JUSTICE TRENDS JUSTICE TRENDS Nr. 1 | June 2017 | Page 32

TECHNOLOGY / TECNOLOGÍA
Technology in Corrections: Challenges & Strategy
Tecnología en EL SECTOR CORRECCIONAL: desafíos y estrategia
T
STEVE VAN DE STEENE
o say that we are at the beginning of a new era for the usage of
IT and technology in corrections is to barely hint at its importance.
As digital has become the new normal and technology is
critical to the success of nearly every enterprise or organisation
in every sector, public and private, anywhere in the world, its
effects will ultimately influence and hopefully enrich all of us. All
correctional organisations and professionals are in one way or the
other challenged to adopt, integrate or react to new technological
evolutions: prison services are pushed to adopt digital government
strategies, security people are fighting the newest security threats
coming from cyber criminals or drones, teachers and trainers are
tailoring new digital learning methods and developing curricula
for usage in a secured prison environment and prison designers are
integrating smart building systems into newly build infrastructures.
With ICT and technology playing such a crucial strategic and
enabling role in the organisation, there is now an opportunity to
shift the conversation concerning such assets towards what its
real value for and contribution to Correctional Services 1 could
be. Fragmented experiments and ad hoc implementations of
the newest technology from prison security over telemedicine,
offender management, inmate self–servicing and tablets,
correctional intelligence, virtual reality, smart locks, advanced
biometrics, drone defence systems, secured Wi–Fi towards
intelligent plumbing control and many more, have shown that
technology is out there to support and improve our business.
This huge variety of new technologies could be very
attractive to many correctional organisations, but they will not
– by themselves alone – result in effective and transformative
change in corrections. Any new correctional technology can just
as easily be used to maintain the status quo (doing what we do
slightly better) as it can be used for innovation 2 . A fragmented
approach, not supported with an enterprise strategy, will not lead
to those fundamental improvements our sector currently needs.
Based upon the analysis of the main vision and
objectives behind our correctional profession and in
continuous dialogue with all stakeholders including the offender,
the development of a digital strategy for corrections is
needed to shape and drive transformation and innovation.
Technical solutions that will go far beyond supporting traditional
operational prison management are in high demand to support
1
2
D
ecir que estamos en el comienzo de una nueva era
para el uso de TI y la tecnología en los Correccionales es
apenas insinuar su importancia.. ...................................
A medida que el digital se ha convertido en la nueva
normalidad y la tecnología es fundamental para el éxito de
casi todas las empresas u organizaciones en todos los sectores,
públicos y privados, en cualquier parte del mundo, sus efectos
finalmente influyen y esperamos enriquezcan a todos nosotros.
Todas las organizaciones penitenciarias y profesionales
tienen la posibilidad de adoptar, integrar o reaccionar ante las
nuevas evoluciones tecnológicas: los servicios penitenciarios
es