Plot Synopsis

UNLOCKED: A JAIL EXPERIMENT is an eight-episode docuseries that explores what happens when unit cells are unlocked for six weeks, and detainees create community and structure for themselves. Concerned about high recidivism rates and the dismal conditions of the jails in the community he'd spent his career serving, Arkansas sheriff Eric Higgins had a bold idea: to transform incarceration at Pulaski County Regional Detention Facility in Little Rock, Arkansas, via a social experiment that would offer the men within its walls a true alternative. The goal was to determine if more autonomy and less control in jails can lead to a more community-oriented living environment and better support one of the fundamental purposes of incarceration: discouraging people from committing future crimes. Higgins says the first step was to remove deputies from the unit, which he hoped would encourage detainees to take more control over their daily routines. He also organized a tier-based structure wherein detainees who demonstrate consistent good behavior receive more benefits, mirrored after a re-entry unit elsewhere in the facility. The experiment needed some fine-tuning. In addition to moving the deputy station out of the unit, the staff installed monitors to ensure outside supervision and safety. The men who chose to participate in the experiment were briefed about what to expect before filming began. The detainees' experiences -- both positive and negative -- are captured in the series. Through candid interviews and unprecedented access to the men living there, the series delves into what happens when its subjects are given greater autonomy, free to come and go from their cells and decide for themselves how certain things in the unit should run. Sheriff Higgins says that, in the face of the unimaginable stressors detainees experience day-to-day, the experiment confirmed his hypothesis. All eight episodes of UNLOCKED: A JAIL EXPERIMENT dropped on Wednesday, April 10, 2024 on Netflix.