys.  He had been released and was continuing his lessons at home.  I was so happy for him. 

In the last nine years due to the existence of Criminon, I have grown as a person, more tolerant and aware thanks to my interaction with my students.  They have grown, as well, becoming more tolerant and patient.  Some of them ended off on gang activity in prison and started to learn a trade and do college courses.  And Criminon has also grown.  There are now Criminon chapters in many parts of the world, including South Africa, Germany,  Hungary, France, the UK and Mexico.   

I feel that Criminon is a very sane and practical way to fight crime.  In my small way I believe I am making a contribution to that battle.  We're not stopping criminals we're turning them into moral citizens who want to contribute to society.