Technology brings new opportunities to Prison Services
The Minister of Justice considers that the opportunities offered by digital transformation to the Prison and Probation Services are "vast", provided that the main objective is to use innovative technologies "to find a good balance between efficiency, security and rehabilitation".
Minister of Justice, Francisca Van Dunem, at the Conference
At the opening session of the 26th Conference of Directors of Prison Services and Social Reintegration of the Council of Europe, taking place today and tomorrow in Funchal, Francisca Van Dunem stressed that "proven technology, measuring results and supporting evidence-based practices" should be implemented.
We should "use technology, notably Artificial Intelligence, to enhance our knowledge and, if necessary, we should look around and adapt technology used in other sectors and areas that could be very interesting and applicable to our prison and probation environment".
During the pandemic crisis there were several examples of the use of technology as a solution to solve problems in the Portuguese prison system, namely when it was necessary to find alternative ways for inmates to continue communicating with family and friends, given their inability to do so in person, pointed out the Minister of Justice.
Despite the "serious challenges" posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the "major disruption in the normal functioning of justice systems across Europe", Francisca Van Dunem assured that Portugal continues on the path set out in 2017, of requalifying juvenile reintegration establishments and modernising the management of prison services, central and local.
"We must continue on this reformist path and look to the future, not in search of the time we lost dealing with COVID-19, but in search of the signs that the pandemic crisis has pointed us to," he said.
The 26th Council of Europe Conference of Directors of Prison and Probation Services takes place under the theme "Gaining an Edge over the Pandemic", with the main objective of analysing the effects of the pandemic on the mental health of prisoners and staff, as well as the lessons to be learned from this phenomenon of global impact, including the treatment of offenders with mental health disorders and disabilities.
The conference will also reflect on the ethical and organisational aspects of the use of new technologies, including artificial intelligence, in prisons and probation services, which have experienced rapid growth during the pandemic.
Statistical data related to COVID-19 in prisons during the last months will also be addressed, bearing in mind that Portugal, thanks to extraordinary measures to contain the pandemic in prisons, managed to distinguish itself positively from most of its European counterparts by not having recorded any COVID-19 deaths among inmates.
Participants will also examine the situation of persons accused or convicted of a sexual offence, an issue on which the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe is preparing a set of recommendations to guide national authorities in their legislation, policies and practices.
Besides the Minister of Justice, Francisca Van Dunem, and the Director General of Reintegration and Prison Services, Rómulo Mateus, the Representative of the Republic for the Autonomous Region of Madeira, Irineu Barreto, the Regional Secretary of Education, Science and Technology, Jorge Carvalho, will be present at the opening session, representing the President of the Regional Government of Madeira, Ambassador Christian Meuwly, Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the Council of Europe and President of the Rapporteur Group of the Committee of Ministers for Legal Cooperation, and Alan Mitchell, President of the Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT). Alan Mitchell will be delivering the keynote speech.
The event will be closed by the Deputy Minister of Justice, Mário Belo Morgado.