Innovative AI and Virtual Reality Technologies are Transforming Corrections Kuldeep Saxena
Tierra Holt
Artificial intelligence as a transformative tech solution is spreading into all aspects of modern society, including jails.
Although state and federal prisons may have larger budgets allowing them to use the latest technology, local jails are increasingly adopting AI and virtual reality technology to bolster staff and inmate safety and provide opportunities for rehabilitation and skills development.
Corrections facilities’ security is undergoing a significant transformation with the help of AI-powered tools. AI tech in the corrections industry uses smart video cameras that analyze images in real-time to detect potential problems and automatically alert the officers, who can respond swiftly. Consumers’ wearable devices are now used to track officers’ whereabouts and health vitals and can immediately dispatch help if needed. Inmates don wearables to monitor their movements and medical status remotely and ensure rapid response if health issues or trouble arise.
AI Tools Already in Use
AI tools already used in jails include advanced speech analysis programs that screen all inmate phone calls. By using machine learning algorithms trained on big data sets, the software automatically flags suspicious words, phrases, tone of voice, or conversation patterns that may indicate illegal activities like smuggling. These algorithms can detect suspicious behavior in real time by analyzing video feeds, which allows for quick intervention by staff.
Another reason corrections facilities are turning to the latest AI technology is its ability to see patterns and analyze data about inmates that were previously unavailable. A 2023 study concluded that AI algorithms better predicted suicidal and self-injurious tendencies of inmates by analyzing medical and mental health notes than just using the structured data available in California’s Orange County Jail database.
Beyond safety and security, jails use virtual reality, the latest versions powered by AI, to rehabilitate inmates and reduce recidivism after release.
By leveraging machine learning and deep learning technology, companies have developed AI surveillance products that local jails have been using:
• York County Prison in Pennsylvania plans to use AI for “intelligence gathering,” which the warden says will create a safer environment for inmates and staff. Media outlets report the technology will be used to search for keywords in recorded phone calls. This technology is being used in New York, Georgia, and Texas, along with sheriff’s departments around the country.
• Suffolk County Jail in New York, and dozens of local jails and state prisons in seven states, received $700,000 from the federal government to buy an AI-powered monitoring system that has scanned upwards of 600,000 minutes of phone calls a month.
A Texas-based company provides the New York prison system, and more than a dozen county jails across the state with a telephone service that records inmates’ phone calls and then uses AI technology to flag suspicious words and phrases. Reports claim the analyzed information has prevented contraband smuggling, witness tampering, or provided evidence in alleged crimes.
Criticisms and Benefits of Technology
Critics have expressed concerns that the technology could violate the constitutional rights of inmates, family members, and others.
While video camera surveillance systems are commonplace in jails and prisons, Artificial Intelligence powers the latest generation of video management systems intelligence, which provides custom alerts, facial recognition, and real-time insights. Although AI platforms are probably more prevalent in prisons, jails can also benefit from this tech.
Beyond safety and security, jails use virtual reality, the latest versions powered by AI, to rehabilitate inmates and reduce recidivism after release. For example, some facilities have used VR programs that can place inmates in simulations of potentially stressful real-world scenarios, such as job interviews, public transport commutes, or other common interactions. By allowing inmates to experience these environments and build social and practical skills through role-playing inside a risk-free VR environment, the hope is that they will transition back into the community more successfully.
Using AI algorithms, VR takes data and creates realistic 3-D simulations that help inmates with addiction and anger management issues and allow them to work in different job settings virtually. For corrections officers, VR training puts them in different scenarios, such as hostage situations and mental health crises amongst the jail population.
The National Institute of Justice has supported a program that will examine the effectiveness of a VR job interview program to improve people’s chances of finding employment and keeping jobs after release from prison.
These applications show that artificial intelligence and virtual reality technologies offer tremendous opportunities to improve correctional operations and inmate outcomes and prepare incarcerated individuals for successful reentry into society. However, as with all emerging innovations, their implementation must be monitored closely. Facilities should carefully evaluate the effectiveness of the technology and guard against unintended negative consequences regarding privacy rights and ethics. Used correctly, AI and VR can improve outcomes, making facilities more secure while upholding inmates’ constitutional rights. But the technologies are merely tools—their impacts ultimately depend on how they are governed.
Today, jails can employ AI to make it safer for staff and inmates and VR to teach inmates new skills they will need when released. As artificial intelligence and virtual reality mature, more innovative uses tailored to corrections will emerge. An area holding much promise is the combination of predictive data analytics, machine learning algorithms, and VR, which will provide personalized rehabilitation programs, maximizing positive outcomes for each inmate.
Customized intervention plans addressing an individual’s unique risks and needs can be developed by collecting immense volumes of inmate information—including family background, criminal history, gang affiliations, psychological assessments, vocational interests, and more. Matching inmates to customized treatments while incarcerated and the proper support programs upon release could reduce recidivism. The more advanced VR simulations also allow safe yet realistic practice of learned behaviors in plausible real-world situations an inmate may encounter when reentering society.
The analytics help corrections administrators manage limited rehabilitation resources and capacity, ensuring the right programs reach inmates with the greatest potential to help them. Continual analysis enhances understanding of intervention effectiveness for different inmates. This allows ongoing optimization of rehabilitation programs and choices based on actual impact data rather than conjecture.
There are other technologies available to jails. For better security, more jails could adopt biometric authentication, such as fingerprint or iris recognition. This tech can track where the staff and inmates are at any time and help identify and screen visitors for possible security risks.
Some jails are adopting drones and anti-drone tech. Orange County Jail is using anti-drone technology to combat drones that are being used to smuggle in contraband. Other facilities use drones to increase perimeter surveillance and security. The implementation of blockchain technology also could revolutionize how inmate records are maintained because it can increase data integrity and provide a tamper-resistant record.
Conclusion
While all these technologies are promising, rigorous governance frameworks ensuring ethical use must accompany these innovations in corrections. Improving facility safety and inmate outcomes without infringing on rights or dignity remains paramount. If the proper balance is struck, AI, VR, and other tech may positively transform corrections to benefit incarcerated individuals, staff, administrators, and society through reduced recidivism and associated economic costs and societal impacts.
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Kuldeep Saxena is a project manager who oversees corrections facilities projects for Chetu, a global custom software solutions development and support services provider with 14 locations in the United States, United Kingdom, and India. Kuldeep, who has been working for more than 10 years at Chetu, has a master’s in computer applications and over 15 years of experience in IT software. For more information, he can be reached at pr@chetu.com.
References
Hongxia Lu, Alex Barrett, Albert Pierce, Jianwei Zheng, Yun Wang, Chun Chiang and Cyril Rakovski. (2023 April). Journal of Psychiatric Research. Predicting suicidal and self-injurious events in a correctional setting using AI algorithms on unstructured medical notes and structured data. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022395623000390
Erica Martin and Marie Garcia. (2022 April). “Reentry Research at NIJ: Providing Robust Evidence for High-Stakes Decision-Making. National Institute of Justice. https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/reentry-research-nij-providing-robust-evidence-high-stakes-decision-making