Future Issues in Corrections Correctional Services Copyright and

Future Issues in Corrections Correctional Services

Copyright and Terms of Service Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2011. These materials are copyrighted © and trademarked ™ as the property of the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and may not be reproduced without the express written permission of TEA, except under the following conditions: 1) Texas public school districts, charter schools, and Education Service Centers may reproduce and use copies of the Materials and Related Materials for the districts’ and schools’ educational use without obtaining permission from TEA. 2) Residents of the state of Texas may reproduce and use copies of the Materials and Related Materials for individual personal use only, without obtaining written permission of TEA. 3) Any portion reproduced must be reproduced in its entirety and remain unedited, unaltered and unchanged in any way. 4) No monetary charge can be made for the reproduced materials or any document containing them; however, a reasonable charge to cover only the cost of reproduction and distribution may be charged. Private entities or persons located in Texas that are not Texas public school districts, Texas Education Service Centers, or Texas charter schools or any entity, whether public or private, educational or non-educational, located outside the state of Texas MUST obtain written approval from TEA and will be required to enter into a license agreement that may involve the payment of a licensing fee or a royalty. Contact TEA Copyrights with any questions you may have. Copyright © Texas Education Agency 2013. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 2

New Technologies • Technology can be used – In institutions and community corrections – To detect contraband – To extract covert information – To monitor behavior – To alert staff to personnel that are in distress Copyright © Texas Education Agency 2013. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 3

New Technologies (continued) • Predicting trouble spots within prisons – Researchers are developing the Correctional Operational Trend Analysis System (COTAS) software, which will • Help predict trouble spots within prisons • Map and manage information that allows managers to monitor cross-functional operations • Identify trends, patterns, and areas of concern Copyright © Texas Education Agency 2013. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 4

New Technologies (continued) • Suicide-watch technologies – Could improve monitoring and reduce staff time – Is a range-controlled radar system that is used in home security motion detectors and subtly measures the body’s surface based on heart and lung activity – Monitors an inmate’s heart rate, breathing rate, and body motions without being attached to the individual – Activates an alarm when any suspicious activity is detected – Have the following potential benefits • • • Are less obtrusive and less prone to destruction Detect disguised suicide attempts Provide continuous monitoring Reduce the needed number of staff for suicide watch Increases the number of at-risk prisoners who can be watched Copyright © Texas Education Agency 2013. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 5

New Technologies (continued) • Using technology to improve the safety of prisons and jails – Airport scanner • Uses a millimeter wave imaging system via a portal to scan visitors and look through clothing to detect weapons, cell phones, and nonmetallic objects • The portal beams radio energy in the millimeter wave spectrum from antennas that rotate around the person • The reflected energy produces an image of the body and hidden objects underneath clothing • Some people believe that the image produced is intrusive Copyright © Texas Education Agency 2013. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 6

New Technologies (continued) • Using technology to improve the safety of prisons and jails (continued) – The Weapons and Non-Permitted Devices Detector (WANND) • • Is similar to hand-held metal detectors Is used to detect both metallic and non-metallic weapons Includes an ultrasonic wave transmitter and an acoustic receiver Listens to the sound waves that bounce back to it, which detects the hidden objects under clothing Copyright © Texas Education Agency 2013. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 7

New Technologies (continued) • Tracking prisoners and pinpointing prison hotspots – Radio Frequency Identification Technology (RFID) • Uses small transponders called “Tags” to track movement • Utilized in devices such as wristbands • Used to send radio signals that monitor inmate movement or unusual concentrations of people in certain areas • Is typically used on tracking inventory in warehouses and is new to corrections Copyright © Texas Education Agency 2013. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 8

New Technologies: Cell Phone Technologies • Cell phone blocking systems – Allow specific frequencies to be blocked while leaving others open – Small or large areas can be affected – Have a cost range from $1000 – $10, 000 • Cell phone spoofing devices – Intercept and prevent the delivery of transmissions – Require sophisticated software – Require cooperation between cell phone network companies and correctional agencies – Do not prevent inmates from using staff members’ approved personal phones Copyright © Texas Education Agency 2013. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 9

New Technologies: Cell Phone Technologies (continued) • Jamming devices – Transmit on the same radio frequencies as cell phones but disrupt the communication link between the cell phone and the cell phone base station – Render the hand-held device essentially unusable until jamming stops • Managed access systems – Intercept calls to prevent inmates from accessing carrier networks – Capture the cell phone signal and prevent it from reaching the other network base station, impeding the completion of the call Copyright © Texas Education Agency 2013. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 10

New Technologies: Cell Phone Technologies (continued) • Detection – the process of locating, tracking, and identifying various sources of radio transmissions • Standardized protocols – rely on sets of instructions for communicating with the handheld devices by essentially locking the device and making it unusable • Hybrid systems – use a combination of both managed access and detection techniques to locate and control contraband cell phone use Copyright © Texas Education Agency 2013. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 11

New Technologies: Cell Phone Technologies (continued) • Non-linear junction detectors – hand-held devices that require staff to physically search a prisoner’s cell for the contraband phone • Sensors – Detect cell phones when they are turned off, but detection requires close proximity – Smaller facilities may use specifically formulated paints and coatings to block radio frequencies Copyright © Texas Education Agency 2013. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 12

Mentally Ill Offenders • Mental Illness – illness, disease, or condition that either substantially impacts a person’s thought, perception of reality, emotional process or judgment, or grossly impairs a person’s behavior as manifested by recent disturbed behavior • Mental Retardation – a range of substantial limitations in mental functioning manifested in persons before age 18 – Below-average intellectual capacity – Limitations in adaptive skills • • Mild – IQ 69 -55 Moderate – IQ 54 -40 Severe – IQ 39 -25 Profound – IQ below 25 Copyright © Texas Education Agency 2013. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 13

Mentally Ill Offenders (continued) • Mental health facilities are closing because of reduced funding • Courts have become flooded with misdemeanor cases as a result of untreated mental illness • Mentally ill persons who cannot receive treatment often become incarcerated • Incarcerating the mentally ill costs twice as much as community treatment programs • Treatment of the mentally ill, including those with personality disorders, in the correctional setting is increasingly difficult and expensive Copyright © Texas Education Agency 2013. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 14

Corrections Health Care Costs • Increasing corrections budgets are due to health care expenditures; health care costs account for 10% of all correctional budgets (Kinsella, 2004) • Health care for inmates is mandated by Constitutional law Copyright © Texas Education Agency 2013. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 15

Factors Contributing to Rising Health Care Costs • • • Communicable diseases Chronic illnesses Mental illness Elderly inmates Substance abuse and treatment Prescription drug costs Copyright © Texas Education Agency 2013. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 16

Innovative Solutions To Reduce Health Care Costs • Inmate co-payments – inmates are required to pay a small fee for medical and dental services • Telemedicine – allows prisoner and health care professionals to hold a video conference with outside specialists • Privatization – when health care is provided by a for-profit company; numerous states now have contracts with private health care providers • Early release for the elderly and the terminally ill • Reduction of Pharmaceutical Costs • Preferred Provider Organizations (PPO) and Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) • Alternative Reimbursement for Emergency Medical Care and Ambulatory Services • Prevention vs. Treatment Copyright © Texas Education Agency 2013. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 17

Resources • Bulman, Philip. Using Technology to Make Prisons and Jails Safer. March 2009, p. 262. https: //www. ncjrs. gov/pdffiles 1/nij/225764. pdf • Chad Kinsella. Corrections Health Care Costs. January 2004. http: //www. csg. org/knowledgecenter/docs/TA 0401 Corr. Health. pdf • National Commission on Correctional Health Care. The Health Status of Soon to be Released Inmates, Vol. 2, April 2002, p. 16. • State of New Hampshire Department of Corrections, Inmate Health Care Performance Audit Report, January, 2003, p. 16. • Aday, Ronald. Aging Prisoners: Crisis in American Corrections. Westport: Praeger Press, 2003, p. 52. • Lamb-Mechanick, Deborah and Juliane Nelson. National Institute of Corrections, Prison Health Care Survey: An Analysis of Factors Influencing Per Capita Costs, June, 2000, p. 63. • Herriage, Lt. Eddie C. Tarrant County Sheriff Office. Personal Interview, August 2013. Copyright © Texas Education Agency 2013. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 18

Resources (continued) • National Institute of Justice – http: //nij. gov/topics/corrections/technologies/welcome. htm – http: //nij. gov/nij/topics/corrections/institutional/contraband/cellphones/welcome. htm – http: //www. nij. gov/topics/corrections/institutional/monitoringinmates/predicting-trouble. htm – http: //www. nij. gov/topics/corrections/institutional/monitoringinmates/suicide-watch. htm – http: //www. nij. gov/journals/262/corrections-technology. htm • American Correctional Association http: //www. aca. org/pastpresentfuture/pastarticles_2012. asp • Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education (TCLOESE) Basic County Corrections Course 2011 http: //www. tcleose. state. tx. us/content/training_instructor_resources. cfm Copyright © Texas Education Agency 2013. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 19