IVIV Trust

[Doug Millison]

In the car, caught part of an interesting discussion on the radio  
yesterday, from a BBC talk show, panel including the novelist Margaret  
Atwood, a British intelligence official (current or former, I forget  
which), and an Italian writer named Diego Somethingorother, about  
Trust.  Diego talked about prisons as being great "certification  
institutes" for criminals, because one of the challenges that they  
face is knowing who to trust as a fellow criminal, someone who will  
refrain from turning them in to the police.  Prison time is one such  
marker, Diego said.  Other signals include a willingness to take  
illegal drugs (often used to rule out a police informer, Diego  
explained) and a willingness to commit extreme acts (murder, for  
example).