LONDON — For two years, inmates at a prison in Wales have been allowed to lock their cells from the inside — for privacy. Guards have been expected to follow a “knock first” policy before entering. The detainees have had access to laptops, through which they can order meals.

And please, don’t call them “prisoners.”

The unusual accommodations, publicized by the British newspaper The Telegraph and other news outlets this past week, were put in place at Berwyn, the largest prison in England and Wales, which opened in February 2017. The policies are part of a government overhaul of prison practices in England and Wales intended to improve conditions and bolster rehabilitation.

Six new jails are planned in the United Kingdom, The Telegraph noted. And despite opposition from some prison workers, the government regards Berwyn as “a model for a modern prison,” according to a continuing study funded by the Economic and Social Research Council seeking “to unlock an age-old question of whether prisons can really rehabilitate offenders.”

But the approach has been a failure, an official from a trade union for prison workers said on Sunday.