Strange

Pink jail cells are in again

by Rob Peters | December 17, 2007 at 04:10 pm

1153 views | 7 Recommendations | 4 comments

Some prisons are painting cellblocks pink because they say it's a calming colour.

So is this the same principle as those pinkish sunglasses people wear? Because those totally work. I'm serious, my mood goes off the charts when I wear those things. Plus, pink is just a more progressive colour, no question. I applaud this move wholeheartedly.

TROY, Ohio - Jail administrator Dee Sandy thought the sheriff was joking when he mentioned painting cellblocks pink - but he wasn't.

Inmates at the Miami County Jail are putting colour on the jail's once cream-coloured walls after Sheriff Charles Cox entered the academic debate over the colour pink's calming abilities.

After Sandy realized Cox was serious, she said she picked purple for the jail bars, which had been blue.

The jail, about 30 kilometres north of Dayton, houses up to 111 inmates, both men and women.

Researchers have documented the ability of certain colours to evoke emotional and physical responses, and many jails around the country have been painted pink as a pacifying measure.

County jails in Arizona, Tennessee and Texas have had similar makeovers.

But last year, the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department abandoned pink for institutional grey. Jail officials there said the pink hue had no discernible effect on prisoners but annoyed the jail staff.