Why You Should Consider Anti-Ligature TV Cabinets For Prisons

Contour’s anti-ligature TV cabinets have been produced for use in various mental health and secure settings as a way of providing an additional element of safety to vulnerable individuals.

Within a custodial environment, specifiers must overcome a range of challenges in order to source the most appropriate furniture, fixtures and fittings for the said environment. As well as the risk of self-harm and suicide, there’s also a need to specify resources that offer a robust solution to avoid damage through tampering and vandalism.

This post aims to highlight Contour’s anti-ligature tv cabinets’ design properties to help aid effective and appropriate specification in custodial and prison settings.

Televisions In Prisons: General Guidance

Despite popular conceptions (fuelled by the media), it’s still considered a privilege for prisoners to have access to a television. The Incentive and Earned Privilege (IEP) system determines prisoners’ levels of access to TV, which is based on good behaviour and conduct.

Therefore, dependent on good behaviour, televisions will be used in prison cells and within communal areas of any given prison wing.

Anti-Ligature TV Cabinets For Safer Cells

The anti-ligature element of Contour’s tv cabinet is of particular significance inside a ‘safer cell’. A safer cell is one that is designed to make the act of suicide or self-harm by ligaturing as difficult as possible.

Inmates who pose a particular risk of self-harm or suicide will be identified and placed inside a safer cell, under the Safer Cell Framework Agreement.

All cell furniture is strategically specified to avoid any opportunities for those vulnerable to inflict harm on themselves, and Contour’s anti-ligature tv cabinet is ideally manufactured to address this risk.

The robust casing fully encapsulates the television, hiding away all cables switches and buttons, as well as providing 3mm holes for effective air circulation and sound transmission.

Read More:

• Improve Prison Behaviour With Anti-Ligature Radiators & Guards
• Anti-Ligature Radiators and Guards For ‘Safer Cells’
• Radiators For Prisons: The Design Considerations
• Why Pipe Boxing is Essential in Prisons

TV Protection For Prisons

Along with drug usage and improvised weapons, vandalism is one of the largest financial strains within the prison sector today. According to The National Audit Office, cell ‘smash ups’ and other forms of vandalism were one of the principal causes of maintenance work in a recent report, which highlighted a cost of £320 million last year.

Therefore, the need to provide robust solutions is paramount in an already strained sector, particularly when you consider that a television may be the most expensive commodity in a prison cell.

With a 25mm melamine faced MDF casing, Contour’s anti-ligature tv cabinet is well-equipped to meet the demands of a prison environment.

Reducing Tampering in Prison Cells

It’s not uncommon for inmates to tamper with equipment whilst inside a prison cell. Often this is to devise a home-made weapon to inflict harm on themselves or others.

Improvised weapons are commonly made through damaging other resources inside their prison cell. The need for specifiers to source strong, top-quality products is therefore essential in ensuring the safety to inmates and prison officers.

Authorised Access Only

For specifiers looking to further reduce tampering opportunities with their chosen products, they should seek to find ones that have a secure locking system that can be accessed via authorised personnel only.

Contour’s tamper-proof tv cabinet’s strip-hinged front door securely locks away interior components inside the cabinet’s casing, making unauthorised access highly unlikely.

Conclusion

Contour’s anti-ligature TV cabinet is well-equipped to meet the demands of a prison environment, whether your project is around the specification of a safer cell, standard cell or communal area.

For more information, talk to one of our experts today or fill out the form below.