Public secrets are the information the public chooses to keep from itself. Architecture is required to both house and operate these secrets. Community sanctions are arguably a public secret. This study analyses the most visible aspects of community sanctions, probation and parole offices, to understand whether and how their architectural features help keep the system hidden. By analysing photographs of such offices, I argue that not only do the building features help maintain community corrections as a public secret, but they also keep the systems secret from the public. I also argue that keeping the offices intentionally obscured may also impact how those under supervision are viewed by the general public.

中文翻译：

---

隐藏在显眼的地方：社区矫正建筑作为公共秘密

公共秘密是公众选择对自己保密的信息。需要建筑来容纳和操作这些秘密。社区制裁可以说是一个公开的秘密。本研究分析了社区制裁、缓刑和假释办公室最明显的方面，以了解它们的架构特征是否以及如何帮助保持系统隐藏。通过分析此类办公室的照片，我认为不仅建筑特征有助于将社区矫正作为公共秘密进行维护，而且它们还为公众保密系统。我还认为，故意隐瞒办公室也可能会影响公众如何看待受监督的人。