PRISON COMFORTS

Hokitika Guardian, 17 May 1933, Page 8

PRISON COMFORTS

LOT OF THE TRANSGRESSORS

ELECTRIC HicATING , APP LIAMCES

The Chester police-station will soon he the envy of every wrongdoer, and, the temptation- to havo themselves, locked-.up on cold nights may,, prove almost; top niuch.for some,p.f the r town’s weaker citizens. If this prove s the. case the ohiof- eonstahie .will .only, have himself; ito blame,, for; tho ; .new; cells he. has had.; build. are the nearest approach fo. a. “.home; away.. from home’! that any priffoner. could .-'desire,; -gays, an.. English, writer.

The cells are all electrically heated by the latest scientific means available The* fdofs are lined with “warmer wallpaper,” containing electric, wires no thicker than the hairspring, of a, watch. These wires generate he,at the discretion of the constable or turn-key-oil duty by simply operating a switch outside the cell door.

As soon as the prisoner is brought in the temperature of his cell is regulated to suit his particular circumstances. If he is shivering when lie is locked. »p he soon feels the blood tingling in his veins-'., Another few seconds and he wants, to throw off his overcoat or jacket because of the heat. All he has to 'do then is to knock on the cell door, and .tell the constable to switch off . the current.

On the other hand, if a drunken man with tropical temperature is brought in, his cell can be cooled down to zero almost instantly, thus ensuring that the occupant is soon brought back to sobriety again. .

The new cells were iust completed when the writer entered them—voluntarily, of ..course. Nothing of: the. electric ;hea.ting and cooling system is visible to the eye*: and, no part, of the apparatus can be damaged by a prisoner who. is in an obstreperous mood Chester is, the- first police-station to . have-this.new. installation, an d j°b has 1 1 done with extraordinary, thoroi. ess. Each cell can be regulated independently according to the whims of, those inside. The chief constable of Chester. Mr T. H.‘ Griffiths-, isa man with a warm, heart for those under his charge, arid he has . seen to it that the new cells shall be as.comfortable as official generosity permits .. ,

They are 12ft. square and 9ft. high, and tiled from top to bottom. There are also two large windows in each cell which allow the maximum amount ofsunshine, to enter. But the invisible heat is .definitely the last word in cell construction.