Prison officers rely on a specific set of de-escalation techniques to shape the atmosphere around them and prevent violence before it starts. This ‘atmospheric work’ goes far beyond managing physical space - it's an active, moment-to-moment skill that officers develop through sensing rising tension, and either amplifying it as a deterrent or dampening it before it boils over. The implications reach well beyond prison walls: as security personnel become a bigger presence in shops, schools and other everyday settings, understanding how they read and control atmosphere matters for anyone who encounters them, according to research by 3 academics associated with Cambridge Judge Business School. The post Jailcraft: how prison officers read a room before violence erupts appeared first on Cambridge Judge Business School .