Review: An Arkansas Jail Unlocked the Cells. Did it Work?

A new Netflix documentary series shows what happened when inmates were free to roam the cellblock with no guards in sight.

In the first episode of Netflix's latest hit documentary series, Unlocked: A Jail Experiment, an inmate with newfound autonomy says, "There's no way we can let criminals govern themselves." But for six weeks, 46 inmates at Arkansas' Pulaski County detention center did just that.

No longer confined to their cells for 23 hours a day, they were free to roam the cellblock with no guards in sight, all day long. And upon good behavior, they were given even more privileges, such as free phone calls and increased visitation rights with family and friends. By cultivating a community-driven atmosphere, the sheriff encouraged the inmates to take more responsibility and ownership over their space.

To be clear, this new freedom did not stop fights within the cellblock between rival groups. But many inmates came out of the experiment grateful to be given an opportunity to prove themselves capable of handling increased levels of autonomy.

Nearly 2 million people are incarcerated throughout the U.S. in an ineffective prison system. Experiments such as the one conducted in Pulaski (which involved Netflix paying the county $60,000 for the right to film in its prison) should be encouraged to figure out how to make prison time better for inmates and for society.

Comments

[Randy Sax]

I watched the first couple episodes. It might all be editing, but; These people act like fucking children. They throw temper tantrums over the smallest shit. And they are all fucking morons. Kill me before I end up in a room with the frittatas.

[n00bdragon]

Do you expect a county jail to be filled with society's best and brightest?

[Vernon Depner]

they are all fucking morons

The correlation between low intelligence and criminality is very strong.

[Stuck in California]

Also emotional control and impulse control.

[tracerv]

Typical pie in the sky bullshit.

"To be clear, this new freedom did not stop fights within the cellblock between rival groups. But many inmates came out of the experiment grateful to be given an opportunity to prove themselves capable of handling increased levels of autonomy."

Bet they were oh so grateful. Was this financed through the Obama Netflix redistribution scheme?

[mad.casual]

Bet they were oh so grateful.

Yeah. Feels a lot like the ACA experiment in Oregon where patients with access to subsidized health insurance experienced *no* improvement in outcomes or access but they did feel a lot better that they didn't have to worry about the cost.

[mad.casual]

Experiments such as the one conducted in Pulaski (which involved Netflix paying the county $60,000 for the right to film in its prison) should be encouraged to figure out how to make prison time better for inmates and for society.

Even if that entails executing the lowest, most irredeemable 5-10%, at cost (and freeing all the non-violent offenders, spreading the cost savings among the remainder or, stick with me here, returning them to the taxpayers...)? Asking for a friend.

Because something tells me, I mean my friend, that this is yet another "We should spare no resource to explore a diverse set of potentially better policies and outcomes that I/my echo chamber approves of." To wit, your pet causes like this bullshit are what got us to where we are; fuck you, cut spending.

[Will Nonya]

What's next, a Netflix documentary on putting prisoners in shock collars to manage their aggressive behavior?

[mad.casual]

criminals govern themselves
...
inmates at Arkansas' Pulaski County detention center did just that
...
upon good behavior, they were given even more privileges, such as free phone calls and increased visitation rights with family and friends

So, were other prisoners keeping the phones away from other inmates and keeping family and friends out of the prison, doling them out as reward? Or were the prisoners only marginally more in charge of not beating the shit out of each other for 23 hours a day and, mostly, succeeded at that?

[Don't look at me!]

Yeah, no guards in sight, but somehow they knew who had good behavior.

[TrickyVic (old school)]

Sounds like reality TV.

""Yeah, no guards in sight,""
Yeah, they were behind the cameras.

[Rev Arthur L kuckland (5-30-24 banana republic day)]

This is a much better discussion about prison. And it given by somebody that actually met with inmates

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Txp8B4ek_kk

[Its_Not_Inevitable]

"Nearly 2 million people are incarcerated throughout the U.S. in an ineffective prison system. "

If it punishes and holds thieves, rapists and murderers away from the rest of us then it's effective. If not, then it's not.

[mad.casual]

This is Reason and it's Friday. By Sunday, we will have been living in a criminal Hellscape that Joe Biden saved us from. By Monday, it will have been mostly peaceful all along with nothing but prosperity from immigrants (while conspicuously ignoring parts of Europe setting themselves on fire). By Tuesday, we'll believe the crime statistics we were told months ago were junk and, mysteriously, Europe, for no particular reason at all, will have a bunch of "far-right" leaders. By Wednesday, our prison system will be a horrible anachronism relative to Europe that kills multiple murders and facilitates the sexual assault of women.

If all this sounds completely incoherent to you, welcome to Reason.

[Rick James]

We'll see...

[AT]

To be clear, this new freedom did not stop fights within the cellblock between rival groups.

So it didn't work. Could have just lead with that, Reason.

[diver64]

I think its a great idea. Let the gangs thin the herd and then we have less to incarcerate down the line.
Seriously, I'm all for trying different things but this seems silly for everyone except the lowest charged inmates.

[docduracoat]

As always the answer any headline with a question mark, The answer is no.