Date An Inmate: Facebook Group For Single Danish Prisoners Has Over 10,000 Members

Danish prisoners looking for love have set up a Facebook dating page called “Date en Indsat,” or “Date an Inmate” and more than 10,000 users have signed up for the closed group in just two weeks, according to Denmark’s The Local news site.

The idea sparked when Renbæk Prison inmate Patrick Charles Baagø realized his one-year prison sentence put him at a standstill on the path to love. So, Baagø and fellow inmate Kim Uth Jensen created the “Date an Inmate” Facebook group, where a new picture of a prisoner who’s single will be uploaded each day. Group members can later view all single inmates in a folder called “Prisoners of the Day,” explained Baagø and Jensen.

"We are doing this, above all, to help other prisoners to find someone who can help them out of their criminal corner," Jensen, who has a girlfriend and two children, told Germany's DPA. "This way, they (the criminals) have something that they can fight for.”

Women vastly outnumber the men in numbers as some 10,760 current members currently make up the “Date an Inmate” group, which requires a minimum age of 18 and is reserved for prisoners, former prisoners and the men and women who would like to get in touch them, the Facebook group states.

The concept isn’t new. A handful of U.S. websites, such as Prison Dating Site, connect single men and women with incarcerated individuals looking for companionship and love. Other websites, such as Meet an Inmate and Love a Prisoner, provide pen-pal services for lonely inmates.

Although the opportunities for romance are limited in the southern Denmark prison, Baagø said he hopes to meet someone with whom he will spend the rest of his life, The Local reported. "I could take a leisurely walk with her, or cook her something delicious," he told DPA. "You can watch a movie with them, there are many opportunities in here."