A pungent smell of detergent and rotten food hits me as we walk through this enormous high-security prison. Inmates press themselves up against the bars to look at us. There are no smiles, only expressionless stares.

A man with a tattoo that swirls across his face shouts, “Where you from, ma’am?”

“England.”

“Hope you enjoy Estelle,” he says.

“Do you?” I ask.

“A lot better than where I was before.”

Welcome to the Estelle Supermax Penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas.

Concrete watchtowers punctuate the perimeter of this vast space – equivalent in size to almost 3,000 football pitches – and a sign with an image of a red-maned lion and the words Stay Hungry – Feast on Success greets staff and visitors as they enter.

The UK government is looking to Estelle prison for ideas – for ways to reduce reoffending and to bring down prisoner numbers in our already overcrowded jails. There’s a scheme here they’d like to emulate, which gives inmates the chance to shorten their sentences by having a job while they’re inside.

Looking to this prison for inspiration might seem a curious choice to many, given Texas executes more people than any other US state. But ministers say by implementing schemes similar to ones used here, UK prisoners will be incentivised to gain qualifications – giving them more chance of employment once released.

Just one in five offenders in England and Wales has a job six weeks after being released from custody, the latest stats show. According to the Ministry of Justice, people who are still unemployed six weeks after being released are twice as likely to reoffend as those in employment.