There are many issues that are near and dear to corrections administrators but probably top on the list is ensuring that corrections staff is safe on the job. Several corrections leaders as well as those working on the line will gather in a workshop at the American Correctional Association Winter Conference in January to discuss this issue of staff safety and the technologies that are available to improve it.

In a recent interview, Connecticut Corrections Commissioner John Armstrong spoke about the session.

Q: Can you talk about the upcoming workshop and the importance of educating the corrections field on new technologies and the relation to staff safety?

Armstrong: We're going to be talking about what is catching on throughout the country. It's important as corrections professionals to share information, particularly as it impacts us in our greatest area of concern, which is safety. 

This conference is one of the best forums because we get people from all over the country, Canada and the territories. It is a great opportunity. They will bring with them their own experiences and interest and we'll be able to bring some perspectives about new technologies such as Global Positioning Systems, non-lethal restraints for offenders and restraint chair x-ray technologies.
I know we'll have some positive experiences. We want to share some of these experiences that have been very helpful. Kevlar, for example, has been put into various forms now and NJ has had an experience with the vest that will be interesting to share. They had a staff death and have some mixed reviews for providing and mandating staff protection with the vests.

We're traditionally a brick and mortar field and some might think the technology isn't as strong as the steel. There are training concerns and legal issues. Are there technologies that are intrusive or excessive? How is it understood outside our business? Is it supported by the unions? Do they see it as less reliable than humans?
In Connecticut we had a body alarm and we used staff input to design it. It coordinates with the camera system. It has been a positive experience.
Public support is another question. In Connecticut as we look at non-lethal weapons and how will the public support us? Some devices might have negative connotations such as a stun gun. Ethical issues are important too.

We'll also discuss the status of agencies. Are we in good shape? Most of us have invested in staff safety technologies but we all have areas of operations we'd like to see more technology in. 

Q: Who are the members of the panel of experts you have selected for the workshop and why did you select them?

Armstrong: We will have a font line employee or manager from the New Jersey DOC. We wanted to represent where the rubber meets the road. We'd like to be able to have practitioners who have worked both sides of the fence. 
There is always an upside as well as a downside. With video technology for example we got to see wider areas, but we also got a sense from the employees we were watching more of them. You have to make the staff feel comfortable and staff safety is what most of these applications are dedicated to. 
From the Virginia DOC we'll have Ron Angelone. He'll talk about some of the technologies and some of the controversials such as stun guns, people wonder about those. He'll talk about other forms of non-lethals. He's got very interesting numbers and statistics.
From New York City DOC a representative will talk about the Boss chair and other devices.
From Arizona, an official will talk about Global Positioning Systems that track offenders in the facilities. We probably will hear the positive and negative on that as well. Technology doesn't replace the human intellect; it's as good as we program it at the moment. When you are dealing with the criminal offender that is especially challenging.
In Connecticut, we'll talk about where we're at and what we're hoping to do. We have integrated body alarms with video surveillance and other systems from biometrics to drug detection. What we're hoping to do is enhance staff safety. We have some new construction planned and we'll talk about what we'd like to build in.
We'll also talk about the dimensions of prison performance and how it applies to safety, our experiences, what led to the decision to apply technology, what were the experiences in developing technology, staff comfort levels because sometimes there are those who feel computers are still frightening. 

Q: What do you think are the most advanced and important technological breakthroughs in correctional safety for officers and staff?

Armstrong: The breakthroughs came in the simple devices such as when an officer needs a simple connection to safety. They particularly see the values of the initial designs but [these devices] can now send an infrared signal, and go off automatically. The officer knows that help is on the way. We saw the value of technology with that technology. 
The technologies that are applied to public safety are also important. Contraband detection was a breakthrough. The technology helps us to find those people who are bringing deliveries to inmates and ensure inmates who are kept in are supposed to be in. 

Q: What correctional challenges do you believe technology has not addressed?

Armstrong: Just in basic databasing, I'd like to see it merge to video and have biometrics incorporated and make sure a record that occurs for a person is the same record when they go out and make it accessible to the community.

We are in the information age but the drawback is we have to make sure there are firewalls. 
I think it is important that people are cleared of crimes that should be. We should not allow a system to create an image of a person who has allegedly been an offender and who in the end, is not.

DNA is a wonderful area to develop and utilize to protect the public. We have applied this technology to sex offenders. We will submit a bill this year to have all convicted felons submit to DNA identification. But you don't want people having access to a DNA database when you want people to go back out and be productive members of society.

Q: Do you believe that technology has improved the safety of correctional officers and staff? 

Armstrong: Corrections officers saw the value and saw it made a difference when injuries were minimized. We saw a dramatic change in the ability to protect our staff.
We tend to take every day as we go along, at least in a professional DOC. You don't strive to achieve the adequate you strive for the benchmark. Where technology's performance can deliver us to the higher level we seek.

Q: Where do you see technology going in the future as it relates to corrections and law enforcement?

Armstrong: We're going to see advancements. But, just like computers, you can invest heavily in a costly technology and not unlike what we see in commercial or residential practices, you can have it outdated very quickly. 
Also we should never forget we are serving people, the public, or our staff who do a very dangerous job. The human element needs to be remembered in this. 
You'll see technologies that include staff safety but we have a way to go in terms of interactive offender programs such as distance programming for those who are cell-bound. We'll see a lot of GPS technologies. There is also a technology that allows officers to use cellular technology to call in their paper work and use a satellite to tell the office where they are if they have a problem. We can call him on the phone and dispatch if he doesn't answer. I'm very excited by that. 
We'll see more biometric technologies and devices that can determine if there is a body hiding in a vehicle by detecting the heartbeat.  I see great applications for that as we do quarter searchers and to determine who is coming in and out. It can interface with other law enforcement systems as well. We should make sure the information we learn is shared. It would be nice to have these features were accessible. 

Q: Why should correctional professional attend this workshop?

Armstrong: Everybody's welcome we hope we see COs, captains. lieutenants, wardens, administrators. Everyone will have the opportunity to talk with us, listen to the things that are available and get excited.