CURING CRIMINALS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22777, 10 July 1937, Page 18

CURING CRIMINALS

AMERICAN METHOD BREAKING DOWN VANITY PRISON FOR WORST TYPES [FROM OUR OWN* COIIRESPONDENT] SAN FItANCISCO, Juno !) Dangerous criminals who were mado society heroes by irresponsible publicity aro undergoing special treatment on tho rock fortress of Alcatraz, in San Francisco Bay, to cure them of the "super-ego" they acquired. Tho task, according to the authorities, would appear to bo easier than ono would imagine. "No ono is sentenced to Alcntrnz," said tho warden, Mr. James A. Robinson, wlfo was selected to command "tho Pock'' because of his experience in taming gangsters at tho penitentiaries at San Quentin and Folsom. "Our present population of .'370 men comprises prisoners who have become too tough for other gaols to handle. We got only the worst cases, the criminals who have become obsessed by their importance in the underworld. Our job is to defeat their 'ego.' Code ol Punishment "I believe," added the warden, "that wo have whittled them down to their proper size—to a realisation that they are not as big as they thought they were. Punishment, and not reformation, is our code of treatment. They are considered to bo far beyond tho stage of being trained to become useful citizens." Only one man attempted to escape, a notorious mail robber. Ho tried to climb tho barbed wire. Alert guards called on him to halt. Ho kept on until ho reached tho top of the wire. Below was tho surf and tho rocks. Two shots rang out. His lifeless body was found on the rocks 50ft. below. Use of Modern Science In this prison science has co-operated to the extent of disclosing, by means of the photo-electric eye, whether a convict has a weapon or a piece of metal hidden on his person. This and other safeguards leave tho men helpless. If one breaks rules there arc eight unlighted dungeons. It is not, however, necessary to use them frequently. "You would bo surprised how much enforced absence from a meal or two will do to change tho attitude of a refractory prisoner," said the warden. Every prisoner works eight hours a d.av, six days a week. There are three industries —clothing, mat-making, and tho laundry. Clothing is made for prisoners in this and other gaols. In tho factory arc mado all the rubber and metal mats used on warships.