CSIRO Software is the Key to the Lock-Up
Moving people around Australia's most advanced prison complex is a
delicate task: CSIRO computer models have made it easier.
Australia's biggest and most advanced prison complex opens at Silverwater in Sydney in 1997 - and CSIRO
technology has played a significant role in the project's development.
The Metropolitan Remand and Reception Centre (MRRC) will have up to 900 inmates and
some 300 staff and will incorporate state-of-the-art security technology. It will be the
flagship of New South Wales' correctional facilities when it is completed.
CSIRO's contribution sprang from its wide experience in the development and simulation
of scheduling software which will help staff to manage the movement of people around the
centre. Managing such movements effectively is critical to the MRRC's success.
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| The Metropolitan Remand and Reception Centre in Sydney will
house 900 inmates
and have some 300 staff when it is completed in 1997-making it Australia's biggest
correctional facility. (Artist's impression.) |
"CSIRO's input has been extremely valuable," says the MRRC's
development manager, Greg Ward of the NSW Department of Public Works. "This is a
leading edge project, and we have made use of the best skills in Australia. That includes
CSIRO."
Handling the movement of people around the new MRRC is critical to the venture's
success. As a remand centre it is designed to hold people awaiting trial or sentencing in
Sydney's 23 metropolitan courts. Among them will be prisoners of every conceivable type.
They will include murderers, armed robbers, drug offenders and witnesses on protection
programs. Yet the offences of some will be very minor - more a reflection of gaps in the
social welfare net than of any serious criminal intent. In fact some will ultimately be
shown to be innocent of any crime at all and will be acquitted when they get their day in
court or released when their bail conditions are reviewed.
"We must be able to manage the movements of these people around the complex and in
particular to keep different categories apart," explains Greg Ward. "In a remand
centre we don't necessarily have a lot of data on all the inmates. That means everyone has
to be subject to a maximum security umbrella, but with an internal classification system
hat allows for some flexibility in our management."
To achieve that control the designers of the new prison created the concept of `Times
Square'. The Square (actually it's an octagon, but the nickname has stuck) is a central
four-way control intersection through which inmates and staff move through the facility.
Sliding doors allow controlled access into and but of Times Square and partitions can
compartmentalise the Square itself if that's needed for further flexibility. These
configurations are managed by officers in a control booth within Times Square, who keep
track of every prisoner, visitor or staff movement on video monitors. The officers can
watch individuals approaching Times Square and check their details-including their photo
records-on computer.
Prisoners use electronic smartcards for access to their dormitory and living areas and
to the corridors leading all over the facility. The smartcard `keys' will only operate
when the officers monitoring each movement activate the necessary locks.
"The Department of Corrective Services wanted demonstrable evidence that this
system would work efficiently, and to be able to make any necessary adjustments to the
design so that it would operate at its best," says CSIRO's Andreas Ernst, who worked
on the project. "We were able to model the process on a computer and to show that,
with minor adjustments here and there, it would indeed work effectively."
Simulating the movement of inmates around the MRRC required a
bewildering variety of inputs. The CSIRO team, after a number of briefing sessions with
Corrective Services, estimated the walking speeds of different prisoners for different
journeys around the complex, and the time taken for officers to process ID checks. They
also allowed for the effect of the complex `rules of interaction'. Under these rules, some
categories of prisoners are allowed to use the corridors at the same time as others. Some
individuals, however, are very restricted, either for their own safety or for that of
others. When such prisoners have to move about the gaol the routes they use must be
selectively sealed off to everyone else.
CSIRO's simulation study extended to the processing and movement of visitors. The team
estimated the time it would take to check different categories of visitors, including
family members and professionals such as lawyers and police. Processing time varies with
the age and status of the visitor and may involve photographing, metal detector searches
and computerised identity checks. CSIRO allowed for unpredictable delays, such as those
that would be caused by accidental triggering of alarms. The team even modelled various
options for entry through the centre's boom gates, to show that delays would not force
visitors' vehicles to queue out onto the main road.
At the end of the study CSIRO was able to present Corrective Services with a video
which showed an animation of the way people will move through the complex when it is in
operation.
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| CSIRO technology has played a significant role in the way people will be moved
around the state-of-the-art complex. |
The CSIRO simulation and video has now been presented to the
Commissioner for Corrective Services and, according to Greg Ward, it has been well
received. It successfully demonstrated the practicability of the MRRC's radical new design
and technological innovations.
"We're pleased with the outcome Greg Ward says, "and the CSIRO team gave us
110% effort throughout."
CSIRO's Ian Davidson, who also worked closely on the project, comments: "The same
principles could be applied to other situations where the movements of numbers of people
have to be carefully scheduled."
Now CSIRO is extending this simulation expertise to other applications.
Further Information
Please contact Andreas Ernst
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