Disrupting Traditional Education Practices in Prisons: The Role of Digital Technology (PID021)

2.20pm – 2.55pm EDT, 22 April 2024 ‐ 35 mins

Room: Ballroom

Parallel Workshop Session

The presentation explores the transformative potential of digital technology on education within correctional facilities, focusing on preparing prisoners for reintegration into an increasingly digital society. Research by the UK Ministry of Justice in 2018 found that people who had participated in education whilst in prison were significantly less likely to re-offend within 12 months of release than those who had not by 7.5% points, i.e. a reoffending rate of 32.6% from a baseline one-year reoffending rate of 40.1%.

Moderator

Marjan Lukavečki

Chair, EuroPris Expert group on ICT, Head Office for Prison Service, Service for analytics, statistics, planning, development and informatization of business processes, Ministry of Justice and Public Administration, Directorate for the Prison System and Probation, The Republic of Croatia

Speakers

Patricia O’Hagan MBE

Independent Consultant, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

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Colleen Walsh

Product Owner, Core Systems/MHS, United Kingdom

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Patricia O’Hagan MBE

Independent Consultant, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

Patricia O’Hagan is the CEO of Core Systems, a software company that is a world leader in prisoner self-service technology with over 250,000 users, in Correctional agencies across three continents. Core Systems technology solutions provide people in the justice system with meaningful opportunities that can change behaviours and empower people to transform

into contributing members of society. The company is deeply passionate about driving this positive change and its mission is to transform lives together.

Patricia brings over 20 years of Prison technology experience and success to the company. She has worked with a wide range of Prison and Correctional Services Agencies around the world. Patricia is an international speaker on Corrections Technology and has been invited to present at industry forums including the ACA Congress of Corrections (American Correctional Association) the Inter Prison Service Security Group (Her Majesty’s Prison Service, UK) and APPA (American Probation and Parole Association).

Patricia has authored numerous publications in the Corrections, Technology and Biometric fields. Patricia served on the Skills for Security Consultation Group for Biometrics and Human Identity contributing to the development of national occupational standards for the industry. Patricia is currently an active member of the APPA technology committee.

From 2011 – 2017 Patricia served on the Economic Advisory Group (EAG), providing independent advice to the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment in Northern Ireland and she is currently a member of Matrix, the industry panel informing government, industry and academia on the commercial exploitation of R&D and science and technology. Patricia was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s 2013 Royal New Year Honours list for services to the Northern Ireland Economy. In 2022 Patricia was awarded the Outstanding Woman in Tech by Women in Tech Northern Ireland.

Colleen Walsh

Product Owner, Core Systems/MHS, United Kingdom

Colleen Walsh is an accomplished and dedicated product owner with a strong background in the development and implementation of innovative software solutions, with the last 4 years focusing solely on Users in the Justice sector. With 8 years of experience in product innovation, Colleen understands the unique challenges faced by correctional facilities and translates them into effective software solutions.

In her role as a Product Owner at Core Systems, Colleen is committed to driving innovation, improving operational efficiency, and ultimately contributing to the successful rehabilitation and reintegration of those in the justice system back into society.