Kiwis are divided after a sign outside a New Zealand prison copped criticism for its crafty pun 'Doing Thyme'.
Located outside the wire on Rimutaka Prison grounds in Upper Hutt, the Doing Thyme café is part of the Department of Corrections' release to work programme employing prisoners to earn experience and skills.
The cafe was named in 2008 by instructors and originally catered for staff at a former training college, but is now open to paying staff, contractors and volunteers.
The Department of Corrections confirmed to Newshub it is not aware of any complaints regarding the name since it was established, including from prisoners.
But the play on words has recently ignited a discussion on social media.
A photo of the sign was posted by Auckland lawyer and youth advocate Kingi Snelgar who said corrections should "do better".
"Doing Thyme is just a sad piss take that leaves a bad taste (excuse the pun)," Snelgar said.
Sneglar told the NZ Herald, while he intially saw the humour in the name choice, it didn’t strike him as right to play on the fact people are doing hard-time and many are mentally ill.
Many agreed with the sentiment calling the sign "disgusting" and in "bad taste".
"The stopwatch is an egregious addition to an all-round appalling sign," one user added.
"Wait. That's real? Yikes," another said.
However, some people found the sign rather amusing.
"Excellent- humour lives on," one person replied.
"Admittedly, I laughed but I shouldn't have," another commented.
"How dare anybody have a sense of humour in this world of woke people that know better for everyone," a third said.
But behind the controversial sign, prisoners are receiving vital employment skills.
The cafe is run by two instructors and gives prisoners cheffing, food handling, barista and customer service experience skills, alongside the opportunity to complete their NZQA Level 3 Cookery qualification.
Acting prison director Rob Anesi told Newshub the majority of prisoners have no formal qualifications and limited education or work experience prior to coming to prison.
"For many, employment like this will be the first time they have been given an opportunity to develop these skills," Anesi said.
"Providing the men with practical work experience and qualifications helps them into stable employment on release.
"Having a job not only helps people become financially independent, but also gives them a sense of purpose which can be a motivator to stay out of prison, which reduces their likelihood of reoffending and helps keep our communities safe."
The release to work programme allows minimum security prisoners who are assessed as suitable to engage in paid employment in the community.
Prisoners are paid market wages and the aim is to help them gain employment on release.
