Designing for both sides of the bars

Should Australia and New Zealand be building more prisons, does incarceration provide prisoner rehabilitation opportunities and do correctional facilities ultimately protect society?  These are all important questions that require due consideration but ultimately, we return to the realisation that this is a society-wide matter requiring a deeper lens into all aspects of the justice system. Around the world, governments, universities and justice systems are continuously working on this important social issue and we are keeping a close eye on their progress; successes and failures.

So where shall we start?

We should start with the key members of these institutions, the hard-working employees. Operations, support, medical, maintenance and educational staff; all people who are employed in these prisons, detention centres or other custodial facilities.  Why start here?  Because attracting and retaining quality staff is a means to promote and support rehabilitation of inmates, reduce recidivism and reduce the long-term costs for society.

It is important to emphasise that many facilities have trouble retaining and recruiting high calibre staff and the design of some of these facilities has certainly not assisted matters.  The time and cost factors alone in training staff should be enough to ensure that staff retention is high on the objectives of any prison design brief.  We know from the Corrections Industry 2018 Key Findings discussion paper that staff retention is the number one reason for staff shortages, with ‘Providing an attractive and rewarding workplace will be a challenge for the sector’ a key observation made to ensuring a more positive outcome.

Creating a normalised and positive work environment in a microcosm which has been artificially created is the designer’s ultimate responsibility.  It is imperative that we generate facilities where the staff feel safe, appreciated, respected and supported.  The benefits that this will deliver will have a flow on effect to the services staff provide and positive outcomes to the prisoners and society. While operational processes, remuneration, non-financial incentives and promotions are important, designing a space they connect with also plays a key role. Positive environments inevitably lead to positive interactions between staff, enhancing the interactions between staff and prisoners.

We have seen in recent prison designs the inclusion of collaborative, multi-disciplinary staff administration and recreation zones which are secured from prisoner accessible areas.  These enable staff to switch from their ‘always alert’ mode to a more relaxed, protected mind set, in a space where they can meet, perform administrative duties, have lunch or just take a 10-minute break.  These collaborative staff zones are of high-grade commercial quality with ergonomic workstations, private and group workspaces, full kitchens for staff to prepare meals, outdoor staff dining areas with café style seating and yes, even a coffee machine.

Workers in city office environments have ready access to views, sunlight, outdoor areas, recreation spaces, and other simple benefits we all take for granted.  There is no reason why creative design cannot deliver the same amenity to staff within justice facilities, without compromise to privacy, security or safety.  Local and international facilities have recently achieved this, providing staff with outdoor decks, shade and sun, seating, views to a landscape and the horizon, while also providing them with privacy from prisoners and visitors.  Access to the environment and the natural elements in a secure facility is perhaps one of the greatest normalisers.

These inclusions do not infer that staff should be isolated from the prisoners, far from it, the interaction between staff and prisoners is critical to the success of the justice system.  We, however, have seen staff stations that look like steel cages and it is often wondered if it is the inmate or the staff who are truly imprisoned.  In addition, a harsh physical solution often leads to a severe and undesirable response from those who feel its effects.  Alternative, positive solutions are possible through good design which can, in turn, lead to successful outcomes for the facility.

Staff safety is always paramount. Passive design solutions are available which ensures the safe separation between staff and prisoners while maintaining uninhibited face to face communication, transfer of goods and meaningful interaction. These include anti-jump screens, deeper reception counters and protective pod style staff zones.  Careful planning is also important to ensure multiple retreat paths are provided with passive and covert electronic surveillance, alongside security zoning with access to adjacent support staff.

The internal environment in these facilities should be pleasant with appropriate acoustic treatment, comfortable material selections, the use of corporate style colour schemes and various complementary textures.  The spaces should be open, naturally lit, flexible in use and intuitive to navigate. The external spaces should be hard wearing and low maintenance but should include gardens, weather protected spaces, grassed areas, seating and privacy screening.  In the latest facilities, we see well-equipped staff facilities such as gymnasiums, conference facilities, staff cafeterias and outdoor community courtyards.

So, should we despair at the hopelessness of not delivering immediate, positive change to the prison and justice systems?  Of course not.  We take hold of the opportunities presented to us. We deliver the best results possible and with each encouraging outcome, we are ultimately getting closer to creating significant and lasting change for the betterment of society.  And delivering safe, secure, quality work environments as a key incentive for job satisfaction is a great start.