Helping European offenders reject the criminal lifestyle
With some 60 per cent of the prison population likely to re-offend within two years of release, the IST project HERO focused on the problem of how to reduce re-offending levels. To this end the project developed and tested a range of ICT tools designed to tackle two key areas. First, to assist prisoners and prison professionals make more informed decisions about personal health and education whilst in prison. Second, to help offenders improve their preparation for release and for life on the outside. e-learning and e-health environment,HERO focused on three main target groups: 1) pre-crime, those young people at serious risk of offending; 2) those already offending, and having to cope with prison life; and 3) recently-released ex-prisoners returning to normal life. The project team launched pilot projects in eight European prisons (in the UK, Greece, Germany and Italy). They developed several methodologies for providing support to offenders and potential offenders. For the young and vulnerable pre-crime group, the team constructed a blended e-learning and e-health environment around the principle that self-development is a partnership between participants and experts. This environment was the basis for a 12 week programme which taught young people singing, song composition, film making and editing; sound editing and IT skills. Programme volunteers produced a film and CD, and gave a performance of their compositions. For those already in prison, the team provided support services to help individuals cope with prison life and survive the experience without mental scarring. They also aimed to help prisoners develop their skills, thus better equipping them for resettlement at the end of their prison term. Finally, for recently-released individuals, the support focused on help with finding accommodation, finding work, etc. Here the objective was to help ex-prisoners re-adjust to life on the outside. The virtual e-learning environment was linked to a HERO database (an evolving Interactive Content Repository) and toolkit, to provide care professionals with the resources to support rehabilitation. It also enabled offenders to explore issues with support staff as they came up. In addition, the project team produced an interactive software game that helped offenders work out the consequences of different life choices, i.e. choosing between joining in illegal activity whilst in prison, or taking an educational course. Another HERO outcome was an interactive monitoring tool that used health and skills diagnostics to produce a learning and health plan for prisoners. The output of this tool was monitored through a kind of virtual case conference which helped professionals collaborate in providing accurately-targeted care. We worked with young offenders and those at risk of offending in London, and also with inmates on Death Row in St Quentin, California, says Cullen. Our goal was to try to get young offenders to step into the shoes of others and explore the consequences of offending. Project results well-received ,What kind of feedback has the project team had? Very positive, according to Cullen. The results of the project have been incorporated into a programme (One Spirit) being rolled out across London. The second phase of this programme is running in Hackney, and Brixton prison also wants to run it. And at Askham Grange (womens prison) in York, the programme has been running ever since its inception. Our best results were with the first group of young offenders, he says. Because we had more flexibility, we were able to work with stakeholders outside of the institutions, to really help young people who were at serious risk. Cullen admits that not all the groups efforts were so successful. Some prisons were worried about the potential for bad publicity, he says, noting that that there were even fears expressed that inmates might use the Internet to run prostitution rings this was an Open Prison! He believes that the lesson to be drawn from this is that commitment from the authorities is essential. Equally important is getting buy-in from middle management, especially prison officers. ,Change needed for further implementation,Some of the more interesting outcomes were in prisons where severe restrictions were imposed on HERO, e.g. no online systems allowed. Here good results were obtaining by supporting fairly low-tech innovations. In Chalkidas Prison (male maximum security) in Athens for example, the prisoners produced a newsletter and a Mens Health magazine using the resources from the HERO database. Cullen says that one inmate, who was about to be released, said he would be the only one in his village who could use a computer! In addition to the take-up in the UK, the project team have discussed application of HERO project tools within an Italian prison. However Cullen believes that if new ICT technologies are to be fully exploited within the penal institutions, they need to be supported by organisational change. There is still an institutional resistance to using technology in prisons, because of fears about security, the use of data and inappropriate use of the Internet. We need a political leap of imagination to overcome this resistance if we are to move forward.Published by the IST Results service which gives you online news and analysis on the emerging results from Information Society Technologies research. The service reports on prototype products and services ready for commercialisation as well as work in progress and interim results with significant potential for exploitation,
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