Riots, racism and guard brutality used to be facts of life at U.S. military prisons from the Marine brig at Camp Pendleton, Calif., to the Army's Long Binh jail in Viet Nam. Last year a blue-ribbon panel of civilian penologists visited 23 Army lockups, found most of them dismal, and issued a critical 133-page report. Aware of the problems, the Pentagon urged sweeping reforms.
Last month TIME correspondents visited U.S. military prisons all over the world to check on the progress. The military, they found, has reformed its prisons with dramatic speed. With very few exceptions, service prisoners are now treated far better than civilian inmates. Items:
AT LONG BINH JAIL, where 739 overcrowded prisoners rioted in 1968, the inmate population has been cut to between 400 and 450. "LBJ" has fewer problems now under a new commander, Lieut. Colonel Paul Grossheim, a big, stone-faced lowan with a master's degree in criminology and penology. Says David Addlestone, a civilian defense lawyer for G.I.s in Viet Nam: "I came here really hot to dust the place over and just haven't found that many serious complaints."
AT CAMP PENDLETON, where Marine guards reportedly used to beat hog-tied inmates, the brig population has been halved to less than 500, and a new $2,500,000 facility will open in August. Captain Sam Saxton, an assistant warden, has helped improve the guards' caliber. "When we see a guard going sour," says Saxton, "he's out of here in 72 hours."
AT FORT DIX, N.J., where the Army stockade was a mess last year, Lieut. Colonel Arthur Friedman has launched dramatic reforms in line with his motto, "Firm but fair." To Friedman, a huge 240-pounder, his slogan means clean kitchens, well-trained guards and innovative programs for 446 inmates. Since he took charge 15 months ago, Friedman has started college-preparatory classes, given the inmates a real drug-therapy program complete with talks by ex-addicts, and allowed selected prisoners off-base privileges.
Goaded by Scandal. Aimed at preserving discipline, military justice has always outdone civilian law in providing swift, certain punishment. Goaded by scandal, though, the military has now awakened to the fact that harsh punishment can defeat its urgent efforts to recruit and retain good career men. Says Marine Lieut. Colonel Archie Van Winkle: "We can't afford to keep the prisoner locked up; we want him back."
Not only is it cheaper to "correct" military errants than to draft and train replacements, it is also easier. The vast majority of military prisoners are not criminals and would go free in a civilian setting. More than 75% of them are in for purely military offenses, such as absence without leave. Only an estimated 15% are accused of civilian-style felonies.
At Fort Riley, Kans., 634 Army "re-trainees" are now getting an eisht-week course that stresses military (358 hours) and motivational (143 hours) training. "It's the same Army," says one former Riley inmate, "but it's better people." At the Fort Leavenworth disciplinary barracks, activities include a thriving Jaycees chapter, plus training in computer programming, color-TV repair and silk-screen processing.