Netflix’s new reality series is not like any other. In the social experiment, incarcerated men are given increased autonomy in hopes of creating a community-driven atmosphere and deterring future criminal behavior. But is Netflix’s Unlocked: A Jail Experiment real? Find out why the docuseries could be facing legal trouble.
Using interviews and unprecedented access, Netflix’s Unlocked: A Jail Experiment chronicles what happens when detainees can come and go from their cells and decide how their unit should operate. Over six weeks and eight episodes, 46 inmates are documented with unprecedented authority in the Pulaski County Regional Detention Facility in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Sheriff Eric Higgins, who was behind the unique experiment, wanted to discover what would happen when unit cells were “unlocked” for six weeks. “We thought, ‘What can we do to create some ownership for those detainees in that unit?’” Higgins told Netflix’s Tudum. “How do we make the facility safer, and what can we do to still hold them accountable but empower them at the same time?”
Is Netflix’s Unlocked: A Jail Experiment Real?
Netflix’s Unlocked: A Jail Experiment is an unscripted real-life social experiment conducted at Pulaski County Regional Detention Facility in Little Rock, Arkansas. Although the series wad advertised as having “no locks” and “no officers,” that was actually not the case.
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In an ordinance shared by KATV, Higgins wrote that officers were stationed in the H-unit approximately six to eight feet from two secured doors. An officer was also monitoring cameras in the unit, and deputies were in the unit consistently. Higgins also said that “no locks” meant their cells were open and inmates had a higher degree of freedom.
“Pulaski County Regional Detention Center is a direct supervision facility, which means the deputies are inside the unit with detainees,” Higgins told Tudum. Although security levels differ in each unit, the Sheriff’s intention for the experiment was simple: establish an environment with reduced direct supervision.
The first step of the experiment was removing deputies from the unit, giving inmates greater authority over their everyday routines. The Sheriff organized a tier-based structure that they replicated from a re-entry unit elsewhere in the facility. That way, detainees who consistently demonstrated good behavior could earn more privileges.
“Our re-entry unit is for detainees who want help with their addiction or other issues they’re dealing with,” Higgins explained to the site. “There’s an interview process — it’s an open-barrack unit, and it’s the safest in our facility. The behavior is better, it was safer, and the facility was cleaner, because they took ownership. Looking at this experiment, we wondered if that was something we could implement; if we could take a typical unit and modify behavior based on a system of responsibility and benefits.”
The subjects involved in the experiment were briefed about what to expect. “We didn’t automatically open the doors,” Higgins clarified. “We talked to them about the possibilities, and about behavior. We gave them a list of responsibilities and [made] personnel available to them to ask more detailed questions” before filming of the Netflix show began.
The production company also told detainees that they would be recorded and could depart the experiment if they wanted to. “We checked to see if they wanted to be there,” the Sheriff explained. “At any given time, a person could leave [the experimental unit].”
Why Is Netflix’s Unlocked: A Jail Experiment Controversial?
State officials are looking into Higgins’s decision to allow a production crew to film inside the Pulaski County Jail. The Pulaski County Quorum Court has questions about the docuseries and passed an ordinance at the end of March to learn more.
The ordinance required Higgins to answer around 40 questions and provide “any copies of any agreements signed, any lists of reimbursem*nts and compensations that came from filming, as well as questions regarding who knew this was taking place when it happened and more,” according to Fox 16.
Justice of the Peace Phil Stowers, District 13, said there are concerns that this is a bad look for the county, but the ordinance will affect how they move forward legally, the news site reported. “It’s not a question as to whether or not the sheriff has the ability to try something out of the box, something new in the jail,” Stowers said, per Fox 16. “The questions and concerns are why did that have to turn into a reality TV show?”
In April, Higgins responded to the ordinance (obtained by KATV) and disclosed that $60,000 was paid to those participating in the show, payable to the Pulaski County Government. Two PCSO employees were paid $40 per hour for their off-duty hours, but no other compensation was given. When asked if PCSO adhered to the policies and protocols while conducting the experiment, Higgins said yes.
On April 10, the NAACP in Jacksonville held a Q&A session with Higgins, where he addressed questions about why he chose to proceed with the controversial jail experiment.
"I want to humanize people. I want to empower people to have an impact on their culture, environment, and community. If you can do that on a micro level, in jail with people you don't care about or didn't initially care about, and if you take that with you when you go to the broader community, then maybe you realize that you are empowered, you can have a positive impact on your neighborhood, on your family,” Higgins said, according to THV11.
President of the NAACP Jacksonville branch, Barry Jefferson, also expressed his support for the experiment.
"We need to change because the system we're doing now is not working, building more prisons is not working, putting more people in jail is not working, because it's a revolving door but we can change the dynamic of jail on how people go and when they get released, that he won't come back," Jefferson explained. "This is all because people shouldn't have to feel that they don't have no other choice, but jail."
Unlocked A Jail Experiment is now streaming on Netflix.
