Reward good behaviour – one of the mantras of the incentives based approach that is implemented throughout many of our societal systems. Yet in prison there are far more sticks than there are carrots. Don’t get me wrong, people in prison must act within boundaries for the safety and security of all, and if they break those boundaries, there must be consequences that are meted out.

So how and why do carrots work in the prison system?

This isn’t a blog populated with the results of numerous studies regarding this area. This is a stream of consciousness about what I witnessed at HMP Peterborough, prison run by Sodexo, recently along with Michael Barnett, Chair of Trustees at User Voice.

We attended a Prison Council meeting where User Voice brings together prison staff and people in prison to co produce solutions that lead to safer, more efficient and rehabilitative prisons. The council is led by our fantastic Regional Manager Sophie, bringing together senior staff from the prison, including the Director and Deputy Director, with a group of Prison Council members.

The Council members led the agenda at the meeting. Their proposals to improve how the prison functions created a discussion that was up there amongst the best corporate pitches in terms of professionalism, pragmatism, and project planning expertise. Staff and Council members were then fully collaborative in ensuing constructive discussions, and that all next steps were co-produced.

The dialogue during the meeting was based on mutual trust, respect, and commitment to improve the spaces they both cohabit. This was the epitome of purpose led, co-produced working, and was inspirational to witness.

We were then taken to the new Enhanced wing, which was the result of User Voice Council members successfully advocating the case for the wing and planning its implementation in collaboration with prison staff.

On the way there I was naturally thinking how could I ever manage to communicate this externally? ‘Being nice’ to prisoners by providing a host of extra benefits, this was surely a lost cause.

Walking onto the wing it came in a flash. This was a community thriving by working together for the good of all. They had to earn the right to be there, but once admitted they co-produced the rules alongside staff. All are supported by one another; this is genuine teamwork in action. Joint accountability was paramount too, one person messes up and the whole wing is impacted by the consequences that are then imposed- and everybody knows this and has experienced this.

I saw excellent leadership skills in action, true equity, collective problem-solving, and mutual respect across diverse and intersectional groups. Everyone has a job and if you don’t do that job well you let the whole community down. This was a community where everyone is respected and heard.

So why is an enhanced wing a good idea? These people have committed major wrongs. Why is an enhanced wing an acceptable and impactful concept?

Because all these behaviours will benefit society when these prisoners are released. It’s a training ground for being a good citizen. We can support these people with numerous employability pathways but if the mindset of contributing to and working alongside your community isn’t there, most will flounder and quickly become outsiders. The skills being learnt in this wing are all key transferable skills on the desistance pathway.

So next Time we dismiss collective incentives as a key driver of behaviour change in prison, let’s take the emotion out of the reaction and take a far more rational stance, because carrots do work in transforming lives.