Our Current SystemCurrently, Kansas, Louisiana, Hawaii and Connecticut are the only states in the U.S. to permit some Internet access to inmates, though in all cases it is limited. In Kansas, only minimum-security inmates have access and In Louisiana, the Internet is only available to inmates within 45 days of release and for the purpose of job searches.
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The TRULINCS Program
In the United States, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, an agency of the U.S. Department of Justice, has put into place the Trust Fund Limited Inmate Computer System (TRULINCS) on February 19, 2009. This allows inmates access to electronic messaging through e-mails. The message must be text only, and must be conducted in a secure manner between inmate and the public. Messages are subject to monitoring. Currently all institutions operated by the Bureau of Prisons have TRULINCS. However outside of the TRULINCS program, nearly all states prohibit Internet use by inmates, severely limiting technology based access to educational opportunities and increasing the knowledge inequality gap between prisoners and non-prisoners.
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Expert Suggestions |
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The Counter-Argument |
Nick Hardwick, the UK Chief Inspector of Prisons, said prisoners nearing the end of their sentences needed to go online to look for jobs and to familiarise themselves with advances in technology that have happened while they have been locked up. Without the ability to apply for jobs and equip themselves with the IT skills they will need for modern-day employment, ex-convicts will be far more likely to reoffend, he said. “It is not just a matter of education and training. How do you apply for a job without web access? Look for and apply for accommodation? Manage your money? Make travel arrangements? I suppose too, that there is a fear that a move in this direction will be seen as being ‘soft’ on prisoners. I suspect that is what they said when they first took the chains out, replaced straw with bunks or put telephones on the wing landings.
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David Hines, founder of the National Victims’ Association charity, said: “I couldn’t disagree more. Prisoners can use the internet for brining in drugs, accessing pornography and exploitation. I’m fed up with prison governors and inspectors trying to make life better for inmates. They are there to be punished for committing crime, and they can look for a job when they get out. No-one is going to pay for victims’ broken families to have computers to look for jobs when they can’t afford them, are they? It’s time these people lived in the real world.”
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