in California, inmates trained to be elite divers

In the prison of Chino, in California (United States), a small enclave resembling a military camp is nicknamed “The Island”. Underwater, Victor completes a training dive. He and his colleagues are all prisoners in training. “I have been incarcerated several times, and I have never had such an opportunity before. When I discovered this program, it was for me the opportunity to change my life”, confides the latter. The Chino prison diving school has been in existence since the 1970s. It trains prisoners in the profession of “deep-sea” diver, which the oil industry needs. A dangerous and technical profession, but highly sought after and well paid. Each prisoner at the end of their sentence, who has behaved well, can apply.

The training is nevertheless very hard. One of the inmates confides “to have thought of giving up everything”. The prisoners are supervised by former soldiers, such as Pete Ballery, a diving instructor for the US Navy. “The drop-out rate is 85%. A lot of guys come in and can’t take that strict discipline. The first few weeks are really tough.”, he reports. The regime has profoundly changed Robert, who has been in prison for 20 years. “Our instructor tells us that here, it is above all a school for men. We learn to be responsible, to be integrated, to become a good person”, he explains. For Jeff Powers, the program director, diving is first and foremost a school of life. “Here, we offer them a structure. (…) That’s why they love this place”, estimates the latter.