introducing digital technologies into prisons: issues and challenges

Introducing digital technologies into prisons: Issues and challenges

Associate Professor Helen FarleyDigital Life LabUniversity of Southern Queensland

How do I know?

• Introduced digital technologies for learning into correctional centres

• In Queensland, Tasmania, Western Australia and the Northern Territory

• Private and public prisons

• Probation and parole

• 1000 prisoners over 4 years

• No security breaches

The challenges

• No internet

• Restricted access to technology

• Competition with vocational and cognitive training

• Universities increasingly online

• Prioritisation of custodial

• No social or cultural capital

Our solution• 2 technologies

• Server• Personal device

• Technologies loaded with USQ StudyDesk

• Provides access to a selection of USQ courses and programs designed to work without internet

A sad story …

Advocates

• Keeping prisoners occupied

• Developing digital literacies

• Skills for learning and working

• Skills for living• Mindfulness

• Diabetes management

• Eases movement restrictions

• Eases pain of dislocation

Sceptics• Too smart for their own good

• They’re in there for a reason

• All technology is corruptible

• All prisoners want to corrupt technology

• Coercion

• Ready access to OS, mobile technologies, USBs

• Power illegal devices (watch the YouTube!)

Custodial is king

Working with custodial

• Must be given opportunity to voice their concerns

• Must be given opportunity to explore technologies

• Must work within existing systems, approvals

• Use existing processes

• These are the people who pick up the pieces

Learning what can be dangerous

• All the usual: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cameras

• Mass storage devices

• Powered ports

• Batteries

• Cords

• Places to hide stuff: physical and virtual

• Desktop shortcuts

• An accomplice

What we’ve done … Device Manager Software• Two log ins: Education officer and Student

• Group policies

• Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, network, camera, recorder, ports disabled

• Device Manager Software constantly scans for attempts at re-enabling

• Constantly scans for file types

• Automatically disables everything upon sleeping

• Limits visibility for Student of drives: Can’t hide anything

• Tick or cross in task bar

Third party security certifications

• Some peace of mind for jurisdictions

• Will find something

• Balancing risk and benefit

• Need to address concerns

• Jurisdictions watch each other

What can go wrong?• Reactivating deactivated functionality

• Using devices for other than intended purposes• Lighting cigarettes from shorted cords

• Creating illegal documents/files• Offensive prose/poetry

• Pornographic material

• Coercion

• Jealousy/resentment

• Use as a physical weapon

Prevention … the easy things

• Thorough screening of prisoners for suitability … or not?

• Agreements, e.g. Qld In-Cell Laptop Agreement

• Hire - investment

• Documentation, e.g. what should it look like?

• Rugged hardware (and software)

• Training of education/custodial officers and prisoners

Dynamic security

• Education is a privilege

• Work with prisoners to know where they are at with their studies

• Shift in identity - prosocial

• Development of higher cognitive skills

• Builds resilience

• Develops vocabulary and fosters negotiation

• Develop self-reliance and self-regulation

• Gain digital literacies

• Oh, and to gain a qualification

‘Education has made me more well-behaved … it’s had a calming effect … gave me something else to think about … stopped me acting so impulsively … gave me some long term thoughts …’

Damien, undergraduate incarcerated student in theMaking the Connection project

Maryborough Correctional Centre, 31 July 2015

Making the Connection

• 1000 incarcerated students

• 2000 course enrolments

• 77% retention rate

• All but one correctional centre in Queensland

• Tasmania, Western Australia, Northern Territory

• Negotiating a different mode of delivery in the ACT

• Proposals with Victoria and South Australia

• Recently, deployed with Probation & Parole in Ipswich and Inala

Programs• Tertiary Preparation Program

• Indigenous Higher Education Pathways Program

• Diploma of Arts

• Diploma of Science

• Associate Degree of Business Administration

A happier story …

Pictures from Flickr …• 2765 Cold by nebojsa mladjenovic

• FACER5 by akaTman

• Prison cell by Aapo Haapanen

• Finger by Andreas Levers

• The music is all I have left by Neil Moralee

• Netbook Sony VAIO by Antonio Tajuelo

• Crown by Peter Clark

• Shattered by jeff gloriana

• Power cord by The Next Web

• Broken lock by Mike Myers

• Sparks by Kevin Faccenda

• Community ..... by Kamaljith K V

• A CATastrophic Surprise by Susan Gilson

• Thank You by Nate Grigg

A couple of other conferences …

• The Australasian Corrections Education Association Conference• October 3 – 5 Canberra

• https://acea.org.au/

• Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education• December 4 – 6 Toowoomba

• http://2017conference.ascilite.org/

Keeping in touch … Project newsletter

http://bit.ly/USQMakingtheConnection

Helen Farley07 4631 1738

helen.farley@usq.edu.au