Abstract
Across the world, millions of people are incarcerated every year, while hundreds of thousands of them are released back into their home communities. Despite several alternatives within the criminal justice system, incarceration is still considered as the most natural method of correction. This can lead to different types of unsustainable pathways within a society. Despite the growing importance and increasing use of digital technologies, there are relatively few scientific studies related to the implementation of digital technologies in corrections. Therefore, the present paper aims to assess the sustainable policy measures based on the implementation of digital technologies in corrections, namely electronic monitoring (EM). The originality of our paper is supported by unique primary data gathered during the first national survey on the assessment of sustainability measures of EM in Slovakia. Our research reveals that EM implementation contributes to individual and institutional resilience in a socio-economic context; the requirements for a conditional release of serious offenders with mandatory EM seem to have created sustainable conditions for the use of this form of the EM “back door” scheme. EM programs are aimed at suppressing crime through increased accountability and monitoring, which leads to their sustainability. Maintaining social and family ties, reducing risk of imprisonment and undesirable new ties, and keeping working habits are the main sustainable policy measures of EM that support better social inclusion of offenders. Assessment of the sustainable policy measures based on the implementation of digital technologies in corrections, namely electronic monitoring (EM) uncovered in the present paper, creates space for further research and policy implications. Data protection, automated data processing and artificial intelligence in the implementation of digital technologies in corrections are important topics that deserve much more attention in research.
Highlights
Across the world, millions of people are incarcerated in public and private facilities
The specific motivation of the paper is to assess the possible sustainable policy measures based on the implementation of digital technologies in corrections, namely electronic monitoring (EM), and assess the impact of EM implementation on individual or institutional sustainability in the legal and socio-economic contexts, while considering the situation in Slovakia supported by international experience
Exploitation of digital technologies in corrections is a big opportunity for criminal justice efficiency and sustainability
Summary
Millions of people are incarcerated in public and private facilities. In the United States of America, almost half of them are rearrested within a year. These issues have been excluded from mainstream sustainability narratives, despite their serious implications for sustainability [1]. Incarceration is a traumatic experience for the individuals sentenced to imprisonment, and for their families and communities, as well as for the society [1,2,3]. Despite several alternatives within the criminal justice system, incarceration is still considered as the most natural method of correction. This can lead to different types of unsustainable pathways within a society. Incarceration is often the most expensive of all correction methods [4]
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