Humana Design worked with New South Wales Corrective Services in 2016 to understand how high-security prisoners accessed legal case files, then designed and piloted a dedicated-computer service at Silverwater Prison that replaced paper-based delivery with secure digital access.
The context New South Wales Corrective Services manages the custodial environment for high security prisoners across the state. A critical point of frustration for both prisoners and staff was the way legal case files were delivered to high security inmates: in a paper heavy process, large volumes of documents were repeatedly printed and re printed as cases evolved. The files changed constantly — new evidence, updates, motions — which meant the paper copies were often out of date before they reached the prisoner, and the cost and logistical burden of managing physical documents inside a maximum security environment was significant. In May 2016, New South Wales Corrective Services engaged Humana Design to understand the needs of high security prisoners in accessing their legal case files and to design a more viable, secure alternative. What we did The engagement combined research inside a high security custodial environment with service design and prototyping to produce a pilot that could be tested in a real prison setting. Design research with prisoners and staff. We worked to understand the lived experience of high security prisoners trying to prepare their cases: what information
Humana Design — service design and design research consultancy, Dublin, Ireland.