The unexpected effect on inmates of changing to LED lighting
Chris Welford is a business psychologist and he has worked extensively within SERCO prisons. His original role was in assessing and coaching senior managers and during one of these interviews the conversation touched on the effects of light on the behaviour of people in prison. This eventually led to Serco commissioning research looking into the effect of lighting on the behaviour of inmates. It was done at HMP & YOI Ashfield, an establishment that had already been scheduled to have its lighting upgraded to LED units. The research didn’t prove conclusively that there was a direct relationship between the behaviour of inmates and different lighting conditions but the initial research proved so worthwhile that it has paved the way for more extensive study.