INTRODUCTION

 

The letters in this VICTOR BRUNO SPECIAL are the creation of a regular reader of GODDESS and, I am sure you will agree, a most talented one.

The subject is that of a 'Private Detention Centre'. These letters purport to be from one of the less fortunate inmates who is serving a three-year sentence. Backed by other descriptions and letters from some of the young ladies in charge of the iron regime of this well-imagined establishment, a remarkable picture is built up. It is one that is quite fascinating (and also frightening!) keeping, as it does, within the bounds of possibility.

I extend sincere congratulations to the author, 'John L. Soutar' - or No. 2397, as he is more usually known - and must state I had very little in the way of editing to do.

Perhaps best of all, the author has agreed to continue with this remarkable work, so we can all look forward to another VICTOR BRUNO SPECIAL on the same lines before too long.

 

Private Detention Centres Explained

 

The concept of the Private Detention Centre was the brainchild of a meeting of ladies, mainly of a certain political leaning, the original object of their meeting being the reintroduction of the birch rod for certain crimes, other ladies advocating the cat-o-nine tails, especially where the crimes concerned the female sex.

Lots of subjects, concerning crime and punishment were on the agenda, including Borstal Training, Young Offender' Institutions and The new "short sharp shock" Centres, all run by the State.

The embryo of the idea was put from the floor of the Meeting and for the first time that afternoon the feelings of the ladies present were of one accord. A vote was taken, a fund raising Committee formed and over a period, official sanction for Private Detention Centres was obtained. Funds for the venture came from large Companies, Clubs and private individuals.

Very soon the purchase of two disused army camps was possible and the task of updating them undertaken. Modern and, in the end so secure a fly could not leave without permission, the task of recruiting staff was put in hand. Training for the job had already been organised.

Two Centres were opened: Green Gates P.D.C. and Grey Gates P.D.C., the former for "boys" aged 16 to 25, the latter for "girls" of the same age group. The staff of both Centres is entirely female, from the Governor down to the junior officers. Uniforms of officers are the same in material and cut, as are badges of rank. The main identifying badges are, however ,different. The ladies' uniforms only differ in colour: black for the boys' Centre, russet for the girls' Centre. Uniforms for Detainees are brown for boys, green for girls, though girls have skirts and other female requirements.

Staff-wise both Centres have a Lady Governor and Deputy Governor, Group Officers, Senior Section Officers, Section Officers and Junior Section Officers.

Junior Section Officers are aged 15 to 18 years of age which makes them younger than many of their "boys" and "girls", considered to be "not a bad thing" from a discipline aspect. Young ladies are very strict.

The object of the Centres is a "prolonged shock", one you will never forget, the regime very severe, discipline harsh, sentences long. There is, in fact, only one sentence, 3 years without remission.

Lady Magistrates have agreed to sentence a certain number of male and female offenders to these Centres, and to those in course of preparation. Insofar as "boys" are concerned, the sentence is given for offences against women, no matter how trivial. It far exceeds the one they would give if sending to a State Institution, probably 60 days or 3 months. "Girls" are sent for offences involving violence.

In court, if a Lady Magistrate is on the Bench, youngsters tremble when she is about to pass sentence, for she can only send a certain number to P.D.C. Will it be their horrible luck to be chosen? Did she have a good breakfast or lunch? Is the Courtroom too hot or too cold for her? The elderly ones may have corns etc, or domestic worries affecting their mood. Three years is a long time, especially in a P.D.C. All the more so, as if you are continually appearing on Governor's Report and she has exhausted her range of punishments, up to a public birching, she refers Detainees to a Ladies' Committee, they have the power to increase sentences by up to a further year at every appearance before them and also award up to 12 strokes of the cat for "boys", carried out in public, which means before the Staff and Detainees assembled on the main Parade Square of the Centre. Even public canings or birchings are dreaded. To have the skin stripped from back and buttocks with a nine tailed cat laid on by two Lady Gym Instructors, picked for their ability to do just that job, is enough to have a Detainee lose his mind at the very thought, even if it's only four strokes, the minimum. In effect, that amounts to 36 weals, as the tails of the cat splay out before and on contact.

The detainee is entirely cut off from contact with the outside world, no newspapers, radio or T.V. No one knows where he/she has gone. No visitors. He/she may, if permission is given, write two letters a month to Mother or legal Guardian and one letter a month may be received. The Sender addresses letters to a Box Number and has no idea where the actual Centres are located. Letters in and out are censored.

The life of a Detainee revolves around Drill Parades, Gym Sessions, Class work and physical effort of some kind, centre maintenance work, e.g. painting, cleaning, laundry, work rooms, rock quarry and of course the Lady Officers require their quarters, uniforms and civilian clothes looked after. By "looked after" it is understood everything has to be perfect to their standards which are extremely high and demanding. No Lady Officer, be she 15 or 50 year of age, goes on parades in uniform or leaves the Centre dressed in her own clothes, but she looks and feels perfectly groomed and turned out, every article she wears, washed, ironed or pressed by the Detainee, acting as her "batman" or "batwoman" depending on which Centre the Officer serves.

Officers come from all walks of civilian life, from University Graduates, teachers, housewives, office girls or girls from the Labour Exchange.

It is a position much sought after, requiring differing talents, but in the main the ability to command and enforce discipline.

Drill Instructors and Gym Instructors are produced by the Centre's own Training Department, but School Instructors have to be qualified teachers.

Lady applicants are just first taken and shown a film covering the entire operation of the Centre for which they have applied. The film makes a point of stressing the infliction of corporal punishment from the summary variety, which can be given by all Officers with tawse or cane, to the formal public punishments. The film shows two 12 stroke doses of the cat in close up, any lady squeamish or sick is rejected out of hand.

Though a three-shift system applies to all Section and Junior Section Officers, the position has many things to recommend it. Good salary scales, automatic promotion of J.S.O's to S.O's on 18th birthday, excellent food, first class quarters, lots of leave, social club, swimming pool, tennis and squash courts, free membership of outside golf and social clubs, served hand and foot, the life of a Lady. Which to a large degree, even a 15 year old J.S.O., becomes, the moment she steps through the gates.

Detainees are housed in barrack rooms, each room having 12 occupants, each room being under the control of a Junior Section officer, she being responsible to her Section Officer. The S.O. being responsible, to her Senior Section Officer, for the control of 8 of these barrack rooms. 96 Detainees.

Needless to say the barrack room is a thing of beauty, highly polished floors, shining metal lockers, polished bed springs, neatly "squared" bedding, every bed, bedding square, locker, foot locker, tin mug, plate, knife, fork and spoon in a straight line, down each side of the room - unless the Detainee wishes to be put on a charge or accept summary punishment from his J.S.O. She rarely gives the Detainee a choice, sometimes she opts for both.

To see a barrack room at 8 a.m. all neatly set out for the J.S.O.'s inspection and to see it five minutes later, if she has been displeased, is to see a thing of beauty turned to havoc. She upturns beds, tips lockers, knocks back and side packs from the shelves above the beds, stalks out intimating she will be back in half an hour!! J.S.O.'s are trained to be as hard as they can possibly be and the Officers' Training Centre teaches them well.

The ladies work shifts 7am - 3pm and 3pm - 11pm 11 pm - 7am.

The ones on nights have little to do, apart from checking barrack rooms, punishment cells and keeping an eye on general security. Some of the J.S.O's are known to "amuse" themselves by visiting punishment cells, armed with wet towels. A whipping with such towels is very painful, but leaves no marks.

To wake up and find four young ladies in your cell, carrying wet towels is a nightmare come true.

They ensure it is a nightmare too.

A Centre Sick Quarters is run by two Nursing Sisters and ten nurses of varying nursing ranks.

These ladies are also Officers of the Centre. In case of genuine illness, the nurses and the Doctor are kindness itself, but to "report sick" and to be found fit, once you see the lady Doctor or Duty Sister is something a Detainee will not do twice. In Sick Quarters a lot of unpleasant things can be done to a Detainee without resort to thrashing, though corporal punishment is by no means barred in sick Quarters. Being Officers, they have the usual tawse and cane each and use them.

To have to be admitted after a thrashing is not pleasant either, they class it as a 'self inflicted' injury i.e. "you asked for it" and neither the treatment nor their attitude to the Detainee is pleasant.

The policy in recruitment of Ladies has been one of encouraging as many coloured Ladies as possible. The thinking behind this is that coloured Ladies will enjoy disciplining Detainees, who are in the main white "boys" or "girls". The idea seems to work too!

Detainees are "on the go" from 6 a.m. until 10 p.m. and every working minute is filled with one activity, work, with a capital "W" in fact capitals at all four letters "WORK".

To date no Detainee has completed his/her sentence. A number have much longer than the original 3 years to do.

John L. Souter,

Perth.