The Panopticon

History of Panoptic Prison

Bentham wanted to bring his idea into existence, and he designed the Panoptic Prison. This turned out to be a difficult endeavour. The construction site he had chosen for his project was on the marshy terrain near the river Thames, and led to the necessity of remedial work. The sum came to £500, 000, which was a considerable sum at that time.⁶

Because of this, the project was abandoned, but was eventually picked up by William Williams, a military architect who won the right to continue Bentham’s work through a competition.⁷ It was built on his own design, still reflecting Bentham’s ideas.⁸ The building was finally completed in 1821, however this was only the beginning of the troubles at Millbank.

Why wasn’t Millbank prison a success?

Each wing was three stories high and had 1,500 prison cells, but this layout proved pretty confusing in practice. The prison guards had a hard time not getting lost, and the dark corridors made it even harder to find their way. The stairs in the prison were dark, crooked, and covered in mud, which didn't make it any easier for the prison guards to find their way.

Water and bread were the only food available, and the inmates were only allowed five minutes of movement each day. Silence was expected at all hours, and if they broke the rules, they could expect punishments such as being whipped and shackled.⁹

Millbank was built on the banks of the river Thames to easily be able to transport convicts to the penal colonies due to rising crime rates in London during this period. This also meant that the water they used in the prison came directly from the river. At the time, the river was polluted and dirty, so even when filtered, it remained filthy. These factors, as well as poor treatment of the prisoners and the prison’s flawed design, led to its devastation during the Cholera pandemic in 1849, as well as running rampant with other diseases like scurvy and typhoid. Other prisons, which did not draw water directly from the Thames, did not suffer the same issues.

When the outbreak first happened, the majority of the inhabitants held at Millbank were severely affected and had to be transferred to other prisons. When another outbreak occurred in 1854, they planned to transfer around 700 convicts to be held at the military barracks at Dorchester, Dorset. However, this upset the local residents, not because they were convicts, but because they were afraid that the disease would spread.

All of this resulted in Millbank only being used for a relatively short amount of time. The building was demolished in 1892, a mere 75 years after it was built.¹⁰

The Continuation of the Panopticon Today

The panopticon prison system has in this day and age fallen out of fashion, not because it didn’t work as intended, but because we gained a more modern form of panopticon: cameras. For what is technology if not an endless panopticon, from which escape is near impossible? There is no use in complicated systems and intricate architecture, when a simple camera network can achieve the same effect. The panopticon is also no longer only utilized in prisons; from security cameras on every corner and in every store, to your posts on social media. Everything is being watched and documented, and we know it.

Is it really that bad being watched?

While under surveillance we are less likely to misbehave, resort to violence and in general to commit crimes. We gain safety in exchange for our freedom. Which is more important? Having the freedom to do whatever we want to, without being certain of our safety? Or is it better to fall in line and give ourselves up to scrutiny so that we know we are safe? On the other hand, being watched all the time desensitises us to it, and we become less aware of it. Hidden or unobtrusive cameras can easily be forgotten or ignored, which then somewhat defeats the purpose of having them in the first place. Perhaps the intended effect would be reinforced if the observers were more present on the scene, placing more obvious cameras or employing security guards.

The panopticon has a complicated history; it was created with good intentions, but we see a darker side to Bentham’s design both with Millbank and in modern times. The most important thing is knowing our history and asking ourselves; what do we want? Do we want to keep control over things ourselves and keep our privacy? Or, do we want to give it up to hopefully ensure our own safety?

Watched or not watched?
Freedom or safety?