The Environmental Psychology of

Prisons and Jails

Richard Wener

Talk to PRoF Meeting 3/27/2014

This is a jail…

…and so is this.

This, too

People have always been held captive

not always safely…

or with respect.

Digression: what’s it like to be an inmate?

• Well, now we all know…

Federal Bureau of Prisons‘Experiment’ in Jail Design

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New Generation – Direct Supervision Jails

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Revolutionary for their time:• Corrections Officer in living area

• supervise, not surveil

• Redefined CO job • more responsibility, more interaction

• Inmates relative freedom within module• access

• Normative Design • less institutional• changed expectations

Linear Intermitent Supervision

Linear Intermittent Supervision

San Diego

Chicago

New York

Respond to expectations

• Is this a place for humans or…other?

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Contra Costa County, CA

Booking

Principle

:

Normative Design leads to normative behavior

Softer Architecture Less Vandalism

Example

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Found over 60 published studies

– Anecdotal reports, case studies, surveys and quasi-field experiments– Studied over 200 jails and prisons

Remarkable consistency in findings:

– Safer – low assault, low vandalism– Less stressful, better for staff and inmates– Not more expensive to build or operate

• Other prisons in other countries that take similar approach

• Norway, Austria, others

Go even further

View through lens of Environmental Stress

Aspects of setting

↓

arousal, displeasure, tension, discomfort

Critical Things to Know About Stress

Stress is cumulative. - multiple stressors at once

worse

- exposed to many at once in prison

…

Stress greater if

•Uncontrollable, •Unpredictable•Variable in onset, offset & duration

Stress leads to – Physical illness – cardiovascular and other– Reduced cognitive abilities, concentration

• ability to learn, grow, solve immediate social and long term personal problems

– Reduced ability to tolerate frustration– Increased irritability, aggression

• More risk of violence, disfunction

– increases depression, learned helplessness

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People can adapt to many stressors

- but at a cost

Life in total institution magnifies all stress effects

• Involuntary

• Extreme levels

• Long term exposure

• Multiple sources

drip, drip, drip, drip

Lack of control goes from irritant to torture

Plus…loss of normal coping mechanisms…

•Sense of normality & stability•Social contacts - family, friends, work, community•Competence and control over life•Ability to adjust environment

NO SHORTAGE OF ENVIRONMENTAL STRESSORS IN PRISONS & JAILS

…TAKE YOUR PICK

Lack of Privacy

Crowding

Isolation

http://www.dcs.qld.gov.au/About_Us/The_Department/Custodial_Corrections/Capricornia_Correctional_Centre/index.shtml

Noise

http://www.24x7updates.com/FullStory-News-More_Noise_is_equal_to_More_Chances_of_Heart_Attack-ID-200675.html

Lighting – (too much, too little, lack of daylight)

View & Lack of Access to Nature

http://www.asphistory.com/gardens/garden3.JPG

Threat of Violence

Lack of Sleep

& many others

– Heat– Cold– Odors– etc. etc. etc.

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Of the many sources of stress…

• Most significant - fear of violence

• Least considered - nature

ViolenceWhy is violence lower in these new jails?

Most violence is defensive & reactive as…

• a response to fear

• a reaction to scarcity

• a response to stress

• fear

Fear as “form giver”

affects ….

-The institution

-The staff

-The inmates

Institution - many layers created in response to real & perceived threats

Staff - back-off…additional levels of separation

– keeps staff behind glass or bars

Inmates- fear triggers self-preservation

• Get Weapons• Safety in groups• Act Aggressively

• Leads to downward spiral

Breaking the cycle…

CO in control

reduced fear

• a reaction to scarcity

Violence as a …

Scarcity breeds competition aggression (principle of ecology)

•Incarceration creates scarcity

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Reduce scarcity by providing access

• as response to stress

Violence as a …

• As stress increases from all sources…

– Less tolerant– More irritable– More hostile– Less sociable

Stress and control

• Privacy options help reduce stress

• Direct Supervision Jails try to address all these sources of violence…– Reduce fear– Increase access to resources– Reduce stresses – increase control options

Views of NatureBiophilia – EO Wilson

• Significant research shows view of nature

– Restorative for mental fatigue– Reduces stress – blood pressure– Improves recovery

Ulrich - 1984

Nature view in prison related to…

• Fewer incidents

• Reduced blood pressure in inmates

• Improves recovery from stress in staff

Impact of nature view on intake area staff

• Collected stress measures from all staff before & after change

After the change…

• Did better on cognitive test

• Showed better physiological adjustment to tress of shift

(heart rate variability)

Where is this going?

• Harder to build these in US

• Some positive trends elsewhere