PERPETRATOR TECHNIQUES

Research conducted with prisoners and prison staff helped us understand how prisoners use, misuse (hack) and abuse furniture. These scenarios which we call 'perpetrator techniques' are visualised here.

Use

USE

Layer mattresses and sheets for more cushion

People stack mattresses and sheets to make the bed more comfortable. They typically have to scavenge for used mattresses left behind by other prisoners.

Motivations

Improve comfort, support and sleep, especially when they sleep on a metal bed. With metal beds, the mattress rests on a metal lattice. Prisoners complained that they can feel the metal straps through the mattress and it only gets worse as the mattress degrades.

Reorientate and Rearrange Furniture

Inmates flip, stack and arrange furniture in ways not originally intended to better address their needs.

Motivations

Create a bigger surface for playing games, working, eating and/or socialising. People will place a towel or folded bed sheet on top of the furniture unit as a table cloth, creating a more personalised and homely environment.
Improve storage capacity. For example, people complained that when the hanging rod is missing in the wardrobe or cupboard, it's better to turn the unit on its side and utilise the large space that was intended for hanging clothes. This space is also good for holding their trainers, Playstation or DVD player.

Pain Relief

Many inmates experience back pain and other physical ailments that they attribute to the long-term use of prison beds, mattresses and chairs. To help with back pain, some people will elevate their legs with a chair while laying down or sleeping.

Motivations

Improve comfort
Pain relief for physical ailments

Cell Workouts – Chair Dips

Just like home workouts, cell workouts use chairs for various exercises like dips.

Isolate under the metal bed

Lying on the mattress underneath the metal bed may help inmates feel more protected and secure. Also provide a sense of privacy.

Motivations

Privacy seeking.
Feeling secure.
Might be a symptom of mental health issues

Misuse

Mitigate Smell

In-cell toilets rarely (if ever) have seat covers. To reduce odours and improve hygiene in the small cell space, inmates will cover the toilet with a sheet or towel. People will also cover toilets with cardboard or other materials found on the wing and use the toilet (covered) as an extra seat.

Motivations

Hygiene and reduce smell.
Create additional seating in the cell.

DIY Air Fresheners

Mixing water and fabric softener and boiling it in the kettle acts like a fragrance diffuser. Mixing both in a spray bottle works to a similar effect.

Cover windows

A trick for making window curtains is to wedge the prison issued plastic bowls between the window bars and a bedsheet or towel.

When windows are damaged or broken, prisoners will cover or plug the holes with scrap material (e.g. fabric, cardboard, etc). Open windows are particularly problematic in cold temperatures but they're often smashed out intentionally to improve air circulation when the heat and humidity becomes unbearable.

Privacy Curtains

In effort to create privacy, especially in a shared cell, people will make a curtain by hanging a towel or sheet over the bottom bunk. Prisoners are told not to use curtains in this way because it reduces visibility, but they'll put it up until staff issues a warning. In larger cells, specifically those that have two single beds, prisoners will fashion a clothesline (out of dental floss, ripped bed sheets, etc.) from the window to the opposite wall and hang sheets.

Dry Clothes

Prisoners may prefer to wash their own clothes if they have a sink. They can dry their clothes by hanging them from matchsticks (the kind used for model-making) in the perforated metal grilles on the windows.

Making Shelves

Inmates make wall mounted shelves out of a variety of materials. It's common to use drawers because they have thinner, lighter-weight material. A single drawers can be easily deconstructed to create multiple shelves and other items like picture frames. The shelves are mounted to the wall by creating an adhesive out out the prison issued toothpaste, the prison issued milk powder, or a mixture of both.

Motivations

Creating wall-mounted shelves helps utilise the vertical space of the cell for storage.
DIY shelves help prisoners personalise the cell and make the space unique. Inmates described each other as "house proud" meaning they take pride in the upkeep of their living space and in the uniqueness of their things or furniture arrangements.

Cell Workouts that Stress the Furniture

Cell workouts are not inherently bad, but unlike some exercises like chair dips (see 'Use' section) other exercises require putting stress on furniture products in ways they weren't designed to handle. We consider this misuse because it degrades the furniture. Also, some cell exercises might use items that aren't necessarily permitted in cells.

To add weight for lifting exercises, prisoners said they wedged a rolled up mattress between the tubular chair's metal legs. Note that the tubular chair is not technically allowed in cells as it can be quite dangerous, but we heard of and saw these being used on multiple occasions.

Prisoners will do pull-ups off of the metal bunk bed. Also, the metal beds can be stood on its end and used the same affect. Cell workouts are often done with a partner, and this partner can sit on the bed to add weight in various exercises.

Inmates will roll up their mattresses to use as punching bags. The mattresses already degrade quickly and this exacerbates the problem.

Abuse

Brewing Hooch

Inmates can brew their own alcohol, or "hooch", in a variety of ways. They burn or carve a hole in the plastic chair, and filling it with water, fruit, potatoes and/or bread, and allow it to ferment. They can also brew hooch in smaller containers that can hidden in other furniture items like cupboards and wardrobes by creating false backs or false bottoms (in drawers).

Hiding Drugs, Weapons and Contraband

Prisoners hide drugs, weapons and contraband like cell phones devising ingenious methods that they change and adapt over time. Therefore it is not possible to cover all the hiding techniques, but here are some related to the cell furniture specifically.

People will cut a small slit in the mattress (usually along a seam) and hide things in the foam. This technique is not very effective as HMP security is well aware of this technique.

With some wood furniture, the laminate edge/surface can be carefully peeled back and a hole can be carved behind the laminate.

Similarly, prisoners can create holes in the furniture, and create very convincing false backs or false fronts made with scrap material and sometimes paint that looks authentic. We heard stories from prison staff describing how they have found contraband that does not belong to the current cell occupant, and has clearly been hidden in the furniture for perhaps several years and forgotten when the previous occupant left.

Contraband is also hidden in the hollow tubes of the metal beds.

Destruction and Weaponisation of Furniture

Prisoners destroy their furniture out of anger, protest and boredom. The ways to go about this are endless, and broken bits of furniture can be used to break more furniture. We present several broad scenarios of how furniture is destroyed and weaponised.

Inmates can kick apart the ladder and use the large pieces as a bludgeoning tool.

Furniture doors are the first to go because they're easy to rip off. The small metal door hinges are particularly worrisome and can be filed down to sharp bits for stabbing.

Prisoners who refuse to share a cell will destroy their shared cell in protest. An effective way to destroy the wood bunkbed is to sit on the top bunk and kick out the guard rail which weakens the entire bed structure.

Prisoners can stomp out the under-bed shelves which weakens the bed structure.

Motivations

Prisoners said that the typical profile of someone who destroys the cell furniture is younger and finds it difficult to communicate. They are easily triggered, especially when they hear "no" from prison staff as they feel like everything is another punishment.
As part of prison culture, even docile people think that they can get out of sharing a cell by destroying the cell furniture and appearing dangerous.
Some furniture components like drawers are deconstructed and the material is used to make shelves, picture frames, and other items.
Boredom was cited as a reason for kicking off, especially when prisoners are constantly on 23 or 24 hour bang-up and unable to get out for socialisation or fresh air.

Break Windows for Ventilation

Prisoners might break windows for ventilation if cells become unbearable in hot and humid weather.

Barricading

Prisoners will barricade themselves in the cell as a form of protest or in attempt to self-harm. They form the barricade by stacking the furniture from the door to the opposite wall. Prison security can remove the cell door, but may have to destroy the furniture in order to get through.