Los Banos Rotary Club History
Rotarians Visit Deuel Institution

Members of the Los Banos Rotary Club, as guests at the Deuel Vocational Institution, near Tracy, California, Thursday night were given first hand knowledge of this modern penal colony.

During the two hour long tour the Rotarians were escorted through the completely equipped class rooms which are actually shops where the prisoners are given the opportunity to learn various trades, such as, plumbing, carpentering, printing, welding, electrical engineering, automobile repairing, aeroplane engine mechanics, etc.

The carpenter shop carries a partially built home; the print shop is equipped with modern printing presses; the automobile shop has various pieces of automobiles in different stages of construction; the wood working shop has numerous types of mechanical saws and planes; and the airplane engine shop has about ten different airplane engines on which the prisoners are permitted to work.

All of the instructors were described as being well qualified personnel who obtained their employment through civil service.

The tour included examination of the kitchens, meat cutting department, and bakery; all equipped with the most modern mechanical devices. As for cleanliness, one Rotarian said, "I would be willing to walk barefooted through these rooms with no fear of dirt."

The guide presented one of the four dining rooms and explained the manner in which the prisoners, in this new style of feeding, may easily forget his position of confinement. Instead of long tables the room is equipped with tables at which four men sit together. The men are permitted to arrange, before entering the dining room, to join a companion so that the two may sit together. And most interesting of the plan, is that part which permits the individual prisoner to announce to a guard his desire to leave the hall as soon as he has finished the meal and desires to leave.

The swimming pool, available to the prisoners; the gymnasium, as fine a layout as any to be seen in any school in the United States; and the library; were visited by the Rotarians.

The Rotarians were told the Deuel plant, under the supervision of Allen Cook, has a capacity of 1200 prisoners, and that it is always full with a waiting list of others. In explanation of a waiting list the guide said law breakers are being held in county jails in the state pending the opportunity to be sent to Deuel.
The age range of this group is from 17 to 25 years, although there are 400 adult prisoners present who were transferred from other state prisons because of their several types of experiences in certain occupations and given the chance to apply these experiences to operation of the Deuel plant. As an example, as experienced cook is able to get a job as a cook at Deuel.
The Deuel institution, composed of 800 acres of land, is operated by a staff of 340 civilian employees. It was built at a cost of $12,000,000. The cost per prisoner at Deuel averages $1700 to $1800 per year. This compares to $1,000 per man cost at San Quentin. The guide explained the larger cost is the result of the training, with the services of highly competent civilian instructors given to these young men. The guide said, "It is the single aim of the Department of Corrections to straighten these young men from their former difficulties and provide them with a working knowledge of a trade which will make it possible for them to fit into free society at the time of their release." The average stay at Deuel, except for a few lifers, is 13 months.
It was explained Deuel is a minimum security prison but near maximum security efficiency. This fact was obvious to the visitors as they walked through the various locked doors, of which no two opposing doors were unlocked at the same time. Two twelve feet high wire fences parallel each other, with a corridor of ten feet between, surrounding the outer boundaries of the prison buildings and yards. A visitor, after registering for entrance, is stamped with an invisible ink which is examined under a special lamp at the time the visitor leaves. Without this stamp you just do not leave through the front doors.

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