His Majesty’s prison and probation service
Discovery, Experience design, Alpha delivery
The Project
The Prison service is in crisis.
Suicides and drug abuse have reached unprecedented levels, and the media frequently exposes the chaotic and unmanageable conditions within jails. Consequently, staff turnover is alarmingly high, and recidivism rates are soaring, resulting in both human and financial costs. At the core of this distressing situation lies a service that has remained stagnant for the past century.
Within prison walls and across the probation service, all transactions rely on paper-based methods, which are inefficient at best. Even the most dedicated staff members or conscientious prisoners face significant challenges.
Digital Prisons emerged as an initiative pioneered by HMPPS to modernise routine tasks performed in prisons. With a focus on user needs, we were assigned the task of understanding one of the most daunting and unsettling experiences in prisoners' lives: their arrival.
The Approach
Across multiple prisons in England and Wales, we conducted thorough interviews and journey mapping sessions with a diverse range of prisoners. Collaboratively, we mapped out their experiences upon arrival in prison and conducted a card sort exercise to prioritise features from a variety of ideas in the backlog.
Based on this research, we developed concepts and ultimately a high-fidelity prototype as part of the Alpha phase. Leveraging the GDS design system, we created a feature that met the needs of our extensive user group.
Multiple rounds of testing informed iterations to the prototype, ensuring the highest level of accessibility. User feedback was overwhelmingly positive, and we are genuinely confident that our product can revolutionise the induction process for prisoners across the UK.
The Results
Given the varied nature of prison inductions nationwide, our Alpha proved to be one of the most crucial features the new platform could offer. It provided all prisoners with an accessible way to comprehend the workings of the prison system and garnered high praise from both prisoners and HMPPS.