Gwent Police (Wales) are now using colour psychology to decorate police cell. The station has four cells with glass doors for prisoners who suffer from claustrophobia. Designers have painted the frames yellow, which researchers say is a calming colour. Other cells contain a royal blue line because psychologists believe that the colour is likely to encourage truthfulness.

12 of the 31 cells include a “live scan” system for drunken or disturbed prisoners, in which transmitters detect the rise and fall of their chest. An alarm alerts officers if a prisoner’s breathing stops and carries on ringing until the door is opened.

Gwent is not the first British force to experiment with colour to persuade prisoners to co-operate. In the 1990s Strathclyde Police used pink in cells based on research carried out by the US Navy (see video).

Via The Times.