Advancing Corrections Journal - Edition #16 - Reforming Corrections Through Technology (ACJ16-000)

This issue explores the profound impact of technology on correctional practices, from enhancing service delivery and improving safety and security to promoting successful reintegration. We showcase a wide range of technologies and successful approaches, including public-private partnerships, that are transforming correctional operations and shaping the design of settings, services, treatments, training, and assessment methods.

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Authors

Frank Porporino

Corrections & Criminal Justice Consultant, ACFP & ICPA, Canada

Frank Porporino has a Ph.D. in clinical psychology and has sustained a close to 50-year career in corrections as a front-line practitioner, senior manager, researcher, educator, trainer, and consultant. Frank has promoted evidence-informed practice throughout his career and his contributions have been recognized with awards from a number of associations including the ACA, ICCA, Volunteers of America and the International Corrections and Prisons Association (ICPA). Early in his career, Frank founded the Research Branch of Corrections Canada, an internationally recognized leader in applied research in corrections that has recently celebrated its 35th Anniversary. Frank was also a founding member of the HMMPS Correctional Services Accreditation Panel, a best practice review committee that was subsequently emulated by many jurisdictions.

He has remained active internationally providing training and technical assistance in effective practice in over 25 countries, most recently in Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Japan and Namibia. Currently Frank is serving as Editor of the ICPA practitioner-oriented Journal, Advancing Corrections, Chair of the ICPA R&D Network, member of the ICPA Practice Transfer Advisory Committee and Board Member and Secretary for the ICPA-North America Chapter. He has been a member of many ACA Committees, was a past member of the ICPA Board of Directors and is also Past-President of the International Association for Correctional and Forensic Psychology (IACFP).

Steven Van De Steene

Technology Consultant & Researcher, Smart Corrections, France

Steven Van De Steene is an Enterprise Architect who works as a consultant in the area of innovation and technology strategy for prisons and probation services. He is also active as a researcher, affiliated to the Montfort University (Leicester, UK) and as board member of the International Corrections and Prisons Association (ICPA) the liaison for the technology solutions network within the association.
Steven studied Pedagogical Sciences at the University of Ghent. After his graduation he started working as a probation Officer. With the growth of the organization came the need for a better national IT support. As a project manager, Steven took the opportunity to establish good working IT solutions by trying to understand real business needs and enlarging his knowledge in Information Technology. In 2009 he became a certified Enterprise IT Architect at the University of Antwerp Management School. Now he’s concentrating on implementing the principles of IT Governance and Enterprise Architecture within correctional organizations and promoting research on how an increased digitalized society impacts our correctional practices.
Until 2015 he was the IT Director of the Directorate General Penitentiary Institutions in Belgium where he managed an IT service with a strong focus on developing innovative solutions as an answer to the wide variety of business needs within the complex penitentiary context.
Since 2008 he has been actively involved in different European and international projects, promoting the opportunities to use technology in a way it improves security, efficiency, and rehabilitation in a balanced and ethical way, with a strong focus on reducing harm.
Steven is actively promoting more research in this field and works closely together with Universities across the globe to enhance our knowledge on the opportunities as well as the risks and ethical questions related to the use of technology in corrections.

Hans Meurisse

Vice-President, ICPA, Belgium

Hans Meurisse holds a master degree in Criminology from the Ghent University and also participated in several post-graduate courses, which allowed him to gain profound knowledge of public, financial and penitentiary management, forensic matters, Business Process Reengineering, and organised international fraud.

He started his professional career in 1986 with the Judicial Police, where he eventually was appointed Chief Investigator. In 1999, Hans became the Prison Governor of the Ghent prison. His work was mainly focused on managing the detention of convicts, remand prisoners, and mentally ill prisoners on an operational level. In September 2006, he was appointed as the Director General of the Belgian Prison Service.

Hans Meurisse was the Director General of the Belgian Prison Service for more than 11 years, from 2006 until 2017. During that time, he also served as President of the European Organisation of Prison and Correctional Services (EuroPris) for 6 years after being appointed in 2011. He was also a former member of the Board of Directors of the International Corrections and Prisons Association (ICPA) from 2009 until 2011 (2nd International Vice-President) and from 2014 until 2017 (Ordinary Board Member). During his previous tenures with the Association, Hans hosted the ICPA Annual Conference in 2010 and provided support to ICPA through staffing, logistical and administrative services including the appointment of the Tineke De Waele as Executive Director.

Following his Presidency of the organisation, Hans served as a Senior Advisor and International Expert with EuroPris. Today he serves as Vice President of ICPA since 2019 and plays a key role on the Board of Directors. He is also involved in ICPA’s various initiatives and events, where he brings his expertise in technology, planning and design, and statistics. In his manifesto for serving as Vice-President, Mr Meurisse remains committed to enhancing the collaboration between ICPA and others internationally, with a key focus on building relations in Europe and Africa.

Victoria Knight

Associate Professor, De Montfort University, United Kingdom

Dr Victoria Knight is associate professor in research at De Montfort University, UK. She directs the Prison and Probation Research Hub and codirects the Institute for Community, Criminology, Education and Social Justice. Victoria has extensively published on the digital prison and continues to actively research this topic both in the UK and across the globe. She also consults with prisons, charities and digital developers on digitization.She is a co-editor of The Journal for Prison Education and Resettlement and supports the Advancing Corrections Journal. She contributes to prison practice and has served for 17 years on English Independent Monitoring Boards.

Advancing Corrections Journal - Edition #16 - Reforming Corrections Through Technology (ACJ16-000)

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