ROBBIN’S PROJECT GIVES INMATES HOPE

LOS ANGELES: With an acclaimed starring role in The Shawshank Redemption and an Oscar nomination for directing Dead Man Walking, Tim Robbins, 59, owes many of his career highlights to the prison system.

But the Hollywood star’s interest in criminal justice and the incarcerated extends far beyond his efforts to win critical approval or awards.

Over a decade, Robbins has made a dramatic dent in reoffending rates among Californian prisoners taking part in a drama programme, The Prison Project, that encourages hardened criminals to put on make-up and get in touch with their emotions.

“It provides them with a path that leads to transformation,” he said.

Crime rates in the US are at historic lows, yet incarcerations have soared since the 1970s, with 2.3 million American prisoners making up almost a quarter of the world’s prison population. California has among the highest recidivism rates in the country.

The Prison Project brings together rival gang members, convicted murderers and white supremacists in workshops where it is not a taboo to express emotions, as it is elsewhere in prison.

Inmates sit in white make-up and masks, improvising scenes as stock characters from the 16th Century Italian Commedia dell’Arte movement that represent happiness, sadness, fear or anger.

The return-to-prison rate in California has been as high as 67.5 per cent in recent years.

But preliminary data for inmates who completed The Prison Project, according to the the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, showed that the number dropped to 10.6 per cent.

Robbins said: “This is a public safety issue. You can’t keep people in prison forever.

“Wouldn’t you want them coming out with better skills to deal with their emotions?”