Mock prison cell built to give students authentic interviewing and incarceration experiences
A mock prison cell has been built by Nottingham Trent University’s Psychology department for students to physically experience what it’s like to be interviewed and incarcerated.
By Helen Breese | Published on 22 October 2024
Categories: Press office; School of Social Sciences;
The 2 x 3-metre cell – called PriSim - features a lock door and has been authentically dressed by theatre design students from the Nottingham School of Art & Design with sustainably sourced items such as clothes, books, toiletries and personal items.
HMP Nottingham also provided genuine prison kit, including bedding, plastic crockery, soap, toothbrush, and uniforms.
The facility includes a prison office setting and a one-way viewing panel for observation.
It will be primarily used by Psychology students for role play activities but will also be accessible for Criminology, Policing and Law students, as well as academic researchers.
Dr Jenny Mackay, NTU principal lecturer in Psychology, said: “We’ve made the cell as realistic as possible so we can accurately reflect the experiences of both a person serving a prison sentence and the authorities involved in the process.”
Hannah Bolton, MSc Forensic Psychology student, said: “The cell will help us take the theoretical knowledge that we’ve learnt in class and put it into real life experiences. When I first saw it, I was surprised by the size and how bare it was. I’ve volunteered with offenders after they’ve been released and now I can see what their living conditions and experience has been like.”
NTU already has mock hospital and consultation rooms for students studying health and allied professions, such as Nursing and Paramedicine, and a court room for Law students to experience trial scenarios.
Notes for Editors
Press enquiries please contact Helen Breese, Public Relations Manager, on telephone +44 (0)115 848 8751, or via email.
About Nottingham Trent University
Nottingham Trent University (NTU) received the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education in 2021 for cultural heritage science research. It is the second time that NTU has been bestowed the honour of receiving a Queen’s Anniversary Prize for its research, the first being in 2015 for leading-edge research on the safety and security of global citizens.
The Research Excellence Framework (2021) classed 83% of NTU’s research activity as either world-leading or internationally excellent. 86% of NTU’s research impact was assessed to be either world-leading or internationally excellent.
NTU was awarded The Times and The Sunday Times Modern University of the Year 2023 and ranked University of the Year in the Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2023. It was awarded Outstanding Support for Students 2020 (Times Higher Education Awards), University of the Year 2019 (Guardian University Awards, UK Social Mobility Awards), Modern University of the Year 2018 (Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide) and University of the Year 2017 (Times Higher Education Awards).
NTU is the 5th largest UK institution by student numbers, with approximately 40,000 students and more than 4,400 staff located across five campuses. It has an international student population of 7,000 and an NTU community representing over 160 countries.
Since 2000, NTU has invested £570 million in tools, technology, buildings and facilities.
NTU is in the UK’s top 10 for number of applications and ranked first for accepted offers (2021 UCAS UG acceptance data). It is also among the UK’s top five recruiters of students from disadvantaged backgrounds and was the first UK university to sign the Social Mobility Pledge.
NTU is ranked the second most sustainable university in the world in the 2022 UI Green Metric University World Rankings (out of more than 900 participating universities).