A controversial social experiment is coming under scrutiny in the wake of Unlocked: A Jail Experiment, a Netflix series detailing the successes and failings of a radical idea.
The risky experiment shares real estate with the Stanford prison experiment, but it’s actually an entirely separate beast. Rather than collect regular citizens and thrust them into a prison environment, Unlocked follows actual prisoners who, following detention, are given a rare opportunity. It was all proposed by Sheriff Eric Higgins, who was seeking a way to reduce the recidivism rate among prisoners.
Netflix went along for the ride, and the result is an eight-episode docuseries digging into the results of the wild experiment. All of the people featured are actual incarcerated citizens or guards of the risk-taking prison and filming took place almost exclusively on-site with no sets needed.
Unlocked: A Jail Experiment‘s filming locations
The goal of the Unlocked experiment, and thus the docuseries, was to examine what happens when detainees are provided the opportunity to create a community for themselves without the overbearing rules and regulations of a typical prison. At the proposition of longtime Sheriff Eric Higgins, the doors to individual cells were unlocked and prisoners were invited to create structure for themselves. The aim was to encourage detainees to experience more control, and thus more responsibility, in their day-to-day lives during incarceration, encouraging them to live more community-oriented lives, and as a result, discourage re-offending.
Filming for most docuseries takes place on location so as to best enhance the sense of realism for viewers. This was a real social experiment that took place at a real prison and all of the people featured are regular prisoners, guards, and psychologists. No actors step in to dramatize the story — the premise is plenty dramatic all on its own.
As such, if you recognize details from the series, it’s probably because you’ve visited a local Arkansas prison. Filming for Unlocked took place at Pulaski County Regional Detention center in Little Rock, Arkansas, where prisoners were given the opportunity to opt in or out of the experiment. Those who chose to take part were informed of the experiments parameters, and — according to Higgins — successfully confirmed his hypothesis.
While plenty of hurdles were discovered during the six-week experiment, Higgins is convinced that it showcased how more control over their own lives and environments can improve both prison conditions and prisoners themselves. He remains satisfied with the decision to go forward with the experiment ⏤ so much so that he may make another attempt, with a few tweaks to the formula, that could see an Unlocked season 2 land on Netflix eventually.
