Prisoners Should Be Provided with Supervised Internet Access Inside Prison - Essay Example

Your Prisoners Should Be Provided With “Fully Supervised” Internet Access Inside Prison In recent years, there has been an increasing amount of dependency on internet for every work of life. It has actually become such an integral part of human life that it has made law makers sit back and think about the possibility of providing certain prisoners with controlled and “fully supervised” access to internet. Authorities and organizations working with prisoners believe that such a step will help to rehabilitate the prisoners into the society after they have served their term in prison. According to the Prison Reform Trust’s recent report, the access to internet could also boost training and help the prisoners connect with their family even while serving their sentence inside the prison. This way, they are less likely to feel out cast and commit crime after release (36). However, as there are always two sides of a coin, there are also people who are against this idea and believe that access to internet is a kind of “luxury” for prison inmates. A report on BBC News last year quoted Nick Hardwick, Chief Inspector of Prisons, saying that “"Perhaps there are some who will say computers and the internet are luxuries prisoners should do without.” The whole argument surrounding the issue of whether to provide internet connection to prison inmates becomes crucial as it revolves round an individual’s human rights. It also becomes crucial as it defines the attitude of the society towards prison and prisoners. The argument is between whether prison should remain a place where criminals are held and punished for their deeds or whether it should take the form of a reform house where people who have committed crime get a chance to transform and trained to become a responsible member of the society. This essay will first discuss the controversies and objections surrounding the use of Internet in prison. It will then proceed to argue the purpose of imprisonment in 21st century society, and discuss why providing controlled internet access to inmates is necessary and not a “luxury”. It will further try to establish the need by focusing on the results achieved by prisons which have provided controlled internet access to its inmates. Many are of the view that providing internet access to inmates will only help them continue doing the nuisance they had already been engaged in outside. This argument is based on the claim that inmates have been found smuggling smart phones with internet connection into prison cells and using the same to call up phone directories, search maps and photographs for criminal activities. It is argued that as the society is increasingly becoming dependent on internet, the same is the case with criminals who conduct drug trafficking and gang-violence through internet. A report on The New York Times by Kim Severson and Robbie Brown highlights how illegal internet access inside the prison is actually changing the face of prison life. According to their report, in 2010, around 1,188 mobile devices were confiscated from inmates by the Federal Bureau of Prisons workers. Almost all the devices had internet connections and the users were able to connect without there being any proper monitoring from the guards. Many criminals even maintained Facebook profiles and used the same to plan strikes inside prison. Internet connections were used to plan attacks and prison escapes. However, it is necessary to point out that the above allegations and concerns stand good for illegal import of internet devices. The argument here is whether to provide legal fully supervised internet access to inmates and therefore none of the above facts justify why fully supervised internet access should not be provided. Now before we start to analyse the benefits of providing monitored internet access to prisoners, it is necessary to understand what is actually meant by fully supervised internet access. Fully supervised internet access uses a filter that blocks sites that can be used for planning criminal activities. The inmates will only have access to some approved sites and their activity on internet can be traced through a pin system by the authorities. This includes access to a secured e-mail account, to work placement communities, housing agencies and online libraries to increase knowledge. If access to internet is provided to inmates via monitored computers, then the authorities can actually trace the online activities of prisoners. Think that you were confined in a world that didn’t have any bus, tram or private cars and suddenly one day you come out of your house to find the street bustling with giant trucks, buses, private cars and motorcycles. How would you feel? What will be your first thoughts? You will be scared to death to cross the street and might even die while crossing the street as you will be unaware of things like traffic signal and zebra crossing. Similar is the case with prisoners who have long been confined inside the prison. They have been kept in darkness and are ignorant of the progress the world has made. They undoubtedly will feel at lost outside without the knowledge of information technology and how it has become an integral part of human life. It is for prisoners like them, who have served their sentences well and now want to return to the mainstream society that the knowledge of internet should be introduced inside prison. According to a report submitted by the Prison Reform Trust and Prisoners Education Trust, a survey conducted of 42 prison managers revealed that “74% believed that prisoners should have secured and controlled access to the internet while 67% said inmates should be allowed to set up bank accounts online.” This means that more and more inmates want to know new technological advancements happening outside. The report mentions that the effective use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in prison would help improve opportunities for education, employment, and resettlement and strengthen family ties. All these factors have been assumed to have a positive effect on reducing reoffending by inmates after release from prison (9). If the purpose of incarceration is only to deprive an offender of free movement and comforts enjoyed by a free citizen, then perhaps denying them of internet access is reasonable. However, the cost of maintaining a prison inmate per year is enormous and should not go to waste with the inmate returning to prison within a few months of release. The New York Times reported last August that the city paid $167,731 to maintain each inmate in 2012. The cost included daily feed, house and guard for a year. The Prison Reform Trust report mentions that around 47% of adults are reconvicted within a year of their release from prison. The percentage increases to 58% for people between the age group of 18-20 years and who have served sentences less than 12 months. This points to the fact that there might be something wrong inside the prison which has failed to reform the prisoners. The concerned authorities are actually failing to rehabilitate the inmates into the civilized society. Therefore, the only way of improving the system is by educating the inmates and providing them with the opportunity to learn and know the good world outside. Supervised access to internet will allow inmates to achieve educational and vocational qualifications. They will actually leave the prison as a changed individual fit to move freely in the society. However, there is no denying the fact that there are security concerns related to the providing of internet access to inmates but that surely can be managed and will cost less to the taxpayers than paying for supporting another inmate in prison. Works Cited Champion Nina, Kimmett Edgar. THROUGH THE GATEWAY: How Computers Can Transform Rehabilitation. prisonerseducation.org.uk. Prison Reform Trust. Web. Accessed on 02.03.2014. Prison Reform Trust: Let prisoners use the internet. BBC News. Web. 28.10.2013.Accessed on 02.03.2014. Read More