Behind San Quentin's Walls

Warden Hale informed the commission that Convict Ben Harkins, an importation from San Francisco, was caught with a package of burglars tools made ready for removal from the prison. This was an infraction of prison rules, and for punishment Harkins was deprived of one year’s credits.

One day Turnkey Jameson noticed a convict with a package under his arm walking toward him Convict Ben Harkins.

California State archives. in the prison yard. As they approached each other, the prisoner suddenly broke and ran in the opposite direction, disappearing behind a building. Jameson sprinted after him, but when he was caught, the officer noticed that the convict’s bundle was now missing. A prompt search of the area soon produced the missing package, however. Ben Harkins, convict No. 15098, denied ever having it, but could give no reason for running away. Harkins and his bundle were turned over to Warden Hale and his captain of the yard.

When opened, the package surprisingly revealed a set of expertly crafted burglar’s tools, including several skeleton keys, lock picks, nippers, saws, and other devices. The officers were amazed at the quality of the tools. Harkins, no mechanic, was merely a go-between since he had access to the outside yard. When someone suggested how bad this was going to appear to the prison board, an officer replied that the guards were not at fault.

“You see, in the machine shop a man may make any small tools and escape detection for years. His bench is littered with tools, bars, bits of machinery and such. When the guard’s back is turned the prisoner picks up whatever he wants to make in secret and does Nineteenth Century burglar’s a little work on it. So the thing goes along by tools. Author’s Collection. alternating with prison work for a few minutes at a time. As soon as the piece is finished it could be removed and stowed away.”

Burglar tools fabricated in prison would be much cheaper and easier to obtain than on the outside. Refusing to “peach” on his partners, Har-