Online Lifelines: Maximizing the rehabilitative potential of in-cell technology in the Youth Estate

All publicly run Young Offenders Institutes (YOIs) housing 15-18 year-olds in England have in-cell technology capabilities installed. This makes the Youth Estate a relatively cost-effective environment to pursue rehabilitative tech initiatives as part of a cohesive set of initiatives with a defined impact.

The current functionality of in-cell tech is limited. For example, approved contacts cannot call an in-cell landline. As a prison officer, I saw prisoners smash up their rooms, harm themselves and threaten others when they ran out of a phone credit during family crises. This heaps pressure on officers searching for a solution- probably whilst having abuse shouted at them and managing the complex needs of other children on the landing. In short, in-cell tech has real-word implications.

In-cell laptops in YOIs have two main functionalities. The first is practical; prisoners can order canteen, pick their food and submit applications for anything from a doctor’s appointment to a library book. The second functionality is the Content Hub, where video, audio and written content can be uploaded. This might be as varied as a video message from the governor or an illustrated guide to hair-braiding.

It’s an excellent start and has made a real difference to life inside prisons- for example, no one has to worry about canteen sheets going missing. However, it’s just the start of where in-cell technology could take YOIs.

Which principles should underpin the development of in-cell technology?

Tech first. Too often, tech is an afterthought in prisons, a shiny add-on that might add polish to an HMIP report. Leaders should consider how in-cell tech might solve problems in their establishment, or how current functionalities might support changes to processes and systems.

Autonomy. Mitigating reliance on paper systems alleviates the administrative work done by staff and frees up their time to work on more meaningful projects. However technology in prisons also foments a sense of agency and self-responsibility that has been proven to positively affect reoffending rates in the first year after release by almost 5% (McDougall et al., 2017).  Feelings of autonomy and agency amongst children in Dutch prisons have also been connected to significantly more positive interactions with staff an structured activities (van der Lann & Eichelsheim, 2013). Encouraging self-reliance is tightly bound up with improving behaviour in prison and prospects beyond it.

What would this look like in practice?

Over 60% of children in secure settings in England and Wales have index offences related to violence against the person. This compares to 30% of adults in custody. Astonishingly, there is no direct equivalent to adult estate’s violence reduction Challenge, Support and Intervention Plan (CSIP) in YOIs.

On the principle of tech first, leaders in the Youth Estate should consider how in-cell technology could be used to tackle this alongside proven methods of tackling offending behaviour, rather than simply adopting the paper document used elsewhere.

I can’t count the number of reviews where I sat with children while they were talked “at” rather than “to”. An interactive CSIP equivalent on a child’s laptop would incorporate the child’s voice and put the principle of  autonomy at its heart. For example, it might enable them to propose their own goal-setting, write sections of plans alongside professionals, and be held accountable by regular notifications. It could also be an easily accessible site for a multi-agency therapeutic alliance, a place where recorded videos from loved ones with positive-reinforcement could be stored, and a way for children with low literacy or accessibility needs to own their plan with voice notes and read-aloud functions. This would require significant development, but would be replicable for those on separation documents or at risk of suicide and self-harm.

This is just one example of how in-cell technology could be used to improve rehabilitative outcomes in the Youth Estate. We should expect its integration into the Resettlement Passports proposed by the Prisons Strategy White Paper, and look forward to the further development of Virtual Campus 2. With the roll out of the better technology for staff in the Prison Technology Transformation Program over the last 18 months, there’s a real opportunity for stakeholders within and outside prisons to get involved.

Charlotte Cohen is an ambassador for Unlocked Graduates and spent over two years on their Leadership Development Programme working in a YOI. She now works in consultancy, focusing on purpose, change and leadership. You can contact her here.