With budget cuts, chronic overcrowding, and increasingly old and ill populations, many of the advancements of 2003 will define the 2004 strategic plan for many agencies. 

This year introduced the use of tools and techniques in everything from electronic offender monitoring to online staff training.  The goal of 2003 seemed to be to bring about safer conditions inside facilities and the community while balancing budget constraints.  In other words, agencies had to get technologically creative.

Innovative Electronic Surveillance

When looking at news headlines for corrections over the past year, a pair of terms - re-entry and early release - constantly appears as agencies struggle with budget cuts while maintaining their goal of rehabilitation. For offenders under supervision and those on their own once they leave prison, the use of mapping technology that aids former inmates, community corrections staff, and the public was on the rise.

The Area Monitoring System (AMS) produced by Elmo-Tech is a wireless inmate tracking system for use in correctional facilities that packages numerous applications into one technology.

"[The AMS] allows you to know who you have [number-wise in the facility] and more importantly who they are, with the ability to track them backwards in time if there is an incident," said Doron Yassur, Managing Director of Elmo-Tech. "It allows you to control your facility in a flexible, user-friendly, easy and cost-effective manner."

For use in a variety of atmospheres, from halfway houses to detention centers, the AMS allows real-time tracking of offenders and their locations, as well as the opportunity to monitor staff and guests.

According to Yassur, one of the main benefits of the AMS - besides keeping staff members safe - is that correctional agencies can control what they need to in a more effective manner. One example is the ability to save time and man-hours conducting head counts.

While the system will not prevent inmates from trying to escape, he explains, it can assist in recovering them more easily. Also, by being able to go back into the system and track their movement, staff can learn where they were minutes earlier.

One of the other unique aspects of the AMS is that it is an active system, meaning it reports locations and identities in real time. This way, the user knows which inmate is wearing which transmitter and the system knows where they are supposed to be as opposed to a passive system.

The system continues to have flaws.  It cannot stop someone determined to commit a violent act.  On a technical level, the tracking signals can be interrupted if the suspect goes to a rural area with few cell phone towers or enters a large building that can block signals.

The system costs $10 a day, a cost often paid by the defendant. It costs $40 a day to keep someone in jail. So from the economic standpoint, a typical home detention unit is cheaper than incarceration -- about $1.50 a day -- offering much less intense supervision.

Coming Out of the Fog

One correctional technology this year has extended it usefulness to the war in the Middle East.

Imagine a riot breaking out during chow. Inmates are throwing food, chairs and punches. Officers rush in to quell the situation, but this time they have a new non-lethal tool that can help them apprehend the instigators - a tactical fog system.

Fog technology has an easy application to riots and disturbances and has been used in training exercises at OLETC.

"We are on the leading edge of the technology wave and we want to bring things to the market," said Wayne Barte, Project Manager with OLETC, who helped bring the fog security system to the Mock Riot. "It piqued the interest of the teams and we could integrate it with other technologies."

In addition, the technology has been used recently by the U.S. military as a tool to help uncover those hiding in the caves of Afghanistan or as a protective device when military officials go door-to-door seeking Al Qaeda members or others with information, Gainsborough said. Also the system has been purchased as an anti-hijacking device for airplanes.

The fog technology has also been used by the federal research arm Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which has experimented with adding a solution that kills 99.9 percent of Anthrax spores when it is vaporized in the fog.

Widespread Information Sharing

Information sharing throughout the tiers of the criminal justice system has long been a challenge. Like many jails across the country, those in Arkansas had no way to quickly access information about offenders as they entered a county system.  Jail officials could not find out about outstanding warrants unless they picked up the phone to call other jurisdictions, nor did they have a way to access historical data about offenders.

"We are providing technology so as they enter [data on] an offender as he enters a jail, the data will hit the hot files in our criminal history repository. And we are linked to the National Crime Information Center," Gattin said.

These issues and others were addressed in 2003 by a new web-based program called JailNet, which is being developed by Appriss, Inc.  According to Kathy Gattin, program manager with the Arkansas Crime Information Center, which is coordinating the installation of JailNet, the program will accomplish several goals.

Via a web-based program, JailNet will provide:
-notice to jails about outstanding warrants to the holding facility at the time of booking and prior to an offender's release,
-information on available bed space in other facilities,
-information on problem prisoners as well as their behavior, medical conditions and identifying marks such as tattoos, and
-access to information that law enforcement previously had no access to.

Biometrics on the Move

In 2003, it was reported that The Pike County, Alabama Jail went high-tech by implementing new technology to fingerprint newcomers to the jail and corrections officers.
 
As in many other agencies across the country that followed suit, officers no longer have to use ink to fingerprint suspects. The work can be done on the computer and fingerprints automatically sent to State Bureaus of Investigation or any other agency.

The computer program is also making headway in centralizing offender data by providing officers with room to list alias names and identifying information such us scars, tattoos or physical conditions.  In the coming year, this technology may be expanded for fingerprinting school employees or other employees who need to be fingerprinted.

According to Chief Terry Blackburn of the Maxey Training School for Boys in Michigan, the fingerprint identification technology contained in his TSI Prism technology has been a nice added feature in addition to being able to track juveniles and staff.

Research, development, test, evaluation, and application of biometric-based personal identification/verification technology have also continued throughout the year.  In 2004, we may expect to see integration of biometric devices with software programs as commonplace allowing images such as fingerprints to be immediately captured on booking cards and used to assure proper identity in the release process.

Technology Supports Transition

Innovative technology training efforts implemented throughout the country benefited both the offender and the correctional officer in 2003. 

Benefits to the Offender

The majority of those incarcerated in the United States will at some point be released back into the community.  Too often, too many are released without being properly prepared to successfully transition back into the community.

At long last, some will be better prepared to face life in the community such as those in Michigan's Macomb Correctional Facility, some of whom will re-enter their neighborhoods with college courses under their belts, an education they received without ever having to leave the prison premises.

During the year, a distance learning pilot program began at a Michigan all-male correctional facility enabling prisoners with high school diplomas or GEDs to take continuing education courses at nearby Macomb Community College.

Through videoconferencing technology, prisoners at Macomb are offered life skills classes, focusing on issues such as re-establishing family ties and preparing for employment as well as vocational courses in auto and computer repair.

"The focus is really on trying to develop courses or classes that will help people get jobs immediately upon [their] release," said Donald Amboyer, Dean of Continuing and Professional Education at Macomb Community College.

A former Macomb County jail administrator, Amboyer was no stranger to the world of corrections when he became involved in the distance learning project, which was initiated by U.S. District Court Judge John Feikens and funded through a three-year grant from the Detroit-based Hudson-Webber Foundation.

After seeing demonstrations of videoconferencing used for sick calls and parole hearings at another Michigan prison, Amboyer and others who were charged with creating the distance learning initiative decided the technology would be an effective means of bringing higher education to prisoners at Macomb Correctional Facility.

"If you can use videoconferencing technology for [sick calls and parole hearings], you can use it for education," Amboyer said.

On-Line Training for Staff

The online learning industry continued to grow in 2003 and corrections departments opened their doors to a new way to train staff efficiently, economically, and with expanded curricula.  E-learning enabled agencies to access training materials during any shift, eliminating the need for travel of employees, bring in training staff and let each staff member to grasp material at their own speed.  Internal development of technology based training programs enabled agencies to save significant dollars in licensing fees and allowed them to customize their own programs.

Meanwhile, NIC continued to present three-hour training seminars as well as 32-hour, four-day training courses to correctional and criminal justice agencies via satellite and while many agencies are taking advantage of the programming offered through CLN and NIC, several others have also embarked on their own computer-based learning programs for specific staff training, in-service and pre-service.

"It's so expensive to bring people from all parts of the state together to train. We'll never replace a trainer, but we can supplement it and make it a better experience," said Lynne Presley, Technology Instructional Coordinator for the Oklahoma Department of Corrections who has single-handedly designed and programmed the computer-based courses now being used by staff.

In the coming year, look for expanded offers of pre-service training to new, non-uniformed employees to help them better prepare for their jobs.

On line training for staff also took hold in Minnesota with cost saving results.

"It has saved us money in terms of not purchasing it off the shelf, since it is ours and we own it versus paying licensing fee. It has also allowed us to develop an online training system where we allow automatic credit to the employee's training record. That helps us meet our American Correctional Association training standards and goals," Grandlienard said.

Extending the Training Experience

This year, Home Office, the government department responsible for internal affairs in England and in Wales, launched online virtual tours with a new Internet service: Prisons Online.  Experience the terror of incarceration, the demeaning daily grind and the thrill of release from a UK prison.

The interactive service is intended to be educational, however, rather than entertaining and should help those facing prison and their families find out about how to stay in touch and arrange visits as well as serving to give some idea of what one can expect on the inside.

Jo Wright, Head of Criminal Justice Information Technology (CJIT) said: "We hope all those who are involved with the prison system, both prisoners' families and prison staff, will benefit from this insight into prison life. We hope it will remove some of the commonly held misconceptions and concerns about daily prison life."

Prisons Online has been developed by CJIT in collaboration with the Prison Service, the Prison Reform Trust and Action for Prisoners Families.

High Tech for High Safety

It was announced by U.S. Rep. Alan B. Mollohan, D-W.Va. in October of 2003 that nearly $1 million was extended to support and expand operations at the National Corrections and Law Enforcement Training and Technology Center (NCLETTC) in Moundsville, West Virginia.
 
"Executive Director Steve Morrison and the members of his team are true experts at identifying the needs of the public safety personnel who serve our communities and then tailoring programs that are specific to their duties," Mollohan said.
"The redevelopment and reuse of the old penitentiary - for training and for tourism - is a real success story, and one in which the entire community can take pride.''
 
Along with an expanded first responder curriculum, the monies will be used to purchase fire simulators and a Skidcar device, which is a training mechanism that allows first responders to practice driving emergency vehicles in dangerous conditions without the risk of an accident.

The first responder training facility will be expanded, some of the has been earmarked to construct a rubble pile for the training of canine units at the future site of the institute with remaining funds will go toward salaries and benefits for instructors and course developers, as well as to the center's distance learning program.

Video Conferencing Steps into the Future

From connecting employees hundreds miles away to putting an inmate in front of a judge, the use of video has spread like wildfire throughout corrections.  Agencies across the nation have found various applications for the technology while also discovering savings for the taxpayer and increased safety in and out of their institutions.

"The bottom line [for using video] is cost savings and security issues," says Barbara Charlet, Acting Director of Management Information Services for the Tennessee Department of Correction.  "They both go hand-in-hand, [because] security obviously has a cost part associated with it. [Our department] was looking for ways to reduce transfer costs for inmates, including through telemedicine and video court [appearances]."

Leaping well beyond video arraignments, physicians may now consult with doctors or physicians assistants without transporting inmates.  Using the same technology for grievance hearings can also save travel dollars. The technology extends beyond video parole hearings into the case management arena.

"A video coordinator could be a social worker, for example, and has this work as part of their duties," says Frank Gonzalez, Manager of a video teleconferencing program in New Jersey. "Not only are they well-versed in videoconferencing, but in all of the inner workings of the institution."

Video visitation also has increased facility security.

"[Video visitation] has enhanced security because there is absolutely no chance for the introduction of contraband - visitors are not even in the same building," says Major Dan Ford, Chief Jailer for the Cumberland County, NC's sheriff's office.

From Timothy P. Ryan, Chief of Corrections, Orange County Corrections Department, Orlando, FL, "Video Visitation has been a benefit to our department, the citizens, and to the inmates. We have been able to expand the opportunities for inmate visitation to 12 hours a day, 7-days-a-week while keeping the general public away the jail complex and out of our secure facilities. 

Next Generation Substance Abuse Testing

In 2003, more and more non-invasive detection technologies became the norm in corrections. Techniques such as hair testing, sweat analysis, oral fluid analysis and pupil scans have been explored, refined implemented.

While testing technology has improved, so have renegade measures to dilute urine samples and other methods to "beat" drug tests.  Strong policy coupled with new technology resulted in a less than 1% use of illicit substances in Illinois prison employees and a 1.2% use in inmates this year.

It's All Online

Training was not the only initiative going high tech this year.  Are you looking for sex offender information?  Who was booked into the jail last night?  What is the local prison's visitation policy?  In 2003, all that information and more could be found on local, state, and county web pages such as the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority's Publications Page.

At the September 2003 United Nations Telecommunication Union, the first steps towards developing a common Internet Policy took shape.  Such issues discussed included protecting minors from harmful content and assuring confidentiality of personal information. 

The World Summit on the Information Society re-convened in December of this year on the same issue.

Likewise initiatives such as the National Criminal History Improvement Program and the Criminal Identification Technology Act continue to strive to assure that accessible offender information is accurate.

"For now, the Internet information is not always complete or consistent," said Anderson, noting that it is a valuable tool nonetheless.

And based on the U.S. Supreme Court decision this March, the using the Internet for sex offender registration is now a legal option in correctional and law enforcement communities.

In 2004, technology will undoubtedly continue to expand by leaps and bounds fostering a safer and productive work environment and community in a most cost efficient way.