IDC Designs Key to Safer Prison Cells for Less

With prisoner suicide and violence a very real problem for the prison service, high-risk prisoners are housed in special cells which are safer for the occupants. Currently, these cells are custom built. But with customisation comes prohibitively high costs. IDC was tasked with finding a solution to this problem by developing a range of furniture that would effectively redesign prison cells for a safer environment without the extreme cost.

Stephen Knowles, managing director of IDC, explains, “Developing furniture for a safer cell has been a great challenge, not just in terms of design but also engineering, prototyping and from a project management point of view. IDC integrated all these activities to achieve a major redesign of HMPS cells for around half the usual costs.”

IDC developed a modular design for absolute flexibility which included a chair, single beds and bunk beds for double occupants, desk, locker and privacy curtain.

Knowles continues, “Each design had to be suicide, vandal and fire proof. We had to pick materials that would withstand impact and abrasive attack, as well as meeting strict fire, smoke and toxicity standards. Fixtures and fittings also required exceptionally careful development; we had to create brackets that would be flush to any roof – flat, arched, high or low, all depending on the prison’s architecture. High-tech adhesives were essential to conceal fixings and anchor points.”

All prototypes were made and tested in house by IDC Models www.idcmodels.com, and approved by HMPS. The safer chair and reduced risk privacy curtain are already in use across the prison estate, and the chair has been such a successful design that it is now being used in all types of cells, both high risk and standard.